Cool down the room — and yourself
Your body needs to drop its core temperature to fall asleep. A cool bedroom (around 18 °C / 65 °F) helps. A warm shower or bath 60–90 minutes before bed works too — the after-drop in body temperature makes you sleepy.
Try slow breathing
Slow, extended exhales calm your nervous system. The 4-7-8 method — breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8 — is a popular option. Or simply make your out-breath longer than your in-breath for a few minutes. It shifts you out of "alert" mode.
Dim the lights and ditch screens
Bright light — especially from phones — suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone. Dim the lights and put screens away 30–60 minutes before bed. If you must use a device, use night mode and keep it dim.
Get out of bed if you can't sleep
If you're still awake after about 20 minutes, don't lie there frustrated — it teaches your brain that bed is for being awake. Get up, do something calm and dim (read a few pages), and return when sleepy.
Quiet a racing mind
If thoughts won't stop, keep a notepad by the bed and write tomorrow's worries down — it gives your brain permission to let go. Some people find a boring mental task (counting backwards, imagining a calm scene) helps more than trying to "force" sleep.
Set up the day for better nights
Falling asleep fast starts in the morning: get bright light early, keep a consistent schedule, cut caffeine after early afternoon, and avoid alcohol late (it fragments sleep). Use our sleep calculator to time bedtime with full 90-minute cycles.