In short: Dim the lights 1 to 2 hours before bed, keep your phone out of the bedroom, take a warm shower and write down what you need to do tomorrow. If you lie awake for a long time, get up for a while.
Your bedroom lamp decides when you get tired
Tip: Dim all lights 1 to 2 hours before bed and choose warm light.
In an American study, ordinary room light before bedtime suppressed melatonin, the hormone that sets your clock to “night”, in almost all participants, and the melatonin period became more than an hour and a half shorter. Your body reads light as “it is still daytime”.
How to apply it: In the evening, use one or two lamps instead of the ceiling light, choose warm white bulbs (2700 K) and use dimmers or small table lamps.
Source: Gooley et al., 2011, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Reading on your tablet is not an innocent book
Tip: Before bed, choose a paper book or an e-reader without its own light source.
People who read on a light-emitting screen in the evening got their melatonin later, had less REM sleep and were less alert the next morning than people who read a paper book. Modern LED screens give off relatively much blue light, which stimulates your body clock extra.
How to apply it: Keep a book next to your bed. If you do want to read on a screen, set it as dim and warm as possible and stop 1 hour before bed.
Source: Chang et al., 2015, PNAS. Cajochen et al., 2011, Journal of Applied Physiology.
‘Night mode’ does not solve the problem
Tip: See night mode as an aid, not a free pass: still put your phone away before bed.
In a study among young adults, a smartphone’s night mode did not improve sleep. So it is not just the colour of the screen but also the content: messages, social media and news keep your brain active.
How to apply it: Agree a “digital sunset” with yourself: 30–60 minutes before bed you put your phone in a fixed spot away from your bed.
Source: Duraccio et al., 2021, Sleep Health.
Your phone on the bedside table is a sleep thief
Tip: Charge your phone outside the bedroom and use an ordinary alarm clock.
In a large study among adults, phone use in bed was linked to worse sleep and more daytime tiredness. Part of the link is behaviour: “just a quick look” often takes longer than planned.
How to apply it: Buy an alarm clock for a few euros. Charge your phone in the hall or kitchen, so the temptation is not next to your bed.
Source: Exelmans & Van den Bulck, 2016, Social Science & Medicine.
You know you should sleep, and still you keep scrolling
Tip: Set a fixed “stop time” and make it concrete: what exactly will you do then?
Researchers call it bedtime procrastination: going to bed later than you want without an external reason. It is linked to less sleep and weak self-control at the end of the day, when your energy is gone.
How to apply it: Set a phone alarm “Start bedtime routine” 45 minutes before bedtime. Then always do the same three things, such as brushing your teeth, dimming the lights and reading.
Source: Kroese et al., 2014, Frontiers in Psychology.
A warm shower helps your body cool down
Tip: Take a warm shower or bath (about 40–42 °C) 1 to 2 hours before bed.
A meta-analysis found that a warm shower or bath of 40–42.5 °C, 1–2 hours before bed, shortened the time to fall asleep, even after just 10 minutes. The warm water widens your blood vessels, so your core body temperature drops faster afterwards, and that drop is part of falling asleep.
How to apply it: Take a warm shower in the evening, dry off and then go to bed calmly. Avoid an extremely hot shower just before bed.
Source: Haghayegh et al., 2019, Sleep Medicine Reviews.
Cold feet keep you awake
Tip: Keep your feet warm with bed socks or a hot-water bottle at your feet.
Research showed that the faster hands and feet warmed up, the faster people fell asleep. Warm extremities mean your body is losing heat, a signal that it is time to sleep.
How to apply it: Wear thin woollen socks in bed, or put a hot-water bottle under the duvet 20 minutes before sleeping and take it out when you lie down.
Source: Kräuchi et al., 1999, Nature.
Head full? Write it empty
Tip: Spend 5 minutes before bed writing down what you need to do tomorrow.
In a sleep laboratory, people who wrote a to-do list fell asleep on average about 9 minutes faster than people who wrote about what they had already done. The more detailed the list, the faster they fell asleep. Your brain no longer has to hold on to the tasks.
How to apply it: Keep a notepad and pen next to your bed. Write concretely: “Tuesday: call the dentist, email Sanne.”
Source: Scullin et al., 2018, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
A calmer breathing rhythm puts your body in sleep mode
Tip: Breathe slowly: in through the nose (4 counts), out through the mouth (6 counts), for 5 minutes.
Slow, rhythmic breathing increases the activity of the vagus nerve, the “rest” nervous system, and lowers heart rate and tension. In a small study of people with insomnia, guided breathing improved sleep quality.
How to apply it: Lie on your back or side, put a hand on your belly and breathe so it rises and falls gently. Use a breathing-pace app if you like.
Source: Tsai et al., 2015, Psychophysiology. Zaccaro et al., 2018, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Can’t stop worrying? Watch a film in your head
Tip: Imagine a calm, detailed scene (for example a walk along a beach) and go through it in your mind.
People with insomnia who focused on a calm image fell asleep faster than people who “just tried to distract themselves” or kept worrying. The image takes up your brain’s working space.
How to apply it: Choose one fixed scene and add details: sound, smell, colour. If your thoughts wander, gently return to the scene.
Source: Harvey & Payne, 2002, Behaviour Research and Therapy.
The harder you try to sleep, the more awake you get
Tip: Do not try to sleep, but rest: let sleep happen.
Researchers found that the instruction “fall asleep as quickly as possible” actually made people fall asleep more slowly. The sense of urgency raises tension, and tension keeps you awake.
How to apply it: Tell yourself: “Rest is good too.” Focus on relaxing, your breathing and the weight of the duvet, not on the clock.
Source: Ansfield et al., 1996, Behaviour Research and Therapy.
Calm music is an old-fashioned, proven sleep aid
Tip: Play 30–45 minutes of calm music before bed (slow tempo, no vocals or loud sounds).
A meta-analysis of several trials found that listening to music improved sleep quality. Music probably lowers tension and gives the brain something calm to focus on.
How to apply it: Make a fixed “sleep playlist”. Set a sleep timer for 45 minutes, so it does not play all night.
Source: de Niet et al., 2009, Journal of Advanced Nursing.
And your mattress?
Once you are in bed, how you lie matters too. Are you a stomach sleeper who keeps turning your head to the side to breathe? Then you lie restless for longer. Read stomach sleeping: pros and cons.
Frequently asked questions
How can you fall asleep faster?
Dim the lights 1 to 2 hours before bed, avoid screens, take a warm shower and write your thoughts down. Do not try too hard to sleep: that only makes you more awake.
Does night mode on your phone help?
Only to a limited extent. Even with night mode, the content and light of your screen keep you alert. Better to stop screens an hour before bed.
More sleep tips
- The ideal bedroom
- Power nap and daytime tips
- Food, drink and sleep
- Worrying and insomnia
- Sleep rhythm and regularity
- Sleep and your body
- Sleep in the family
- Sleep, work and performance
- Effects of sleep deprivation
- All sleep tips
General information, not medical advice. If you have persistent sleep problems, snore with breathing pauses or are very sleepy during the day, see your GP. SleepLab One is not a medical device. Updated on 22 October 2026.