Peaceful bearded young man sleeping in bed alone.

15 simple tips to help you fall asleep faster and wake up refreshed

Last update: 05.02.2023

Reading time: 7 min

Did you know that sleep provides an opportunity for your body to rest and process information by creating new learning and memory pathways in your brain? It’s also when your brain regulates the release of certain hormones. Not getting enough sleep, particularly over a long period of time, can affect your body’s ability to perform these functions. That’s why it’s so important to establish a bedtime routine so you can fall asleep fast, and give your mind and body a chance to rest and refresh for the day ahead of you.

According to a study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, a two-hour reduction in sleep per night for one week was associated with a significant increase in sleepiness and a reduction in psychomotor performance.¹ In other words, staying up later than you typically do to catch up on whatever life’s thrown at you can make you sleepier and less alert the following day.

If you have trouble falling asleep, follow these tips to fall asleep fast and establish a good bedtime routine.

Set a sleep schedule
Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
Make your bedroom a sanctuary.
Take a hot shower.
Dim the lights.
Get some natural sunlight.
Use nightlights.
Turn your clock away from the bed.
Avoid using tobacco or caffeinated products at night.
Try a sleep supplement or an over-the-counter sleep aid.
Check your meds.
Exercise regularly.
Get out of bed.
Practice mindfulness.
Put your phone away 30 minutes before your bedtime routine.

1. Set a sleep schedule
Catching up on sleep over the weekend may feel great on Saturday or Sunday, but sleeping in can feel terrible on Monday morning. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day—even on the weekend—will help program your body to feel sleepy when it’s time for bed and to wake up refreshed in the morning. If possible, try to go to bed a bit earlier on weekdays so you don’t feel like you’re running behind on sleep. Studies have shown that staying on a schedule can be a big help for performance during the day.²
Also, if you’re a napper, limit your naps to one 30-minute nap a day; a nap any longer will make it difficult for you to fall asleep later that night. If you must nap, keep it to under an hour and take it before 3:00 PM.
2. Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
Speaking of winding down… slow down your busy mind before bedtime with a calming activity like reading a chapter of your latest book or listening to soft, soothing music. Just be sure to keep the tunes calm and the volume low. Try setting a timer on your phone 30 minutes before your designated bedtime to remind yourself it’s time to wind down for sleep.
3. Make your bedroom a sanctuary.
Keep your bedroom quiet and cool. Sleep experts at Cleveland Clinic recommend your bedroom should be cool, between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit.³ Your body naturally cools as you sleep, so cooling down your body signals to your brain that it’s time for bed. If your bedroom doesn’t help you wind down, then it’s not helping you to establish a good bedtime routine. Find out what’s distracting you—consider rearranging your furniture or switching out décor. To keep your sleep space distraction-free, put computers, tablets, and other work tools somewhere you can’t see from your bed. And use your bed for sleep only, so your brain associates it with sleeping.
4. Take a hot shower.
Consider adding a hot shower to your bedtime routine. That way when your head hits the pillow, your body is ready to catch some Zzz’s. Take your nighttime routine to the next level by adding some essential oils, such as lavender, to your shower to help you relax before bed.
5. Dim the lights.
Set the mood—to help you fall asleep fast. Doctors at the University of Michigan recommend making your bedroom dark.⁴ Makes sense, right? We evolved over thousands of years to be used to total darkness. Dimming the lights in the evening tells your body that bedtime is approaching. Make sure your bedroom will stay dark until you get enough sleep. If natural light coming through the windows wakes you up earlier than your bedtime routine calls for, sleep with an eye mask to block out the light. Or consider putting up blackout curtains so your room stays dark even as the sun starts to rise.
6. Get some natural sunlight.
Natural sunlight lets your body know that it’s time to wake up. If you find yourself indoors all day or not getting any natural sunlight, you could be causing your body’s circadian rhythm to get confused. It’s important to get at least some exposure to natural light each day to help you sleep at night. In a small study of seniors, just two hours of sunlight in the morning for 5 days in a row significantly improved sleep quality.⁵
7. Use nightlights.
Even with the best sleep routine, you may wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, drink a glass of water, or soothe a cranky baby. Switching on the lights when your body is in “sleep mode” can jolt it wide awake, making it harder to fall back asleep after your midnight wake-up call. Put nightlights in places you might need to go to in the middle of the night, like the bathroom, kitchen, hallways, or in kids’ rooms. That way, you can avoid bright lights and fall back to sleep quickly and easily.
8. Turn your clock away from the bed.
Tick, tock, tick, tock. Laying in bed for hours staring at the clock will only remind you that you are wide awake getting less than the 7-8 hours you need each night. Fixating on how long it takes to fall asleep causes stress, and stress makes it harder to get to sleep. Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania conducted experiments and proved that watching the clock leads to poorer sleep.⁶ Avoid the temptation to look at the clock altogether by turning it away from your bed.
9. Avoid using tobacco or caffeinated products at night.
If you find it difficult to fall asleep, caffeinated drinks like coffee before bed will definitely not help you. Stick to small amounts of decaffeinated tea or other hot drinks if you want something warm before bed. It’s best to avoid tobacco completely because it causes users to sleep lightly and wake up too early in the morning.
10. Try a sleep supplement or an over-the-counter sleep aid.
If you’ve taken steps to improve your sleep hygiene but are still occasionally having trouble falling or staying asleep, then an over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aid or sleep supplement might be right for you. Luckily, there are many safe and effective sleep medicines available over-the-counter in many different forms, including liquids, liquicaps, tablets and gummies. Some contain medicine and others sleep supplements like melatonin.
Sleep aid supplements and over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aids can be great to use on those occasional sleepless nights to help you get the sleep you need. Just be sure to research each thoroughly and consult with your healthcare provider before deciding what to try.
11. Check your meds.
Some medicines can affect your sleep cycle. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to see if any medicines you’re taking may be disrupting your sleep.
12. Exercise regularly.
Everyone knows exercise has a lot of benefits for your body, but did you know that improved sleep is one of them? While it might seem a little contradictory that being active helps you rest, the physicians at Johns Hopkins University strongly recommend it for sleep. Just make sure you don't do any strenuous exercises before bed, as this will increase your energy, making it more difficult to fall asleep afterward. Save your intense workouts for the morning.
13. Get out of bed.
Tossing and turning and lying in bed awake for hours will only make you restless. If you’re not sleepy, get out of bed and do something relaxing in dim light. Return to bed only when you are sleepy.
14. Practice mindfulness.
If it’s a restless mind that’s keeping you awake, practice stress-relieving mindfulness exercises. In a study among college students, researchers found that regular practice of mindfulness improved sleep quality over the course of a semester.⁷ Meditation, yoga and journaling are all excellent ways to help relieve stress, so your mind doesn’t race while you’re trying to fall asleep.
15. Put your phone away 30 minutes before your bedtime routine.
Do you scroll through your phone in bed? It could be wreaking havoc on your circadian rhythm. Bright screens trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. Resist the urge to scroll through social media while in bed. Put your phone away 30 minutes before starting your bedtime routine to tell your brain it’s time to unwind.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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