How to Sleep Better: Your Complete Guide to Truly Restful Nights

AMAZING BREAKTHROUGH! Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You'll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested?" ― Matthew Walker, 'Why We Sleep'

What if skipping sleep did more than just make you tired? Research shows that poor sleep can weaken your immune system, raising the risk of serious illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It also affects your mental health — according to Matthew Walker, author of 'Why We Sleep,' lack of sleep can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. 

The good news? Improving your sleep doesn't require a dramatic lifestyle overhaul. Small changes in your routine can help you sleep better and feel stronger.

If you want a calm way to end the day, Headway offers 15-minute summaries of the best books you can read or listen to before bed. Try Headway today and make learning part of your nightly wind-down.

Quick answer: How to sleep better tonight

Here's what actually works for improving your sleep quality:

• Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Your internal clock craves predictability.

• Get bright light exposure in the morning. The National Institute of Health (NIH) recommends 20–40 minutes of bright light to regulate your circadian rhythm and help you fall asleep earlier at night.

• Create a sleep-friendly environment. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Consider white noise or earplugs if noise is an issue.

• Limit blue light from electronic devices. Put down your smartphone at least 30 minutes before bed. The bright light suppresses melatonin production.

• Take a warm bath 1–2 hours before bed. This helps lower your body temperature naturally, signaling your body it's time for rest.

• Avoid heavy meals close to bedtime. Your digestive system needs rest, too. Eat lighter in the evening for deeper sleep.

• Try deep breathing or meditation. Techniques like the 4-7-8 method can calm your mind and reduce sleepiness during the next day by helping you rest properly tonight.

Tips for better sleep that actually work

Fixing your sleep schedule with a few easy steps can help you stop feeling tired and get better rest. Dr. W. Chris Winter says that having a regular bedtime and sleep routine is very important. Let's break down the strategies that sleep medicine experts actually recommend.

1. Set a specific sleep schedule to reset your internal clock

"It is important that we consider our mealtimes, exercise, and light exposure when it comes to trying to establish a healthy circadian rhythm." – W. Chris Winter, 'The Sleep Solution'

Your circadian rhythm is your body's internal clock. It helps control important things like your sleep cycle. Daily activities such as talking with people, eating, exercising, and the amount of light you get during the day can change your circadian rhythm. These outside factors affect when your body feels naturally sleepy or wide awake.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) says that getting bright light in the morning can help you fall asleep earlier at night. Try to spend 20–40 minutes in bright light each morning. This simple habit can dramatically improve your sleep quality over time.

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Instead of trying to fall asleep earlier at night, it can help more to change your wake-up time. Set an alarm and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Sleeping in late, especially until noon, can mess up your sleep schedule and leave you feeling groggy the next day.

Taking a nap during the day can make you feel better and give you more energy, kind of like a mini version of a full night's sleep. But be careful — don't nap for more than an hour, or it might make it harder to fall asleep at night.

2. Establish your bedtime routine for consistent sleep hygiene

"Sleep is not the absence of wakefulness. In other words, sleep is not a light switch in your brain that is either on or off. Your body is doing amazing things at night while you sleep."― W. Chris Winter, 'The Sleep Solution'

A bedtime routine helps your body and mind settle down and get a good night's sleep. Consistent bedtime habits and a stable sleep schedule signal your brain that it's time to wind down, helping you fall asleep quickly. Consistency is the foundation of good sleep hygiene.

Experts say it's important to prepare for sleep on purpose. Start getting ready about 30 minutes before bed, so your brain has time to calm down and get ready to rest. This means putting away electronic devices and dimming the lights.

Sleep hygiene means following good sleep habits and rules that help you get enough sleep and stay healthy. Adding these simple tips to your daily routine can improve both your physical and mental health. When you have trouble sleeping, returning to these basics often helps.

3. Take a warm bath before bed to lower body temperature

Here's something that might surprise you: a warm bath actually helps you cool down.

Spending 20–30 minutes in a warm bath is a great way to unwind and boost your sleep quality. Before bed, the body naturally cools down to prepare for rest. Soaking in warm water temporarily raises your body temperature, and as you step out and cool down, it enhances this natural cooling process. This signals your body that it's time to wind down.

Try taking a warm bath 1-2 hours before bedtime for the best results. This timing gives your body temperature enough time to drop, triggering sleepiness naturally.

