For many people, getting into a cozy bed after a long day is one of life’s great pleasures. All your tasks are done and you’re snuggled up between your sheets in blissful quiet, ready to rest. But that pleasure can quickly turn to frustration when you suddenly realize… you can’t get to sleep, even though you really, really want to.
Having trouble sleeping is a common thing. According to some research, at least one-third of Americans say they regularly have trouble falling asleep. Some people may be kept awake by stress because, for example, they’re overwhelmed by everything on their to-do list for the next day. Others might feel perfectly calm but still not able to drift off into dreamland.
Luckily, there are plenty of strategies you can try to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. For some people, lifestyle changes or natural remedies may be enough to cut down the time it takes them to fall asleep. Other people may have a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea, that could require visiting a doctor for treatment like medication.
Trouble sleeping is not only frustrating — it can also affect your health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that one in three Americans don’t get enough sleep, and lack of sleep is linked to serious health issues, including heart disease and diabetes. Plus, lack of sleep can mess with your attention span, increase the likelihood that you’ll get into a car accident, contribute to depression, and affect your judgment.
Here’s how to set yourself up for success when it comes to sleeping.
[Editor’s Note: The content provided on this site is for general informational purposes only. Any information provided is not a substitute for professional medical advice. We encourage you to consult with the appropriate health expert if you have concerns.]
1. Create a Dark Environment
If you have a TV going in your room or keep the lights on at night, this extra light can affect your sleep. Your bedroom should ideally be as dark as possible, as darkness helps cue your body that it’s time to go to bed (Plus, blue light from electronics interferes with the production of the hormone melatonin, which is related to sleepiness.) To keep the bedroom dark, there are a few things you can do, including:
- Hang curtains, blinds, or blackout shades.
- Turn off all lights and screens at night.
- Wear an eye mask to block out unwanted light.
2. Keep Your Surroundings Quiet
Have you ever been jolted awake due to a loud noise, such as a car door slamming on the street or a loud commercial playing on the TV downstairs? Ideally, the bedroom should be as quiet as possible to facilitate a peaceful night’s sleep. There are plenty of options for masking unwanted noise, like:
- Keep a fan running.
- Purchase a white noise machine, which will produce neutral sounds that may help drown out other, more disruptive noises.
- Wear earplugs while sleeping.
- Hang blankets or tapestries on the walls to reduce sound travel.
- Make sure all electronics are silenced before falling asleep.
3. Set Your Thermostat to the Right Temperature
According to Cleveland Clinic, the ideal bedroom temperature is somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s because one’s core body temperature drops when they fall asleep, and a bedroom temp that’s too high or too low can interfere with that process. Feeling overheated or freezing cold when people are trying to fall asleep can make it harder to drift off, and uncomfortable temperatures can also cause nighttime wake-ups.
If the room is typically very warm, try:
- Running a fan.
- Opening a window.
- Wearing light, breathable sleepwear.
- Making sure the sheets and blankets are not too heavy (think cotton rather than flannel).
If the room is too cold, try:
- Turning on the heat.
- Wearing extra-warm PJs.
- Putting a hot water bottle near the feet.
- Sleeping in socks.
4. Don’t Drink Alcohol Too Close to Bedtime
Because alcohol typically makes people feel sleepy, it makes sense to assume that a drink can help them fall asleep. However, studies suggest that drinking can help people fall asleep more quickly, it can also contribute to a number of sleep issues, including waking up in the middle of the night.
Alcohol may disrupt sleep for several reasons. For instance, drinking alcohol affects the kidneys, meaning people may be more likely to wake up to use the bathroom. It can also cause night sweats, which might wake you, or worsen existing sleep apnea, which can also interfere with sleep.
According to a 2019 study, avoiding alcohol within 4 hours of your bedtime could help you sleep better.
