How to fall asleep faster and sleep better

2 min read · 8 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

Most sleep trouble is not an illness but a set of habits that keep the body alert at the wrong time. The steps below follow the advice of the UK's National Health Service. They work slowly: give them two or three weeks before you judge them.

This is general information, not medical advice. If the problem lasts for weeks or affects your daily life, speak to a doctor.

Step by step

1. Keep regular hours

   Go to bed and get up at about the same times every day, also on days off. The body's clock learns when sleep is due. The fixed getting-up time matters most: keep it even after a bad night.

   Done

2. Wind down for an hour

   Give yourself a routine that tells the body the day is over. Read a book, listen to calm music or a podcast, take a warm shower, do slow breathing or a short meditation.

   Done

3. Put screens away

   Avoid phones, tablets and computers for the last hour. Their light and their content both keep the brain awake. Charge the phone outside the bedroom if you can, and use an ordinary alarm clock.

   Done

4. Write down what is on your mind

   Worry is one of the main things that keep people awake. Before bed, write down what is bothering you and tomorrow's to-do list. Once it is on paper, the mind can let go of it for the night.

   Done

5. Make the room dark, quiet and cool

   Use thick curtains or an eye mask, earplugs if it is noisy, and air the room before bed. Most people sleep better in a cool room with a warm duvet.

   Done

6. Watch what you eat and drink

   Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening: coffee, black and green tea, cola and energy drinks. Skip large meals and nicotine in the last hour or two. Alcohol may help you fall asleep but makes sleep lighter and wakes you in the night.

   Done

7. Move during the day

   Regular physical activity improves sleep. A walk in daylight helps set the body clock. Avoid hard training late in the evening if it leaves you wide awake.

   Done

8. Do not force it

   If you have been lying awake for about 20 minutes, get up, go to another room and do something quiet in dim light. Go back to bed when you feel sleepy. Lying there and trying harder teaches the brain that bed is a place for being awake.

   Done

Good to know

Keep naps short, under half an hour, and before mid-afternoon, or skip them while you are fixing your nights.

See a doctor if poor sleep goes on for more than a few weeks, if you snore heavily and stop breathing in your sleep, or if tiredness makes driving or work unsafe. There are effective treatments, and the first choice for long-term insomnia is a form of talking therapy, not sleeping pills.

Phone settings that help: Do Not Disturb on an iPhone, Bedtime mode on Android and Downtime on iPhone.

If thoughts keep circling at night: how to stop overthinking.

In short: Same bedtime and getting-up time every day, an hour without screens, worries on paper, a dark, quiet, cool room, no late caffeine or alcohol, and out of bed after 20 minutes awake.