8. Improving Sleep and Rest
Stress can make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or feel refreshed in the morning. At the same time, insufficient or poor-quality sleep may make everyday pressures feel harder to manage. Although no routine can guarantee sleep, consistent evening habits and a comfortable environment may support better rest.
The following tips provide general educational guidance, not treatment for insomnia or another sleep disorder. Individual sleep needs and circumstances differ, particularly for shift workers, caregivers, new parents, travelers, and people with medical conditions. Speak with a qualified healthcare professional if sleep difficulties are persistent, worsening, or affecting your daily activities. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute specifically advises contacting a doctor when insufficient sleep affects daily life. NHLBI
Tip 106: Create a Simple Bedtime Routine
Choose a short sequence of activities that you can repeat most evenings. It might include putting away work, preparing for the next day, washing your face, brushing your teeth, changing clothes, and reading quietly.
The routine does not need to be long or complicated. Repeating the same general sequence can create a clear transition between the active part of your day and the time you reserve for rest.
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Tip 107: Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule When Possible
Try to go to bed and get up at approximately the same times each day, including weekends, when your circumstances permit. A generally consistent schedule supports the body’s sleep-wake pattern.
Perfect consistency is not possible for everyone. Work schedules, caregiving, health conditions, travel, and family responsibilities may require adjustments. Aim for a realistic pattern rather than treating an occasional change as a failure. Consistent sleep and waking times are among the healthy sleep habits recommended by the NHLBI.
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Tip 108: Establish an Evening Stopping Point for Work
Choose a reasonable time to stop answering routine emails, completing paperwork, or thinking about non-urgent work. Write down any unfinished responsibilities so you do not have to keep rehearsing them mentally.
Not every profession allows work to end at the same time each day. Even so, a brief closing routine can help separate work responsibilities from personal rest.
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Tip 109: Dim the Lights Before Bedtime
When practical and safe, reduce bright lighting as bedtime approaches. Use enough light to move around safely, take medication correctly, and complete necessary activities.
A darker environment can signal that the active part of the day is ending. Make sure hallways, stairs, and paths to the bathroom remain safe, particularly for children, older adults, and anyone with mobility or vision concerns.
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Tip 110: Reduce Screen Use Before Bed
Phones, computers, televisions, and tablets can keep the mind occupied with work, news, entertainment, and social interaction. Consider putting screens aside before bedtime or reducing their brightness and stimulation.
If you must use a device, choose quieter content and avoid unnecessary notifications. The NHLBI recommends avoiding television and electronic devices as part of making a bedroom more supportive of sleep. NHLBI
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Tip 111: Keep Stressful News Out of Your Bedtime Routine
Reading upsetting news, workplace messages, or online arguments shortly before bed may leave your mind focused on problems you cannot address during the night.
Choose a time earlier in the day to obtain necessary information. Unless you must remain reachable for an urgent responsibility, allow the final part of your evening to contain less emotionally demanding material.
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Tip 112: Prepare Tomorrow’s Essentials Tonight
Spend a few minutes gathering what you will need the next morning. You might choose clothing, prepare a bag, locate keys, review your schedule, or write down your first priority.
This preparation can reduce morning rushing and may prevent your mind from repeatedly reminding you about small responsibilities while you are trying to rest.
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Tip 113: Write Down Bedtime Worries
If concerns become louder when the room becomes quiet, keep paper nearby and write them down. Record the concern, any action it requires, and when you will address it.
Do not try to solve every problem from bed. A written reminder can reassure you that the matter has not been forgotten and can be reconsidered at a more appropriate time.
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Tip 114: Make the Bedroom More Comfortable
Consider whether your sleep environment is too bright, noisy, warm, cold, cluttered, or physically uncomfortable. Make reasonable adjustments based on your circumstances and health needs.
You might close curtains, reduce unnecessary light, silence avoidable alerts, or adjust bedding. A sleep-supportive room is generally cool, quiet, and dark, although individual needs differ. NHLBI
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Tip 115: Keep the Bedtime Area Free From Unnecessary Work
When possible, avoid turning your bed into an office, dining area, or place for managing stressful paperwork. Keep bills, work documents, and other demanding reminders somewhere else.
People with limited living space may not be able to separate these areas completely. In that case, put work materials away or cover them at the end of the day to create a visible transition.
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Tip 116: Notice How Evening Choices Affect Your Sleep
Pay attention to whether caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, large meals, late exercise, upsetting media, or other evening habits appear to affect your sleep. Effects can vary by person and timing.
Do not make abrupt changes to prescribed medication or treatment. Consult an appropriate healthcare professional about substances, medications, supplements, or health conditions that may be affecting sleep. The NHLBI advises avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol close to bedtime. NHLBI
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Tip 117: Choose a Quiet Pre-Sleep Activity
Spend a few minutes reading something gentle, listening to quiet music, reflecting, praying, journaling, or doing another low-stimulation activity that feels appropriate to you.
Avoid turning the activity into a performance goal. You do not need to finish a chapter, complete a journal page, or achieve perfect relaxation. Its purpose is simply to help you transition away from the demands of the day.
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Tip 118: Stop Watching the Clock Repeatedly
Frequently checking the time may add pressure by encouraging thoughts such as, “I have only five hours left,” or “I must fall asleep now.” If safe and practical, position the clock so it is not constantly visible.
Keep alarms and any necessary medical or caregiving alerts functioning. The goal is to reduce unnecessary time-checking, not interfere with responsibilities or safety.
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Tip 119: Keep a Sleep Record When Patterns Are Unclear
For a limited period, record when you go to bed, wake during the night, rise in the morning, nap, exercise, and consume caffeine or alcohol. Also note how rested or sleepy you feel during the day.
A record may help you notice patterns and provide useful information to a healthcare professional. The CDC identifies a sleep diary as one method a provider may use to better understand sleep habits. CDC
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Tip 120: Seek Help for Persistent Sleep Problems
Contact a qualified healthcare professional if you regularly have difficulty falling or staying asleep, feel excessively sleepy during the day, do not wake feeling refreshed, or experience sleep problems that interfere with work, driving, relationships, health, or daily activities.
Do not drive or operate machinery when you are too sleepy to do so safely. Avoid starting, stopping, or changing prescription medicines, over-the-counter sleep products, supplements, alcohol, cannabis, or other substances for sleep without appropriate professional guidance. Sleep difficulties may have several causes, and individualized assessment may be needed.
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