4. Improve your sleep environment for deeper rest

Your sleeping area should be comfortable if you want to sleep soundly and healthily. Your sleep environment plays a bigger role than most people realize.

Make sure your bedroom is a little cool. When it's 30 minutes before bed, open a window or use air conditioning to lower the temperature. You can also turn on an air purifier with aromatherapy to enhance the atmosphere. Most sleep experts recommend keeping your bedroom between 60-67°F (15-19°C).

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For some people, the grainy static you hear in white noise can help improve sleep. It helps mask any background sounds and drown them out. White noise can help:

• Enhance sleep quality

• Reduce infant crying

• Boost cognitive function (attention, concentration, memory)

• Help manage ADHD symptoms

Just remember to keep the white noise at a safe volume. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends staying below 85 decibels.

When your new bedtime routine is successfully implemented, you can fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly throughout the entire time allotted for rest.

5. Use your smartphone less to protect melatonin production

This one's tough, but it matters more than you think.

Research shows that 93% of young people browse social media before bed. However, electronic devices (TVs, laptops, computers, smartphones, tablets) emit bright blue light that signals your brain to stay alert. The body, therefore, suppresses melatonin (sleep hormone) production and tries to stay active. So, save scrolling through social media feeds for earlier in the day if you want better rest.

"Fight the Light at Night Keep artificial light before bedtime from ruining your sleep. Exposure to light in the hours before you go to sleep suppresses melatonin levels. Lower melatonin levels make it hard to fall asleep, decrease sleep quality, and could even increase the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes." ― Tom Rath, 'Eat Move Sleep'

The blue light from your smartphone is particularly disruptive because it mimics daylight. Try putting your phone down at least 30 minutes — ideally an hour — before your target bedtime. Your sleep quality will thank you.

6. Learn and practice meditation for mental health benefits

Regular meditation generally has a very positive effect on well-being and mental health. When fighting insomnia, meditation can help you accept your thoughts and manage emotions without stress. Even if you cannot eliminate all thoughts, their flow slows down, which enables you to fall asleep.

Try meditating in silence or with guided recordings; there are many different variations of sleep meditations.

Gentle evening yoga can also improve sleep. Aim to focus on light stretching rather than intense exercise, as a few movements to stretch the muscles are enough. Similarly, a massage can prevent spasms and cramps caused by muscle tension and offers similar benefits. Techniques like deep breathing — focusing on longer exhalations than inhalations — and progressive muscle relaxation can help you feel deeply relaxed.

"Breathing is a favorite "sleep hack" of mine. Counting out a few slow breaths is one of the techniques I use when I'm having trouble falling asleep..the 4-7-8 method..you inhale quietly through the nose for four counts, hold for seven counts, and exhale with a whooshing sound through the mouth for eight counts." ― Arianna Huffington, 'The Sleep Revolution'

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7. Have regular physical activity for natural sleepiness

Studies have shown that regular exercise can be the best sleep aid. Not only does exercise help you fall asleep faster, but it can also increase your daytime activity and reduce next-day sleepiness.

Since stress and anxiety are the worst enemies of sleep, exercise offers a natural solution by promoting relaxation and clearing mental tension. For example, when you exercise, your body releases endorphins. These interact with the brain's receptors and reduce the perception of pain.

Make sure you compensate for hours of sitting with some movement. Even simple activities like jogging, active housework, or walking can help offset long periods of sitting. Physical activity during the day leads to better sleep at night — just avoid intense workouts too close to bedtime.

8. What to eat to sleep better (and what to avoid)

What you eat affects how you sleep. It's that simple.

If your body is busy digesting a heavy meal, especially if you've had a large dinner right before bedtime, your sleep may not be as deep. Eating a healthier, lighter meal earlier in the evening can promote better sleep. Remember, quality sleep requires your entire body — including your digestive system — to be at rest.

If certain essential nutrients or fluids are imbalanced during the day, the rhythm of sleep and alertness can be disrupted. After all, a healthy and balanced diet is the key to good sleep. Foods rich in fiber but low in saturated fats and simple carbohydrates promote deeper, more restorative rest. Stay hydrated throughout the day, as dehydration can disrupt sleep cycles and decrease available amino acids (proteins), which means the body does not produce the right amount of melatonin.

