It’s not always a wholesale change to your lifestyle that’s needed to get better sleep quality.
The simple things can have a profound impact: waking up at about the same time in the morning, going outside during the day, moving caffeine a little earlier, or making the bedroom a little darker at night.
Quality sleep is more than just the quantity of sleep. A good night’s sleep should also feel relatively restful and continuous. According to the National Institutes of Health, healthy sleep involves the amount of sleep you get, the quality of that sleep, and maintaining a regular sleep schedule.
For most adults, about 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night is a useful general range, although sleep needs can differ from one person to another. The NIH’s sleep information for adults also emphasizes that sleep quality matters, not just the number of hours.
These seven habits may be a useful place to start for people who have not been sleeping well.
Important: Occasional poor sleep is common. Frequent trouble sleeping, loud snoring, pauses in breathing, waking up gasping for air, or excessive daytime sleepiness can sometimes be signs of a sleep disorder or another health condition. If sleep problems happen often or interfere with daily life, speak with a healthcare professional. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute lists common sleep-apnea symptoms such as loud snoring, breathing that starts and stops, gasping for air, and daytime sleepiness.
1. Get Up Around the Same Time Each Day
People typically think of bedtime when it comes to improving sleep.
The time you wake up in the morning is important too.
Having a consistent sleep schedule, including bedtime and wake-up time, can help your internal clock establish a more regular pattern.
You don’t have to wake up at exactly 6:47 every morning.
It’s about consistency.
If you get up at 6:30 a.m. during the week but sleep until the middle of the day on weekends, your sleep pattern keeps shifting. That can make Sunday night particularly difficult.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s healthy sleep guidance recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. It also suggests keeping the difference between weekday and weekend schedules to no more than about one hour when possible.
An Easier Way to Start
Instead of suddenly trying to go to bed much earlier, start with your morning.
Pick a wake-up time that works for you and try to stick to it for a week or two.
Once your schedule becomes more regular, you may find that feeling sleepy at night becomes more predictable too.
2. Get Some Daylight During the Day
One of the easiest sleep habits actually happens during the daytime.
Light is one of the primary signals that helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle.
Natural light in the morning helps tell your brain that the day has begun. Later, as it becomes darker, your body receives different signals that help prepare it for sleep.
The NIH recommends spending time outside regularly, and the NHLBI also recommends spending time outside every day when possible.
There’s no need for an elaborate light-therapy routine.
Simple things, such as having your morning coffee near a bright window or taking a short walk outside, can help increase your exposure to daytime light.
It may be especially useful for people who spend most of their day indoors.
3. Try to Have Your Caffeine Earlier in the Day
That afternoon cup of coffee may be affecting your night more than you realize.
Caffeine is a stimulant, and its effects can last for hours after you consume it.
Coffee is an obvious source, but caffeine can also be found in:
- Tea
- Energy drinks
- Some soft drinks
- Chocolate
- Pre-workout products
- Certain medications
According to the NHLBI, the effects of caffeine can last for up to eight hours in some people.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to stop drinking coffee.
Caffeine affects people differently.
One useful experiment is to move your last coffee, soda, tea, or other caffeinated drink earlier in the day for a week or two and see whether falling asleep becomes easier.
For someone who normally drinks coffee at 5 p.m., moving it to 2 p.m. may be enough to notice a difference.
4. Give Your Brain a Quieter Last Hour
There are lots of nights that look like this:
Work email. Social media. News. Videos. Messages. Then straight to bed.
You may feel physically exhausted while your mind still feels as though the day hasn’t ended.
It can help to create a short transition between daytime activity and sleep.
The NHLBI recommends using the hour before bed for quiet time and avoiding bright artificial light and intense exercise close to bedtime.
That doesn’t mean everyone has to switch off every phone as soon as the sun goes down.
A more practical approach might include:
- Lowering screen brightness
- Avoiding work email close to bedtime
- Putting the phone away 20 to 30 minutes before trying to sleep
- Reading
- Taking a warm bath or shower
- Listening to something relaxing
- Doing a simple breathing or relaxation exercise
The exact activity matters less than the pattern.
When the same low-key routine happens regularly before sleep, it can become part of the signal that the day is ending.
5. Make the Bedroom a Little Cooler, Darker, and Quieter
Some people buy sleep aids or supplements but overlook the bedroom where they sleep every night.
The sleep environment matters.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends keeping the bedroom quiet, cool, and dark.
You don’t have to rebuild the room.
A few small changes may help.
If outside light comes through the curtains, blackout curtains or an eye mask may be useful.
If traffic or household noise regularly wakes you, earplugs or steady background sound may help.
If the bedroom gets too hot or uncomfortable at night, changing the temperature, bedding, or airflow may make a difference.
If possible, try not to turn the bed into a place for work.
Working, answering emails, watching television for hours, or spending a long time scrolling in bed can weaken the mental connection between getting into bed and going to sleep.
6. Be Active During the Day
People often think of exercise in relation to weight or heart health, but it can also support better sleep.
The NHLBI recommends regular daytime physical activity as part of healthy sleep habits.
It doesn’t have to mean a strenuous gym session.
Walking, cycling, swimming, strength training, gardening, or another activity you enjoy can all help make your day more active.
Timing can matter.
Very intense exercise close to bedtime may make it harder for some people to fall asleep. If late workouts seem to keep you awake, try moving harder exercise earlier in the day.
Gentle movement in the evening can feel very different from an intense workout.
The key is to find something you can do regularly.
