Sleep Hygiene Guide: 12 Habits That Actually Improve Sleep

Sleep hygiene is one of those terms that gets thrown around so loosely it has almost lost meaning. Every listicle on the internet will tell you to put your phone down and drink chamomile tea. Some of that advice is backed by solid research. A lot of it is not. This guide separates the habits that clinicians actually recommend from the ones that just sound reasonable.

What Sleep Hygiene Really Means

The term was coined by Peter Hauri at the Mayo Clinic in the 1970s. He was trying to describe a set of behavioral and environmental recommendations that support healthy sleep. The original idea was straightforward: certain daytime and nighttime habits make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep, while others interfere with both.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) still uses sleep hygiene as a component of insomnia treatment, but with an important caveat. Sleep hygiene alone is rarely enough to treat chronic insomnia. A 2015 meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sleep hygiene education by itself produced only modest improvements compared to CBT-I, which includes sleep hygiene as one component among several. That doesn't mean these habits are useless. It means they work best as a foundation, not a cure.

The 12 Habits Worth Adopting

1. Keep a Consistent Wake Time

This one matters more than most people realize. Your circadian rhythm is anchored primarily by when you wake up, not when you go to bed. A 2019 study in Scientific Reports found that irregular sleep schedules were associated with poorer academic performance, worse mood, and delayed circadian timing in college students. Setting a fixed alarm seven days a week, weekends included, is one of the single most effective changes you can make.

2. Get Morning Light Exposure

Bright light in the first hour after waking suppresses melatonin production and advances your circadian clock. Research from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (2017) demonstrated that office workers with greater light exposure during the morning reported better sleep quality and fewer depressive symptoms. You don't need a special lamp. Fifteen to thirty minutes of outdoor light, even on a cloudy day, delivers enough lux to do the job.

3. Limit Caffeine After Early Afternoon

Caffeine has a half-life of about five to six hours in most adults, though this varies based on genetics and liver metabolism. A controlled trial published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (2013) showed that caffeine consumed six hours before bed still reduced total sleep time by over an hour. The safe cutoff for most people is somewhere between noon and 2 PM, depending on your bedtime.

4. Exercise Regularly, But Time It Right

Moderate aerobic exercise improves sleep quality, reduces sleep onset latency, and increases slow-wave sleep. A systematic review in the European Journal of Sport Science (2021) confirmed these effects across multiple populations. The timing question is less clear-cut than people think. Vigorous exercise within one to two hours of bedtime can delay sleep onset in some individuals, but moderate exercise in the evening does not appear to be harmful for most.

5. Keep the Bedroom Cool

Core body temperature needs to drop by about one to two degrees Fahrenheit to initiate sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends a room temperature between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Research in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews (2019) showed that warm environments significantly disrupted sleep architecture, particularly REM sleep. If you can't control room temperature, a warm shower 90 minutes before bed can help by causing a subsequent drop in core temperature through vasodilation.

6. Reserve the Bed for Sleep

This is a core principle of stimulus control therapy, developed by Richard Bootzin in the 1970s and still one of the most effective behavioral interventions for insomnia. The idea is simple: if you only use your bed for sleep, your brain learns to associate the bed with drowsiness rather than wakefulness. Working, scrolling, eating, and watching television in bed all weaken this association.

7. Establish a Wind-Down Routine

A consistent pre-sleep routine lasting 30 to 60 minutes signals your body that sleep is approaching. What you do during this time matters less than doing it consistently. Reading, light stretching, journaling, or listening to calm music all work. The key is repetition. Your brain starts treating these activities as cues for the physiological processes that precede sleep.

8. Manage Alcohol Intake

Alcohol is a sedative, which is why many people believe it helps them sleep. It does reduce sleep onset latency. But research published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2015) shows that even moderate alcohol consumption significantly disrupts the second half of the night, fragmenting sleep and reducing REM sleep. A drink with dinner is unlikely to cause problems. Two or three drinks within a few hours of bedtime almost certainly will.

9. Handle Nighttime Awakenings Correctly

Waking during the night is normal. Adults typically wake briefly four to six times per night without remembering it. The problem starts when you lie in bed awake for extended periods, growing frustrated. If you've been awake for roughly 20 minutes and feel alert, get out of bed and do something quiet in dim light until you feel drowsy again. This prevents the bed from becoming associated with frustration.

10. Control Light Exposure in the Evening

Light suppresses melatonin production, and the blue wavelengths emitted by screens are particularly effective at doing so. A 2014 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that reading on a light-emitting device before bed delayed melatonin onset, reduced melatonin levels, and shifted circadian timing. Dimming household lights and avoiding bright screens for an hour before bed has a measurable effect on sleep onset.

11. Watch What You Eat Before Bed

Large meals close to bedtime can cause discomfort and acid reflux, both of which interfere with sleep. A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (2016) found that low-fiber, high-saturated-fat diets were associated with lighter, less restorative sleep. You don't need to stop eating after a certain hour, but keeping late-night meals light and avoiding spicy or fatty foods can reduce nighttime disruptions.

12. Limit Naps to 20 Minutes

Napping is not inherently bad. A short nap of 10 to 20 minutes can restore alertness without entering deep sleep. But longer naps, especially in the late afternoon, reduce sleep drive and can make it harder to fall asleep at night. If you're dealing with insomnia, eliminating naps entirely may be necessary while you rebuild a healthy sleep pattern.

What Doesn't Help (Much)

Several popular recommendations have weak or no evidence behind them. Weighted blankets have limited controlled trial data for insomnia specifically. Essential oils and aromatherapy have not demonstrated clinically meaningful effects in rigorous studies. White noise machines may help some people, but the evidence base is thin compared to the behavioral interventions listed above. These things may be pleasant, but they shouldn't be confused with evidence-based approaches.

When to Seek Help

If insomnia persists for more than three months despite good sleep hygiene, it likely qualifies as chronic insomnia disorder. At that point, self-help measures are usually insufficient. CBT-I, delivered by a trained therapist or through validated digital programs, remains the first-line treatment recommended by both the American College of Physicians and the AASM. Your primary care physician can screen for underlying causes and refer you appropriately.