Human sleep is a fundamental biological need, as essential as food, water, and oxygen. All healthy humans experience a phase of night-time sleep, and without it, our health is significantly challenged.
Globally, sleep duration and sleep quality have declined to unprecedented lows. Humans now sleep less than at any point in recorded history. With mounting evidence linking poor sleep to various health risks such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, researchers and public health experts argue that governments must treat inadequate sleep as a major population-level health concern (Samuels 2008; Johnston 2017).
So how can you improve your sleep if you feel its lacking? Here are seven evidence-based tips that reliably improve sleep quality, quantity and ease of falling asleep.
1. Regulate your circadian rhythm
The quickest way to improve sleep is to stabilise your body’s circadian rhythm (internal body clock) and reduce pre-bed arousal. Having a regular bedtime ensures the body’s circadian rhythm in relation to light and dark is not disrupted. This helps to strengthen melatonin timing, a key hormone which signals to the body to start the processes necessary to fall asleep.
A regular bedtime will inevitably influence achieving a regular get up time, which is typically the ‘anchor point’ of the day as it is dictated by your morning commitments, for example, the commute to work and/or family responsibilities. Regular bed and get up times reduce time to get to sleep and improve overall sleep efficiency, a strong marker of sleep quality, and help to create good sleep practices for improved sleep health.
2. Access regular daylight
Natural light is the strongest signal to your brain that it is daytime. It boosts alertness, lifts mood, and helps you feel sleepy at the right time later. Daylight helps alertness as it sends signals to the brain that light is abundant and thus the sleep signalling hormone, melatonin is suppressed. A person will remain alert and awake until nighttime ensues where dim light stimulates melatonin production.
Exposure to too much bright light in the evening suppresses the release of melatonin, which has a resultant effect on an individual’s ability to fall asleep at an appropriate time in the evening. Melatonin secretion is one of the principal reasons why a regular sleep schedule is important.
3. Relaxation and a wind-down routine
Gentle relaxation techniques can help enormously in aiding good sleep health and in creating the best environment pre-sleep. Before sleep try to shift your body from “doing” to “settling”. There are a whole host of calming activities that can aid sleep. It may be simply dimming the lights, a warm shower, stretching, reading, mindfulness, breathing exercises, mind-body exercise such as Yoga, or listening to music that have the desired effect. What relaxes someone is highly individualised but anything that lowers physiological arousal is a good start.
Some techniques may require a more specialised intervention, for example, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). This has been shown to help with ongoing sleep problems, such as insomnia, and is a good alternative to medication for improving sleep.
4. Bedroom Environment
An optimal bedroom environment is fundamental for good sleep because it supports both recovery from the day and preparation for the next (Van Deun et al., 2015).
Sleep onset is linked to the natural evening drop in core body temperature. A bedroom that is too warm disrupts this process, making it harder to fall and stay asleep. A neutral, comfortable temperature (typically 18–20°C) is ideal, although individual preference varies.
Noise around the bedroom can also disturb sleep onset and continuity. Ideally keep device volumes low and use calming audio if it helps. Those in noisy bedroom environments may benefit from earplugs.
Light can also be a major disruptor of sleep. If there is bright light in or around the bedroom, then it may be useful to get blackout blinds/curtains or wear an eye mask.
Put simply, a sleep-supportive bedroom is cool, calm, and dimly lit. While individual preferences differ, a warm, bright, or noisy environment is unlikely to promote good-quality sleep.
5. Reduce caffeine intake
Caffeine is a widely consumed stimulant found in coffee, tea, chocolate and energy drinks, with coffee containing the highest levels. It can significantly disrupt sleep by delaying sleep onset, reducing total sleep time and sleep efficiency, and increasing night-time awakenings. This is because caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, promoting alertness at the very time the body should be winding down.
Although some people who consume caffeine regularly may experience fewer acute effects, sensitivity varies widely. The average recommended daily limit is around 400 mg, but caffeine’s half-life ranges from 2 to 12 hours, meaning it can remain in the body long into the evening depending on individual metabolism, body mass and hydration.
Excessive caffeine use can contribute to insomnia symptoms, daytime sleepiness, headaches, anxiety and poorer overall sleep quality. For most people, enjoying caffeinated drinks earlier in the day is unlikely to cause major issues. General guidance is to front-load caffeine in the morning and reduce intake from lunchtime onwards. Those who are particularly sensitive may need to avoid caffeine altogether. Ultimately, caffeine use is a personal choice unless medically contraindicated.
6. Regular movement
Regular physical activity improves sleep through helping us to get to sleep quicker, sleep more deeply and sleep for longer. Type of movement doesn’t make too much difference to sleep, whether it be strength training, mind body exercise such as Yoga, or going for a run or a walk. So long as there is regular movement throughout the week for approximately half an hour, then sleep will benefit. An added bonus is if this movement is performed outdoors so we get the benefit of movement plus exposure to daylight too.
Timing of movement doesn’t impact sleep too much, but it is individualised. Overall, ensure if movement is in the evening that you have time to appropriately recover and relax before trying to get to sleep. If early morning movement, ensure adequate sleep beforehand. Always make sure you are safe to perform any type of movement.
7. Seek medical intervention
If a sleep disorder is present, such as insomnia, sleep apnoea or restless leg syndrome, then medical intervention may be required. Similarly, if an underlying health condition is upsetting your sleep, for example, a chronic pain condition or a mental health issue, then do seek advice from your GP.
Ultimately, paying attention to your sleep, understanding what you need to do to achieve a calm state pre-sleep will aid healthy sleep. However, be pragmatic, life gets in the way sometimes, but overall if you can personalise, protect and value your sleep as much as possible, then you will be in a much better place with your sleep health.
Dr Sarah Gilchrist
June 2026
Author: The Essential Guide to Women’s Sleep | Jessica Kingsley Publishers - UK
References
Johnston, I. (2017). Catastrophic’ lack of sleep in modern society is killing us, warns leading sleep scientist. Available from: ‘Catastrophic’ lack of sleep in modern society is killing us, warns leading sleep scientist | The Independent | The Independent (Accessed June 2018).
Samuels, C, H. (2008). Sleep, recovery, and performance: the new frontier in high-performance athletics. Neurologic Clinics, 26, 169–180.
Van Deun, D., Willemen, T., Verhaert, V., Haex, B., Van Huffel, S., & Vander Sloten, J. (2015). Ambient Intelligence in the Bedroom. In K. Curran (Ed.), Recent Advances in Ambient Intelligence and Context-Aware Computing (pp. 122-142). IGI Global.
Dr Sarah Gilchrist
Sleep
Dr Sarah Gilchrist PhD FBASES is a leading sleep and performance specialist with over 20 years of experience in elite sport science. She has worked with Olympic and professional athletes, helping them optimise recovery and wellbeing through better sleep. In her master class she reveals how sleep impacts energy, mood and health, why poor sleep patterns persist, and how to restore deep restorative rest for better performance in all aspects of life.
