In short: Get daylight in the morning, be active during the day, stop caffeine at least 8 hours before bedtime and keep a power nap short: about 10 to 20 minutes.
Your best sleep tip starts in the morning
Tip: Go outside for 15–30 minutes within an hour of getting up.
A week in nature, with lots of sunlight and little artificial light, moved participants’ internal clock about 2 hours earlier. Daylight is the strongest signal for your clock. In field research too, more daylight went together with better sleep.
How to apply it: Drink your coffee outside, walk around the block or cycle to work. Even when it is cloudy, outdoors is much brighter than indoors.
Source: Wright et al., 2013, Current Biology. Wams et al., 2017, Sleep.
A desk by the window = better nights
Tip: Seek out natural light during the day, especially at the office.
In a small pilot study, office workers with windows and daylight slept on average about 46 minutes longer than colleagues without windows (measured in 21 participants) and reported better sleep quality.
How to apply it: Take the spot by the window, go outside during your break and do not dim your screens too much during the day.
Source: Boubekri et al., 2014, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
You still sleep off your 2 pm coffee at night
Tip: Stop caffeine at least 8 hours before bedtime.
In a study, 400 mg of caffeine (about four cups) even 6 hours before bed reduced sleep by more than an hour. Caffeine blocks adenosine, the substance that builds up sleep pressure.
How to apply it: If you go to sleep at 11 pm, stop coffee, cola and energy drinks around 3 pm. Watch out for caffeine in tea, chocolate and pre-workout.
Source: Drake et al., 2013, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
Coffee + nap = the best of both worlds
Tip: Drink a cup of coffee and then immediately take a 15-minute nap.
In a driving simulator, this reduced sleepiness more than coffee or a nap alone. Caffeine only kicks in after about 20–30 minutes, right after a short nap.
How to apply it: Only early in the afternoon, never after 3 pm. Set an alarm for 15–20 minutes.
Source: Reyner & Horne, 1997, Neuroreport.
The ideal power nap is shorter than you think
Tip: Keep your afternoon nap to 10–20 minutes.
In a lab, a 10-minute nap gave the fastest and longest-lasting improvement in alertness, better than 5, 20 or 30 minutes. Sleep longer and you enter deep sleep and wake up groggy.
How to apply it: Set an alarm for 15 minutes. Put your phone away, lie down or sit with your head supported and close your eyes.
Source: Brooks & Lack, 2006, Sleep.
NASA’s nap method
Tip: Consider a short nap of about 25 minutes when you are really tired.
In pilots on long flights, a nap of about 26 minutes improved performance by 34% and alertness by 54%.
How to apply it: Find a quiet place, set an alarm and give yourself 5 minutes to come round.
Source: Rosekind et al., 1995, NASA Technical Memorandum.
After your nap you’re not awake yet
Tip: After a nap or getting up, take 15–30 minutes before making important decisions.
Sleep inertia is the groggy phase after waking, when attention and decision-making are temporarily worse. It usually lasts 15–30 minutes, sometimes longer.
How to apply it: Get daylight, drink water, wash your face or walk around. Do not plan important tasks right after getting up.
Source: Tassi & Muzet, 2000, Sleep Medicine Reviews.
Wake up with light, not with a jolt
Tip: Try an alarm clock that slowly gets brighter (dawn simulation).
Waking up with slowly increasing light reduces sleepiness after getting up and can make waking more pleasant, especially in the dark months.
How to apply it: Set a wake-up light to a gentle pace 30 minutes before you get up, and open your curtains straight away.
Source: Gabel et al., 2013, Chronobiology International.
The afternoon dip is biology, not laziness
Tip: During the afternoon dip (2–4 pm), plan light work, a walk or a short nap.
The dip in the early afternoon comes partly from your internal clock, not just from your lunch. Demanding thinking tasks are better done in the morning.
How to apply it: Keep cognitively demanding tasks for the morning, go outside briefly after lunch and take a short break.
Source: Monk, 2005, Chronobiology International.
Move by day, sleep by night
Tip: Be active every day, preferably for 30 minutes or more.
Meta-analyses show that both a single workout and regular exercise improve sleep, especially deep sleep and the time you need to fall asleep.
How to apply it: Walk, cycle or train. Everything counts; choose something you enjoy.
Source: Kredlow et al., 2015, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Can you exercise in the evening?
Tip: Yes, but finish hard training at least 1 hour before bed.
A meta-analysis found that evening exercise usually does not harm sleep. Only very intense training in the last hour before bed disturbed sleep.
How to apply it: Schedule intense workouts earlier; in the evening do calm exercise such as yoga, walking or stretching.
Source: Stutz et al., 2019, Sports Medicine.
Walking or cycling improves your sleep
Tip: Walk or cycle 3–4 times a week for 20–30 minutes.
In older adults with insomnia, regular moderate aerobic exercise improved sleep quality and mood after a few months.
How to apply it: Start small (10–15 minutes) and build up. Find a fixed time, preferably during the day.
Source: Reid et al., 2010, Sleep Medicine.
Tai chi for better nights
Tip: Try a gentle form of movement such as tai chi or yoga.
In older people with insomnia, tai chi improved sleep and inflammation markers, comparable to a behavioural therapy.
How to apply it: Find a beginners’ class near you or online and do it 2–3 times a week.
Source: Irwin et al., 2014, Sleep.
A cigarette before bed: a bad deal
Tip: Do not smoke or vape just before bed or when you wake at night.
Nicotine is a stimulant. Smoking is linked to difficulty falling asleep, lighter sleep and waking at night, and withdrawal can also temporarily disturb sleep.
How to apply it: Stop at least 2–3 hours before bed. Want to quit? Ask for help with your sleep during the first weeks.
Source: Jaehne et al., 2012, Sleep Medicine Reviews.
Did you know?
An afternoon nap of 60–90 minutes improves learning
A nap with deep sleep restored learning ability as well as a night.
Tip: Studying? Plan a nap after learning.
Source: Mednick et al., 2003, Nature Neuroscience.
And your mattress?
Do you wake up with a stiff neck? Then the problem is often your sleeping position. Read sleeping with neck pain.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a power nap be?
About 10 to 20 minutes. Then you wake up before entering deep sleep and feel fresh sooner.
Can you exercise in the evening?
Yes, evening exercise does not disturb sleep for most people, as long as you do not train hard just before bedtime.
More sleep tips
- Falling asleep faster
- The ideal bedroom
- 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.