5. Don’t Eat a Large Meal Close to Bedtime
According to a 2020 survey of college students, eating a large or particularly fatty meal right before bed can make it more difficult for you to fall asleep and stay asleep. Ideally, you should give yourself two or three hours to digest your meal before heading to bed. This can help prevent heartburn and reduce the risk that you’ll have trouble sleeping.
6. Moderate the Amount of Liquid You Drink Before Bed
Staying hydrated is important — but drinking too much liquid (especially before bed) might mean you wake up to pee in the middle of the night. This is very common; research estimates around 30 percent of people wake up at least once per night to urinate (and this gets much more common as you get older).
If this is a common struggle for you, try reducing how much you drink in the evening to see if that helps. Consult your doctor if you still find yourself waking up to use the bathroom regardless of reduced liquid intake.
7. Be Careful with Caffeine Before Bed
Plenty of people use coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks to get through their busy days. However, ingesting caffeine too late in the day might be keeping you up at night.
Caffeine affects everyone differently, but experts generally recommend that people stop ingesting caffeine by mid-afternoon (about 8 hours before bed) to ensure it doesn’t interfere with their sleep. If you are craving a late afternoon or evening coffee, try switching to decaf or seeing if a glass of cold water has the same invigorating effect.
8. Don’t Overdo it on Naps During the Day
Naps can be a great tool to help boost energy during the day. However, napping for too long or napping too late in the day can have the drawback of affecting how you sleep at night. One study found that people who took three naps or more a day were significantly more likely to experience sleep issues.
To try to keep your naps from interfering with your nightly sleep, take as few as possible and avoid napping within 7 hours of your bedtime.
9. Keep a Sleep Diary
There are a number of things that could be contributing to your sleep issues. If you regularly have trouble falling or staying asleep, it may be worth jotting down notable factors such as what time you ate that day, whether you exercised, how much caffeine you consumed and when, and so on. This can help you track any specific patterns related to your sleep troubles.
10. Establish a Nighttime Routine
There’s a reason why experts recommend a bedtime routine for babies and little kids — it helps set them up to fall asleep peacefully. Maybe you had a bedtime routine when you were a child, too, such as taking a bath and then reading a bedtime story.
As an adult, it’s still helpful to find a routine that works for you. Options include taking a warm shower, listening to calming music, meditating, reading, changing into pajamas, or writing in a journal. Basically, the idea is that going through a bedtime routine each night will calm your brain and tell your body that it’s almost time for sleep.
11. Make Sure the Bed Feels Comfortable
Take a moment to assess whether or not you are truly comfortable in your bed at night. How does your mattress feel — is it too firm or too soft? Is it too bouncy, or do you feel like you are sinking into it too much? Do you feel supported when you lie down on the mattress, or is there too much pressure on your joints? Do the sheets and blankets feel comfortable, or are they itchy?
The answers to these questions may offer insights that can help you sleep more comfortably. For example, you may find that adding a mattress topper, purchasing a new mattress, or investing in new sheets can make you more comfortable at night, thus making it easier to fall asleep. And don’t forget to regularly launder your bedding to cut down on allergens such as dust, which could also be affecting your sleep.
12. Exercise on a Regular Basis
Research consistently finds that regular exercise can help promote better quality sleep. And while conventional wisdom has long held that exercising right before bed can make it harder to fall asleep, a new review suggests that moderate exercise in the hours before bedtime may actually help promote sleep. So long as people avoid vigorous exercise right before bed, exercising at any time of day should help them fall asleep faster and enjoy better sleep. (If people do find that working out in the evening keeps them up, they should switch to an early-morning or midday sweat session.)
Is it Healthy to Fall Asleep Instantly?
If you’ve been having trouble falling asleep, drifting to dreamland immediately after your head hits the pillow may sound wonderful. However, being able to fall sleep too quickly, in less than five to ten minutes, could actually be a sign of sleep deprivation or a sleep disorder.
While it’s possible for some people to fall asleep this quickly without underlying issues, it isn’t necessarily a positive goal to aim for. It’s okay if it takes you some time to fall asleep at night, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make it happen faster.
