7 tips recommended by doctors for better sleep

My parents, God bless them, were not strict bedtime masters. At the tender age of 10, Nick and I were asleep at night most nights, well past 11pm. I learned the hard way what an all-nighter can do for your body in high school, and by the time I got to college, I was putting in crazy hours juggling schoolwork, a part-time job, and a social life. Eight hours of sleep? Ha!

Maybe you’ve been taught all the right ways to prepare your body for rest. Or maybe you’re one of the lucky few blessed with those fall lashes and anywhere. I didn’t benefit from either of those, so as an adult, prioritizing sleep became really important to me. Recently, I’ve been lucky enough to speak with experts from around the country, picking their brains for tried and true information about what people should know to get a good night’s rest. Here’s what they had to say:

Keep a consistent bedtime

Chances are you’ve heard of this before, but it bears repeating. “The most effective way to fall asleep faster is to support your body’s natural sleep rhythm. This starts with consistency by going to bed at the same time every day,” explains Dr. Jose Puangco, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Hoag, a Southern California health system. And in case you’re wondering, yes, that includes weekends!

Don’t sleep inside

Now this one, many people may not know. A consistent wake-up time is even more important than bedtime because it anchors your circadian rhythm, according to Dr. Meredith Broderick, a Seattle-based sleep neurologist. After you are awake, prioritize exposing your body to the sun. “Get bright light early in the day (especially outdoor light). It helps your brain understand when the day begins, so sleep at night becomes more natural,” she adds.

And before you’re tempted to stay in bed a little longer because you didn’t sleep well the night before, don’t! “Trying to ‘recover’ sleep by sleeping often makes insomnia worse the next night,” says Broderick.

Reduce your caffeine intake

It’s 3 p.m., two hours of work left and you’re dying fast. We’ve all been there. But before you grab coffee, tea or a Red Bull to cross the finish line, consider sleep. “Limit caffeine after lunch to, ideally, zero,” advises Dr. B. Stephen Sanders, a board-certified men’s health physician in Florida. “Caffeine lasts a lot longer than you think—the half-life is about six to eight hours. That means your afternoon ‘fast’ coffee is absolutely still in your system when you’re trying to initiate sleep.”

Don’t use alcohol to relax

As tempting as it may be to curl up with a good book and a bottle of wine, bedtime is not the time to do it. “Using alcohol as a sleep aid is a mistake,” notes Puangco. “While it may help you fall asleep initially, it disrupts deeper, more restorative sleep later in the night.” Broderick agrees, adding that alcohol “fragments sleep and worsens 2 to 4 a.m. awakenings.”

Put away the gadgets

I know, I know – easier said than done. But every doctor I spoke to said that screens are very bad for sleep quality.

“Using phones or tablets before bed is one of the biggest problems because the blue light emitted by the devices suppresses melatonin and keeps the brain alert,” says Puangco. He recommends putting away screens for the day 30 to 60 minutes before bed and using that time to do calming, low-stimulation activities in low light.

For those of you wondering, “How about those fancy glasses I’m sporting these days?” Nice try, but no dice. “While blue light-blocking glasses can help, often the stimulation from what you’re watching can also affect your sleep or even increase your awakenings throughout the night,” says Dr. Aman Saini, a board-certified sleep medicine physician in New York.

And just for the record, the screens should remain hidden all night. That means if you wake up at 2am to use the bathroom, you don’t take your phone with you and don’t be tempted to scroll just a little when you crawl back into bed. “The phone habit in bed is a sleep killer,” says Sanders. “When you’re in bed, browsing Instagram or watching YouTube, that constant light and activity is basically telling your brain, ‘Stay on.’

If you have trouble falling back to sleep in the middle of the night, doctors recommend dull, low-light activities to pass the time. Consider reading a boring book, listening to soft music, journaling, or knitting.

Clear your mind

So what the hell are you supposed to do without your phone an hour before bed? Relax! That means no work, no problem solving, and no stressful content. Instead, Broderick has a brilliant suggestion: do a brainstorm where you write down what’s on your mind and a next step that you can accomplish another day. “This reduces the mental loop,” she explains.

Set the scene

Last but not least, vibes people! “Creating the right sleep environment matters. The bedroom should be cool, dark and quiet,” says Dr. Harneet Walia, medical director of sleep medicine at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

Dr. Angela Holliday Bell, a board-certified physician and clinical sleep specialist based in Chicago, says the ideal bedroom temperature is between 62°F and 68°F and encourages people to choose their bedding wisely. “Breathable cotton bedding can help regulate temperature by allowing airflow and preventing heat from building up on the skin, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep,” she explains.

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With Holliday Bell’s recommendation, now’s the time to upgrade your bed with these cotton finds that shoppers love.

The reviews cited above reflect the latest versions at the time of publication.