Many health-conscious people often tend to commit to eating well and exercising regularly, but overlook the quality of their sleep. Without adequate sleep, any effort to stay fit can fail to provide the intended results. It can also slow recovery, increase cravings, and lower energy, affecting overall performance the next day. The good thing is that making a few basic adjustments to daily routines can help individuals improve their sleep quality.

Maintaining irregular sleep and wake schedules

Inconsistency in daily bedtime schedules negatively affects the body’s ability to fall asleep at night. Many rest less during the week and try to catch up on lost sleep on weekends. This “catching up” involves sleeping for long hours during weekends. Doing so disrupts their sleep cycle and leaves them feeling more tired, not less.

The solution to this issue is to reset the sleep schedule and start over. All individuals need to do is maintain a consistent wake-up time every morning, even on weekends, regardless of how well they have slept the previous night. Getting sunlight within the first hour of waking acts as a natural reset for the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Similarly, individuals should go to bed at the same time every night, irrespective of whether they feel sleepy or tired. They should also avoid daytime naps or limit them to under 20 minutes.

Within a few weeks, individuals can set up a consistent sleep schedule. Once they start following this schedule without fail, they will find it easier to sleep better throughout the night.

Using mobile phones during bedtime

Individuals should make it a rule to limit screen time before bed to improve sleep. Electronic devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets, emit blue light, which closely resembles natural daylight. This tricks the mind into believing that it is daytime. The light is assumed to come from the sun, so the brain suppresses the production of melatonin. It is a natural hormone that rises in response to darkness, signaling the body to prepare for sleep. Once melatonin production is disrupted, the brain remains active at night, severely affecting the body’s internal clock.

To solve this problem, individuals should establish and follow a 60-minute “power down” before bed. They should strictly avoid social media, gaming, and emails during this one hour. If possible, they can replace screen time with reading a book or meditating. Doing so gradually repairs the body’s internal clock and helps people sleep consistently every night.

Consuming too much caffeine throughout the day

Beverages such as tea and coffee contain large reserves of caffeine, a stimulant that increases heart rate and affects blood flow throughout the body. Although caffeine tolerance varies from person to person, frequent consumption often disrupts sleep quality. Caffeine can remain in the body for up to nine hours. This means that at least half of the caffeine consumed during breakfast stays in the body until the evening. This not only keeps people awake longer than they would like, but it also affects their ability to get deep, restorative sleep.

If giving up caffeine entirely is not possible, individuals can limit their daily intake to a cup (or two, at most) throughout the day. It is best to avoid coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages 8 to 10 hours before bedtime.

Using the bed for everything

Here’s one of the most important sleep hygiene basics: The bed is meant only for napping at night. Using the bed for anything other than sleep can unintentionally worsen sleep problems. For example, when people scroll, work, watch TV, or eat in bed, the brain associates the bed with alertness instead of rest. Over time, this may disrupt the body’s natural sleep response. 

To improve sleep hygiene, individuals should eat, read, or use screens in separate, designated areas. Despite all this, if individuals are unable to fall asleep at night, they should get out of bed and pursue other activities (such as taking a walk or doing gentle yoga), returning only when they feel tired. Although the transition can be challenging at first, it often leads to faster and better rest throughout the night.