"Although foods that contain calcium won't put us to sleep, there are key nutrients they include that provide the necessary building blocks for sleep. The same is true of foods that contain magnesium (such as nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and bananas), B6 (such as fish, beans, and poultry), and tryptophan (an amino acid found in foods like chickpeas, seaweed, egg whites, pumpkin seeds, halibut, and most famously, turkey). Another food that may help us sleep is cherries, which are rich in melatonin." – Arianna Huffington, 'The Sleep Revolution'

9. How journaling can help you sleep better

Racing thoughts keeping you awake? You're not alone.

You may have difficulty falling asleep if you have too many thoughts about what to do in the morning. In this case, it is worth unloading these thoughts on paper. This simple practice can dramatically reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.

Some people find it difficult to write long messages before going to bed. In this case, you can limit yourself to a short list of tasks for the coming day. Even this simple action will help to unload your brain and speed up falling asleep. If you prefer paper, buy a convenient and beautiful notebook. It will add a certain mood to a routine ritual, like writing a to-do list.

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Why you struggle to fall asleep (and how to fix it)

Sleep problems or dyssomnias are complex disorders that affect how you fall asleep, stay asleep, and the overall quality of your rest. As Arianna Huffington explains in 'The Sleep Revolution,' these issues can manifest in various ways: from difficulty falling asleep to frequent awakenings at night, from excessive daytime sleepiness to a complete change in sleep and wakefulness patterns. Such disorders can seriously affect a person's quality of life in their physical and mental health.

"Sleep is profoundly intertwined with virtually every aspect of brain health. Lack of sleep over time can lead to an irreversible loss of brain cells—yet another debunking of the myth that sleep debt can be made up." ― Arianna Huffington, 'The Sleep Revolution'

Types of sleep disorders you should know about

Many types of disorders can cause you to have trouble sleeping, such as:

• Insomnia. Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early.

• Sleep apnea. Periodic breathing interruptions during rest can lead to serious complications like arrhythmia and hypertension.

• Narcolepsy. A rare neurological disorder causing sudden daytime drowsiness, often accompanied by cataplexy (sudden muscle tone loss).

• Restless legs syndrome. Uncomfortable sensations causing an urge to move your legs.

• Parasomnias. Among them are nightmares, sleepwalking, and sleep talking.

• Circadian disorders. A mismatch between your body's internal clock and external daily routine.

If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, talk to your health care provider. Some conditions, like sleep apnea, require medical attention and may have serious side effects on your blood pressure and heart health if left untreated.

Causes of sleep problems

According to Gallup, 70% of Americans typically sleep less than 8 hours. The causes of poor sleep are diverse and can be related to both external factors and internal body processes:

• Stress, anxiety, and depression are among the most common causes of insomnia. When a person is stressed, their brain continues to work actively even at night, which makes it difficult to fall asleep.

• Disruption of the sleep and wakefulness cycle, like working night shifts or frequently traveling across time zones, can seriously disrupt the body's circadian rhythms.

• Substances like alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine can negatively affect sleep quality. Certain medications, including some antidepressants, beta-blockers, and steroids, can also have side effects on sleep.

• Chronic medical conditions, such as arrhythmia or hypertension, often accompany these problems. For example, people with high blood pressure may have difficulty falling asleep or waking up frequently at night.

Transform your sleep with Headway's best authors

Ready to finally get the good night's sleep you deserve? The Headway app helps you learn from bestselling books on sleep, well-being, and healthy habits — all in just 10-15 minutes.

Here's why people struggling with sleep problems choose Headway:

• Learn from sleep experts. Get key insights from books like 'Why We Sleep' by Matthew Walker, 'The Sleep Revolution' by Arianna Huffington, and 'The Sleep Solution' by Dr. W. Chris Winter — without reading 300+ pages.

• Fit learning into your schedule. Whether you have 5 minutes during lunch or 15 minutes before bed, Headway's bite-sized summaries work for your life.

• Build better habits. The app isn't just about sleep — discover books on mental health, productivity, and well-being to support your overall health.

• Audio and text options. Listen during your commute or read before bed (just don't use your phone too close to bedtime!).

Stop scrolling through endless articles and start learning from the world's best sleep experts. The strategies in this article came from fundamental research and bestselling books — and there's so much more to discover.

Start your Headway journey today and wake up feeling refreshed tomorrow.