What If I Have Insomnia?
If people regularly have sleep issues, it’s possible they have insomnia rather than the occasional bad night’s sleep.
Insomnia is classified as a sleep disorder that’s usually characterized by trouble falling or staying asleep. Acute insomnia is a short-term problem lasting for days or weeks (for example, when you’re suffering from jet lag or stressed about a big presentation on Monday), while chronic insomnia is a long-term issue that lasts for months or longer. Insomnia can be caused by a number of different factors including stress, environmental factors, side effects from medication, mental health disorders, jet lag, shift work schedules, and more.
The correct treatment depends on what type of insomnia people have and what is causing it. For some people with acute insomnia, lifestyle changes — such as the ideas detailed above — may be enough to help them get back into a healthy sleep routine. However, some people with chronic insomnia may need different types of treatment. It can be hard to deal with insomnia on one’s own, so reach out to a doctor to figure out a treatment plan together.
That treatment plan may include behavioral therapy, medication, a combination thereof, or something else. Here’s a closer look at behavioral therapy and medication options.
Behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a structured program that helps people identify and replace thoughts and behaviors that cause or worsen sleep problems with habits that promote sound sleep, the Mayo Clinic explains. There are different types of behavioral therapy; a doctor can advise people on what might work best for their particular situation. Generally speaking, CBT-I is commonly recommended as the first line treatment for chronic insomnia.
Medication
In some cases, your doctor may decide that medication is the best way to treat your insomnia. According to WebMD, there are a number of different medicines that can be used to treat insomnia, but some of them can be addictive or cause unpleasant side effects. If medication is the right treatment for you, you and your doctor can work together to find something that doesn’t cause unpleasant side effects or interfere with any other medications you are taking.
What Should I Do If I Wake Up At Night?
So despite your best efforts, you woke up in the middle of the night. What should you do to help yourself get back to sleep — and what should you avoid because it could make your restlessness even worse?
Don’t stare at the clock
Yes, it’s tempting to keep looking at the clock to see what time it is and calculate how long you have been awake and how soon you have to get up in the morning. But according to the Cleveland Clinic, you should try your absolute hardest not to watch the clock. “Marking off the minutes only heightens your distress about being awake,” their website explains. This stress can make it all the harder to fall back asleep.
Get out of bed and do something else
If you estimate that you’ve been lying in the dark for 20 minutes or more without falling back asleep, try getting up to do something relaxing instead.
Listen to music, meditate, read, do the crossword — find something soothing that does not involve looking at a screen. Wait until you naturally feel sleepy again, then head back to bed. This will help you avoid developing a negative or stressful association with your bed.
The Bottom Line On Falling And Staying Asleep
Struggling to fall asleep at night can be a frustrating, lonely experience, particularly if everyone else in your household is sleeping soundly while your mind is still racing. The first piece of good news is that this is very common, and it doesn’t necessarily mean there is something wrong. The second piece of good news is there are a bunch of different things you can try to help improve your sleep.
The easiest thing to do is to take a look at your habits and environment to see if there is anything you can adjust. For instance, if you drink coffee after dinner or nap after coming home from work, this could be affecting your nighttime sleep. Meanwhile, small steps such as making sure your bed is comfortable, practicing a calming nighttime routine, and/or making sure to log some exercise every day can go a long way toward promoting better Zzzs.
If you do wake up in the middle of the night, don’t panic. Try not to look at the clock, and if you’ve been lying awake for what feels like forever, get up and do something else for a while (a relaxing activity, of course). The occasional restless night is normal and nothing much to worry about. But if you feel like you are regularly struggling to fall asleep or notice that your lack of sleep is affecting you during the daytime, it’s worth chatting with your doctor about what could be going on so you can identify some possible ways to address it. If you do have chronic insomnia, treatment options include behavioral therapy and medication to help you get the sleep you need.
Featured image: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock
