To fall asleep more easily, give yourself about 90 minutes to slow down before bed and follow the same few steps every night. The routine that has the most research behind it looks like this:
- Have a warm shower or bath one to two hours before bed.
- About an hour out, dim the lights and put screens away.
- Spend five minutes writing tomorrow's to-do list.
- Go to bed in a cool, dark, quiet room.
- Still awake after 15 or 20 minutes? Get up and do something calm until you feel sleepy.
None of this is complicated, and that is the point. A calm night routine works because your body learns from repetition. When the same quiet steps happen in the same order night after night, they start to act as a signal that sleep is on the way. Below, each step is explained with the reason behind it, so you can adjust the routine to fit your evenings without losing what makes it work.
Earlier in the Day: Two Things That Set Up Your Night
Watch the Afternoon Coffee
Caffeine lingers. The European Food Safety Authority's review of caffeine safety found that even a single 100mg dose may affect how long and how well some adults sleep, especially when it is taken close to bedtime. Tea, cola, energy drinks and dark chocolate count too. If you struggle to drop off, try making your last caffeinated drink a lunchtime one.
Keep One Fixed Point: Your Wake-Up Time
It sounds backwards, but a calm night starts with a steady morning. Guidance for GPs from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners on behavioural therapy for insomnia asks people to get up at the same time every day, however the night went. Rising at a fixed hour makes you drowsy at a similar time each evening, and everything else in this plan builds on that.
Have a Warm Shower or Bath
This step surprises people. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin pooled the results of earlier studies and found that a warm bath or shower, at around 40 to 43°C, taken one to two hours before bed helped people fall asleep about 10 minutes sooner on average (Haghayegh and colleagues, Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2019). About 90 minutes before bed seemed to work best.
Lights Down, Phone Away
Switch off the big overhead light and use a lamp instead. Then put your phone on charge somewhere you cannot reach from bed. The same RACGP guidance advises avoiding computer screens in the hours before bed, and the reason is simple: scrolling keeps your mind busy, and bright screens keep your eyes alert.
Use this hour to wind down with something quiet that you enjoy: a book, gentle stretching, music, a podcast at low volume, or your skincare. The activity itself matters less than doing roughly the same thing each night.
Write Tomorrow's To-Do List
If your mind starts listing jobs the moment your head hits the pillow, this one is for you. In a sleep-lab study at Baylor University, adults who spent five minutes writing a specific to-do list before bed fell asleep faster than those who wrote about tasks they had already finished. The researchers concluded that people may benefit from writing "a very specific to-do list for 5 min at bedtime" (Scullin and colleagues, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2018).
Cool, Dark and Quiet
Get into bed only once you feel sleepy, not just because the clock says so. Then think about the three things your room can do for you:
- Cool: a slightly cool room supports the temperature drop that the warm shower started.
- Dark: close the curtains fully and cover or turn away anything that glows. Where light still creeps through, covering your eyes solves it.
- Quiet: earplugs or a fan can mask background noise.
Small comfort items can become part of this moment. Some people reach for a silk mask for the darkness, others like applying a sleep patch as a final step. These are optional extras. The routine itself is what does the heavy lifting.
Can't Fall Asleep? Get Up
Lying in bed willing yourself to sleep usually makes it harder. The RACGP guidance says to get out of bed if you cannot sleep after 15 to 20 minutes, and only go back when you feel sleepy. The same applies if you wake in the night and cannot drift off again.
Go somewhere dimly lit, sit down, and do something dull and calm, such as reading a paper book. No phone, no bright lights. When your eyes start to feel heavy, go back to bed. It may take a few nights of this before it starts to feel natural, but over time your bed becomes linked with falling asleep rather than lying awake.
Making the Routine Stick
With any bedtime routine for adults, the first week is the hardest, because it has not yet become a habit. A few things help:
- Start with two steps, not five. The to-do list and the phone curfew are the easiest wins.
- Keep the order the same. Repetition is what turns these steps into a cue.
- Be realistic about weekends. A late night now and then is fine. Try to keep your wake-up time within an hour of your usual one.
- Do not judge it on one night. Give it a couple of weeks before deciding what is and is not working.
When a Routine Is Not Enough
A good routine helps most people. Long-term sleep problems, though, need more than a routine. Months of poor nights, no change after sorting your habits, or tiredness that is spilling into work or mood are all signs to read the NHS guidance on insomnia and when to get help and speak to your GP, who may suggest a type of talking therapy designed for insomnia.
Bedtime Questions
How long before bed should I start my routine?
Around 60 to 90 minutes works for most people. If that feels like too much, start 30 minutes before bed and build up.
Should I stop reading in bed?
Not if reading relaxes you and you fall asleep easily. Lying awake instead? Then the advice is to read somewhere else and keep the bed for sleep.
And when I wake at 3am?
Treat it the same way as the start of the night. Keep lights low, avoid checking your phone, and if you are still awake after 15 to 20 minutes, get up for a while.
Does a nightcap help me fall asleep?
Alcohol can make you drowsy, but the RACGP guidance lists avoiding it at night as part of good sleep habits. A warm, caffeine-free drink is a better choice.
Build Your Evening Kit
If you want a few items to anchor the routine, here is where ours fit in:
A self-heating steam eye mask for a warm, quiet ten minutes while you unwind. Take it off before you get into bed.
Our melatonin-free sleep patches, applied as the last step before sleep.
The contoured silk eye mask we make, to keep stray light away from your eyes.
Everything listed above is there to make your evening more comfortable. None of it is a medicine or a cure for sleep problems. Adults only. Pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication? Ask a pharmacist or GP before trying sleep patches.