5 Tips for getting the perfect night’s sleep
Feeling great in the morning often starts the day before. Our lives are busy, and getting a good night’s sleep is usually the last thing we plan for. If you want a sense of how common poor sleep is here, we looked at the Australian numbers in why young professionals need to prioritise sleep.
The good news is that the habits with the best evidence behind them are simple and free. Here are five, each one backed by a published study, with what the research actually measured and where its limits are.
In this article
1. Put the Screen Down Before Bed
Phones, tablets and laptops give off light rich in the blue part of the spectrum, the part your body clock is most sensitive to. The clearest test of what that does at bedtime is a randomised crossover study in PNAS. Twelve healthy young adults, six of them women, spent two weeks in a sleep laboratory, reading either on a light emitting tablet or from a printed book in the hours before bed.
Reading on the tablet suppressed evening melatonin by about 55 per cent, while the printed book caused no suppression, and melatonin onset the next evening came more than an hour and a half later.
Participants also took longer to fall asleep and were less alert the next morning after the tablet nights. It was a small, tightly controlled study, so treat the exact numbers as a guide rather than a promise. The practical takeaway is easy though: give yourself at least 30 minutes away from screens before bed, and pick up a printed book instead.
2. Move During the Day
Exercise is one of the better studied sleep habits. A 2015 meta analysis in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine pooled 66 studies and found that regular exercise had small benefits for total sleep time and sleep efficiency, and moderate benefits for how well people rated their sleep.
The same review found the effect depended on things like age, how active people already were, the type of exercise, how long the sessions lasted, and the time of day. So there is no single perfect workout for sleep. Consistency matters more than intensity. A daily walk, a class or a session at the gym all count, and if late training leaves you wired, try moving it earlier.
3. Give Your Mind a Way to Wind Down
A racing mind is one of the most common reasons people give for lying awake. Mindfulness has some of the best evidence among relaxation techniques. In a randomised clinical trial in JAMA Internal Medicine, 49 adults with an average age of 66 and moderate sleep problems did either a six week mindfulness program or a six week sleep hygiene course, two hours a week.
Both groups improved, but the mindfulness group improved more. On the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, where a lower score means better sleep, the mindfulness group went from 10.2 to 7.4, and the sleep hygiene group from 10.2 to 9.1. This was a trial in older adults, so it does not tell us exactly how a 30 year old would respond, but a few minutes of breathing or a guided meditation before bed costs nothing to try.
Herbs have a long history here too. Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is traditionally used in Western Herbal Medicine to relieve disturbed sleep and manage restlessness, and Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) is traditionally used in Chinese Medicine to calm the mind and relieve sleeplessness. We compare the research and study doses for each in our guide to natural sleep supplements in Australia.
4. Keep Your Body Clock Regular
Your circadian rhythm is the internal clock that runs on a roughly daily cycle and shapes when you feel sleepy and alert. It sets itself mainly from light, and it likes regularity. A 2017 study in Scientific Reports followed 61 university students for 30 days and compared the most regular sleepers with the least regular.
In the irregular sleepers, the evening rise in melatonin came at about 12:08am, compared with about 9:32pm in the regular sleepers, a body clock running around two and a half hours later. They also got a weaker daily pattern of light exposure. The researchers’ modelling suggested light was the main driver. The practical version: go to bed and get up at similar times through the week, weekends included, and get outside in daylight early in the day.
5. Stop Caffeine Earlier and Eat With Sleep in Mind
Caffeine lasts longer than most people think. In a 2013 study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12 healthy sleepers took 400 mg of caffeine or a placebo at bedtime, three hours before bed or six hours before bed, with their sleep monitored at home. The authors reported that even at six hours, caffeine reduced sleep by more than an hour.
400 mg is a large dose, and people vary a lot in how quickly they clear caffeine. Still, the study is a good reason to make your last coffee, energy drink or strong tea an early afternoon one rather than a late afternoon one.
Food matters too. A balanced evening meal that is not too late or too heavy makes it easier to settle, and a cup of chamomile tea is a long standing part of many evening routines. Magnesium comes up a lot in sleep conversations. We have set out what the research does and does not show in our magnesium buyer’s guide, and looked at the timing question in when to take magnesium glycinate.
The Bottom Line
None of these habits is complicated, and none needs to be perfect. Less screen time before bed, regular movement, a way to switch your mind off, a steady bedtime and an earlier last coffee each have published research behind them. Start with whichever one feels easiest tonight, and build from there.
If you would like to add a supplement to your wind down routine, Ritua Sleep combines Reishi, Passionflower and Kava, three ingredients with a long traditional history, in one simple evening ritual. More on the brand behind it in quality sleep can be effortless.
Sleep is AUST L listed (AUST L 407659). Not for prolonged use. May harm the liver. Not recommended for pregnant or lactating women. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional. Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
This article is general information, not medical advice, and is not a substitute for guidance from your doctor, particularly if you are managing an existing health condition or taking medication.
Jasmine Meagher
BSc Food Science and Nutrition · Founder, Ritua
Jasmine founded Ritua to bring evidence-based, TGA-compliant supplements to Australian women. She writes about the research behind every ingredient Ritua sells.
FAQs
How long before bed should I stop using my phone?
At least 30 minutes is a sensible starting point, and longer is better if you can manage it. In the PNAS study, reading on a tablet in the hours before bed suppressed evening melatonin by about 55 per cent compared with a printed book, so a paper book is a good swap.
How late can I have coffee?
A 2013 study found that 400 mg of caffeine taken six hours before bed still reduced sleep by more than an hour. People clear caffeine at different speeds, but keeping your last caffeinated drink to early afternoon is a reasonable rule of thumb.
Is it bad to exercise at night?
Not necessarily. A meta analysis of 66 studies found regular exercise had small benefits for total sleep time and moderate benefits for how well people rated their sleep, and time of day was one of several factors that changed the size of the effect. If evening sessions leave you wired, try moving them earlier.
Does sleeping in on weekends matter?
It can. In a study of 61 university students, the least regular sleepers had a body clock running around two and a half hours later than the most regular sleepers. Keeping similar bed and wake times every day, and getting daylight in the morning, helps keep your rhythm steady.
Does meditation help with sleep?
In a randomised trial of 49 older adults with moderate sleep problems, a six week mindfulness program improved sleep quality scores more than a sleep hygiene course did. The study was in older adults, so results may differ for younger people, but it is a free and low effort habit to try.
Can a supplement replace good sleep habits?
No. The habits in this article come first. A supplement can be part of an evening routine, and our guide to natural sleep supplements in Australia compares the research and doses for the common ingredients, but it works alongside these habits rather than in place of them.
Sources
- Evening use of light emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015.
- The effects of physical activity on sleep: a meta analytic review. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2015.
- Mindfulness meditation and improvement in sleep quality and daytime impairment among older adults with sleep disturbances: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.
- Irregular sleep/wake patterns are associated with poorer academic performance and delayed circadian and sleep/wake timing. Scientific Reports, 2017.
- Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2013.