A proper bedtime routine involves performing a set of activities in the same order every night before you go to bed. It helps adults to connect with their natural circadian rhythms and thus promotes good sleep. A scientific report suggested that adults need consistent sleep routines to get quality sleep and reduce the risk of serious health diseases.
Below are the top science-based interventions that can help you sleep better.
| Intervention | How Does It Help? | Supportive Research Studies |
| Ideally, Avoid Using Electronic Devices / Or Switch The Devices To Nighttime Mode | Avoid screens before bed because the blue light emitted by phones, tablets, and laptops: Suppresses your body’s production of melatonin (a hormone that induces sleep). Enhances the feelings of alertness (2). Disturbs your internal clock (3) (circadian rhythms). Switching the devices to bedtime mode will shift blue light emission into yellow light as well as reduce light intensity. | A research study was performed on twenty-one students to check the impact of blue light on their melatonin levels. The study concluded that the melatonin levels were significantly reduced in those adults who were exposed to blue light goggles (4). Another research study found that using blue light-blocking lenses improved sleep in patients with insomnia (5). |
| Structure Your Sleep Schedule | Your brain starts calming down for sleep a few hours before bedtime as part of your natural sleep-wake cycle. Decide your sleep and wake time and stick to it every day. Structuring your sleep schedule helps train your brain to naturally feel tired when it’s bedtime. | A research study on university students suggested that bedtime schedule irregularities are significantly associated with a reduction in average sleep time (6). |
| Avoid Drinking Alcohol Before Sleep | Just one drink can disrupt your sleep. One drink is usually equivalent to about 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits. The more alcohol you drink, the more your sleep can be disrupted. | Most guidelines say that you should wait four hours between your last drink and bedtime (7). However, research has shown that alcohol consumed even six hours before bedtime can negatively impact your sleep (8). Another study (9) demonstrates that an hour before bedtime, even a moderate dose of alcohol can reduce melatonin production by nearly 20%. |
| Take A Warm Bath | As part of your sleep-wake cycle, your core body temperature starts to drop when your body starts to produce melatonin before going to sleep. Consider taking a warm bath an hour before sleep as it will heat your body and cool down quickly as the water evaporates. | A research study found that a warm bath can help initiate sleep by mimicking the nighttime drop in body temperature (10). |
| Lower The Bedroom Temperature If You Live In Warm Places | Temperature is the most important factor in achieving quality sleep. You can sleep better when your bedroom is cool (not cold). It’s best to keep your bedroom about 65 degrees to best align with your natural circadian rhythms. | A study found that exposure to heat negatively impacts sleep stages and promotes wakefulness while exposure to cold does not negatively affect sleep stages (11). |
More To Consider
If behavioral intervention and other therapies haven’t helped, you can try natural sleep therapy such as CBD. CBD has been known to be a natural remedy for a wide range of health concerns, including insomnia. If you want to try CBD therapy for sleep; try the OTO sleep collection as it contains pure CBD extracts that help regulate healthy sleep rhythms.
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