7. Pay Attention to What Happens Before Bed
The food and drinks you have several hours before bed can also affect sleep.
A large meal close to bedtime may leave some people uncomfortable.
Drinking a large amount of fluid late at night can result in repeated trips to the bathroom.
Another common misconception involves alcohol.
Alcohol can make a person feel sleepy at first, which is why some people use it as a sleep aid. However, the NHLBI notes that alcohol can lead to lighter sleep and make nighttime waking more likely.
Nicotine is also a stimulant and can interfere with sleep.
You don’t need a complicated set of nighttime rules.
Start by looking for patterns.
If you regularly have heartburn after late meals, need to use the bathroom several times after drinking a lot before bed, or sleep poorly after drinking alcohol, that is useful information.
Sometimes improving sleep isn’t as much about adding something as it is about changing the timing of what you already do.
Don’t Try to Change All Seven Habits in One Night
Trying to create the “perfect” sleep routine can become stressful on its own.
Choose one or two changes to begin with.
For example:
- Week one: Try to get up at about the same time each day.
- Week two: Move caffeine earlier in the day.
- Week three: Put your phone away for 30 minutes before bedtime.
Small changes are easier to assess because you can actually tell whether they made a difference.
It can also help to keep a basic sleep log.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides a printable sleep diary that can be used to record sleep quality and quantity, caffeine, alcohol, medications, and daytime sleepiness.
A week or two of notes may show patterns that are hard to notice from memory alone.
What About Naps?
Don’t assume that naps are automatically a bad thing.
Daytime napping can improve alertness, especially after a poor night’s sleep.
However, if you have trouble falling asleep at night, a long nap or a nap late in the afternoon may make the problem worse.
The NHLBI recommends that adults who have trouble falling asleep at night limit naps or take them earlier in the afternoon. Its healthy sleep guidance says adults should nap for no more than about 20 minutes.
Again, pay attention to your own routine.
If a 3 p.m. nap regularly turns into an hour and then you aren’t sleepy at bedtime, that may be something worth changing.
When Better Sleep Habits Aren’t Enough
Good sleep habits can help, but they won’t solve every sleep problem.
If you’ve made reasonable changes and still aren’t able to sleep well on a regular basis, something else may be going on.
Insomnia can involve difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting good-quality sleep even when there is enough opportunity to sleep.
Other sleep disorders can cause different symptoms.
Talk with a healthcare professional if you regularly experience problems such as:
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Severe daytime sleepiness
- Loud, persistent snoring
- Waking up choking or gasping
- Someone noticing pauses in your breathing while you sleep
- Sleep problems that interfere with work, school, driving, or daily life
The NHLBI’s sleep-apnea guidance identifies breathing that starts and stops, frequent loud snoring, gasping for air, and daytime sleepiness among common symptoms.
A clinician may ask about your sleep patterns, medications, health conditions, stress, and daily habits. In some cases, a sleep diary or sleep study may help identify the problem.
If insomnia lasts for a long time, sleep hygiene alone may not be enough. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is usually recommended as the first treatment option for long-term insomnia and can be very effective.
Before speaking with a clinician or specialist about ongoing sleep problems, you may also want to read our MedIntelHub guide, How to Prepare Questions Before a Specialist Appointment.
The Bottom Line
Improving sleep doesn’t necessarily require a high-tech mattress, complicated sleep routine, or special supplement.
Start with the fundamentals.
Try to get up at about the same time each day. Get some daylight during the day. Move caffeine earlier. Give yourself a quieter period before sleep. Keep the bedroom comfortable. Stay physically active. And pay attention to late meals, alcohol, nicotine, and other habits that may be interfering with sleep.
None of these habits guarantees a perfect night’s sleep.
But together, they can create conditions that make good sleep more likely.
If sleep difficulties continue after making reasonable changes, that’s a good reason to talk with a healthcare professional rather than simply struggling with the problem on your own.
Sources and References
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Healthy Sleep Habits. Guidance on regular sleep schedules, caffeine, alcohol, bedroom conditions, physical activity, screens, and naps.
- National Institutes of Health — Good Sleep for Good Health. Information on sleep duration, sleep quality, regular sleep schedules, and the role of healthy sleep in overall health.
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development — Sleep Information. General adult sleep-duration recommendations and information about sleep quality.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Get Enough Good-Quality Sleep. Guidance on healthy sleep behaviors, physical activity, meals, alcohol, and bedroom conditions.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Insomnia Treatment. Healthy sleep habits and information about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Sleep Apnea Symptoms. Information about snoring, breathing pauses, gasping, and daytime sleepiness.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Sleep Diary. Printable resource for recording sleep quantity and quality, caffeine, alcohol, medications, and daytime sleepiness.
Editorial Disclaimer
MedIntelHub provides health information for educational purposes. The contents of this article are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent a medical condition and should not replace individualized advice from a qualified healthcare professional.
Sleep needs and sleep problems vary from person to person. If you find it difficult to sleep, feel excessively sleepy during the day, wake up gasping for air, or experience other concerning symptoms, speak with a healthcare professional.
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David Bennett
David Bennett is an author at MedIntelHub, where he creates clear, practical, and well-researched content about healthcare, medical billing, insurance, and patient education. His goal is to make complex healthcare topics easier for readers to understand and use in everyday situations. David emphasizes accuracy, transparency, and reliable sourcing, using information from trusted organizations and official healthcare resources whenever possible. Content published by David is intended for educational purposes and should not replace advice from qualified medical, legal, or healthcare professionals.