How to sleep better: top tips backed by science

On average, an adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day for good health. However, in the UK, over half (51%) of adults sleep around 6 hours or less each night, with only 17–22% achieving the recommended 8 hours or more.

This can cause a negative ripple effect on your general health. When your sleep is disturbed, it can impact your hormones and brain signals normally released during sleep. This affects how well your body can repair itself as you rest.

There are many factors that can affect our quality of sleep, a large part being our lifestyle and daily habits.

Some of the most common bad habits we may do daily that greatly affect our sleep in a negative way include:

Using tech too close to bedtime

Being on your phone, tablet, laptop or watching TV just before bed can cause irregular or broken sleep. This is because your brain is too stimulated by the constant flow of information and content, as well as the bright light levels from the screen.

Going to bed and falling asleep should be a peaceful, happy and relaxing experience. Interacting with your phone too close to bedtime can also negatively impact those feelings. Seeing and digesting things that can make you anxious, stressed, angry, or sad before sleeping can cause disrupted sleep.

Eating and or drinking too close to bedtime

Having a large meal or a snack before bed can be disruptive for your sleep, as digesting food that late in the evening can trigger heartburn symptoms when you lie down.

Drinking before bed can also cause you to wake up in the middle of the night because a full bladder can trigger multiple trips to the bathroom.

Too many naps during the day

Sleeping during the day can be helpful for boosting energy and your mood, especially if you haven’t had good sleep the night before.

However, long or frequent naps throughout the day can make it harder to sleep at night because sleeping at random points of the day can negatively affect your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal clock).

Napping after 3pm can also affect your sleep. This is because sleeping past three reduces your sleep drive, making it harder for you to fall or stay asleep at night.

You have high levels of stress

If you are experiencing high levels of stress during the day, whether from work or personal circumstances, this can impact your ability to fall asleep at night.

When you’re stressed, your body’s fight or flight mode is activated. This means your cortisol and adrenaline levels—which keep the brain alert and prevent relaxation—are released, remaining at a high level.

Drinking alcohol, coffee, or smoking before bed

Consuming things such as coffee, tea, fizzy drinks or chocolate before bed can cause you to be awake for hours. This is because they all contain caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that boosts energy by blocking adenosine (a chemical that makes you feel sleepy) from being released in the brain.

Drinking alcohol may make you feel sleepy at first, however it can reduce how much rapid eye movement (REM) sleep you get during the night. Lack of REM sleep, the stage linked to memory and emotional processing, causes you to experience fatigue and poor focus the next day. Alcohol also relaxes your throat muscles, which increases snoring and apnoea.

Smoking cigarettes can also disrupt your sleep, as nicotine is also a stimulant that can act on the brain and body like caffeine. This stops you from having the restful, high-quality sleep you need to be healthy.

How can I improve my sleep?

Changing up your habits and lifestyle to optimise your sleep hygiene can greatly improve your chances of getting a good night’s sleep.

Ensuring you have a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly can help improve your general health, which in turn helps your sleep. Avoid smoking or drinking caffeine-based drinks and alcohol too close to the evening.

If you are going to drink caffeine during the day, it is advised to avoid caffeinated products 4 to 6 hours before bed – or longer if you are particularly sensitive to its effects.

If you have a smart device that can track your health statistics, this can be a helpful tool to use to monitor and improve your sleep health. These trackers typically use sensors to monitor your body movement, heart rate, and, in some cases, blood oxygen levels during the night.

Making sure you have a solid wind-down and bedtime routine in the evening is also super helpful for lowering your stress levels and making going to sleep a relaxing, peaceful experience. This could include doing things such as reading, listening to music, taking a warm bath, journaling, stretching, or doing yoga. It’s important to put away your electronics an hour or two before you are supposed to be asleep to avoid the negative effects of your screens.

Frequently asked questions about improving sleep

Does taking magnesium supplements help you sleep?

Magnesium is beneficial because it plays an important role in how the body functions, including the balance between neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that help send signals between the brain and the rest of the body. This plays a key part in regulating mood, sleep, memory, and muscle movement.

Magnesium also has a role in the production of melatonin, a natural hormone that helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle.

So long as you have healthy kidney function, magnesium supplements should be safe to take before bed.

Does drinking chamomile tea help you sleep?

Chamomile tea is often recommended as a natural sleep aid. This is because camomile contains an antioxidant called apigenin. Apigenin attaches to receptors in the brain, which can help decrease anxiety levels and encourage relaxation.

Some studies have shown evidence to support camomile tea’s calming effects. However, the effects are usually subtle and unlikely to address significant sleep issues on their own.

Does ashwagandha help you sleep?

Ashwagandha can slightly help some people sleep better at night, but the effect is generally small, and it works over weeks rather than as an immediate ‘knock‑out’.

Studies are limited on the full impact of the supplement on people’s sleep, so it’s true influence on sleep has yet to be found.

Ashwagandha can also cause side effects in some people and may not be suitable if you are pregnant, have certain medical conditions (such as thyroid or autoimmune problems), or take certain medications. It’s important to check and discuss taking this supplement with your GP or pharmacist before starting it.

Should I see a sleep specialist?

You should consider seeing a specialist if your sleeping issues have lasted for months, simple sleep‑hygiene changes have not helped to improve your sleep, or poor sleep is making it hard to cope with your daily life.

You should also seek medical advice if you experience any of the following:

• Very loud snoring
• Pauses in breathing
• Gasping or choking during sleep
• Severe daytime sleepiness (nodding off in meetings, or when reading or driving)
• Unusual movements or behaviours at night
• Symptoms like sudden muscle weakness, hallucinations as you fall asleep or wake, or waking up unable to move

Seeking medical assistance for excessive tiredness

If you have a healthy sleep schedule and you have improved your daily habits, but you still feel super sleepy during the day, this is something to investigate with your doctor further.

Excessive tiredness can be a symptom of many causes, both mild and severe. If you can't put your fatigue down to lack of sleep, lifestyle factors, or any medical issue – physical or mental – you should speak to your doctor so that they can help you rule out anything serious.

At Circle Health Group, we have a vast network of medical specialists who can help you understand why you're feeling tired and provide a plan to help resolve your sleeping problems and any further health concerns.

You can book an appointment with a consultant online or call us to find out more.