Improve Sleep: 8 Practical Tips to Sleep Better

By Roel van den Bogaard, personal trainer and founder of Aurora Personal Training in Eindhoven.

Improving your sleep starts with allowing enough time for it, maintaining a regular routine and choosing habits that support rest. Get up at a consistent time, spend time outdoors during the day and pay attention to caffeine and relaxation. If sleep problems persist and affect you during the day, speak to your GP.

Perhaps you work later than planned, lie in bed worrying or take caffeine before an evening workout. Start by identifying where sleep is getting squeezed out of your day.

Below are eight practical tips. You do not need to implement them all at once: begin with one or two changes that suit your situation.

These habits can help. However, general sleep tips alone are not always enough for persistent insomnia.

Try to get up at approximately the same time each day, including days off. Also allow enough room for sleep in your schedule. [1]

If you need to get up at 7 am but regularly work until 12:30 am, the time available for sleep deserves attention. A better evening routine cannot fully compensate for insufficient time.

Start here: choose a time to finish work as well as a wake-up time. Go to bed when you feel sleepy; going to bed very early to force sleep does not necessarily help.

Daylight helps regulate your sleep–wake rhythm. If you work indoors, a regular outdoor break is a practical habit. Going outside remains useful on cloudy days. [2]

Connect it to something you already do: walk to an appointment, go outside during a break or take a short walk before starting work.

Start here: plan a morning walk you can maintain. A modest routine you follow is more useful than an ambitious plan that never fits your day.

Dutch GP information service Thuisarts advises avoiding caffeine in the six hours before bed. Some people experience effects for longer and may benefit from stopping earlier. [1,3]

Planning to sleep at 11 pm? Under that six-hour guideline, 5 pm would be the latest caffeine time. This does not guarantee that caffeine at 5 pm will leave your sleep unaffected.

Remember that caffeine can also be found in:

• black and green tea;
• cola and energy drinks;
• pre-workout products and some sports supplements.

Start here: record when you last consume caffeine. Move it earlier if you struggle to wind down.

A transition from work to rest can help. Choose a simple evening activity such as reading, showering or listening to quiet music. [4]

There is no need for a complicated ritual. Identify what keeps you awake: work messages, stimulating entertainment or continued scrolling when you intended to sleep.

If you repeatedly rehearse tomorrow’s tasks, write them down earlier in the evening, along with a first step for the next day. This gives them attention somewhere other than bed.

Start here: finish work deliberately and place your phone out of reach. Use the final part of your evening for something you find calm and enjoyable.

A quiet, dark and comfortably cool room can make sleeping easier. There is no perfect temperature that suits everyone. [4]

Consider what actually disturbs you:

• light from outside or electronic devices;
• phone notifications;
• noise;
• bedding that feels too warm;
• an uncomfortable pillow or mattress.

Start here: address the main disturbance. An eye mask, silenced phone or different bedding may be a targeted improvement.

Evening exercise does not necessarily disrupt sleep. A systematic review in healthy participants found no general negative effect. However, vigorous exercise ending close to bedtime may be less favourable. [5]

Distinguish between a gentle walk and a demanding workout.

If you sleep well after evening training, the time alone is not a reason to change everything. If you repeatedly lie awake afterwards, try training earlier or reducing the demands of the late session.

Check your pre-workout too: caffeine may be a separate explanation.

Start here: compare several similar training evenings. Review the pattern rather than one poor night.

Read more about how often you should strength train.

A large meal shortly before bed can feel uncomfortable. This does not mean you must go to bed hungry: a small snack can be suitable. [3]

Alcohol is not a good sleep aid. It can make you sleepy initially while contributing to lighter, more disturbed sleep later. [6]

Start here: notice whether late, heavy meals or alcohol regularly precede poor nights. Change one habit and assess the pattern.

For more on drinking around exercise and bedtime, read drinking water and strength training.

A nap may improve alertness. However, if you have difficulty falling asleep at night, limit naps or take them earlier in the afternoon. Keep any nap short, up to approximately 20 minutes. [3]

A long afternoon sleep is not a lasting solution for nights that are consistently too short.

Start here: compare how easily you fall asleep on days with and without naps.

For most adults, 7–9 hours per night is a useful guideline. Individual needs vary. [7]

Eight hours in bed does not automatically mean eight hours asleep. The time before you fall asleep and periods spent awake also count towards your time in bed.

Consider your daytime functioning alongside sleep duration. Regular sleepiness, difficulty concentrating or struggling to stay awake deserve attention, even when you spend enough hours in bed.

Try not to force sleep. Repeatedly checking how many hours remain can add to your frustration.

If you remain awake and become restless, get out of bed briefly and do something quiet in dim light. Return when you feel sleepy. You do not need to count exact minutes. [4]

Avoid using that time to catch up on work or spend a long time on your phone.

A simple record can help. In the morning, note your approximate sleep times, how you feel and relevant habits such as caffeine, alcohol or naps.

Use it to identify patterns. Avoid turning it into a daily test you must pass.

Sleep is part of recovery, alongside suitable training and adequate nutrition.

One poor night does not automatically erase your progress. However, assess how alert you are and whether you can perform exercises with control. Reduce the demands of a session when needed.

Repeated poor sleep calls for a review of your overall workload. Adding more training is not automatically the answer.

Read about nutrition and muscle growth for other aspects of recovery.

Make an appointment with your GP when sleep problems persist and affect everyday functioning.

Also discuss:

• loud snoring with observed pauses in breathing;
• waking up gasping for air;
• pronounced daytime sleepiness.

These symptoms can occur with sleep apnoea and need assessment. [8]

For persistent insomnia, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is an important treatment option. It goes beyond changing sleep habits alone. [6]

Aurora provides training and lifestyle coaching. Investigation and treatment of a sleep disorder belong with a healthcare professional.

How can I fall asleep faster?

Start with your routine, caffeine intake and evening habits. Go to bed when sleepy. If you regularly remain awake for long periods, look beyond individual tips and discuss the problem with your GP.

Do you need eight hours every night?

No. Eight hours is not an exact target for everyone. For most adults, 7–9 hours is a useful guideline, alongside attention to daytime functioning.

Can you strength train in the evening?

Yes. Evening training does not necessarily cause problems. Assess your response to the timing, intensity and any caffeine consumed.

Does alcohol help you sleep better?

It can make falling asleep feel easier, but may disrupt sleep later. Avoid using it as a sleep aid.

Should you go to bed much earlier after a bad night?

Not automatically. Try to keep your routine regular and go to bed when sleepy.

Do melatonin or other sleep aids help?

Do not start taking them independently as a general solution. What is appropriate depends on the cause of your symptoms and any existing medication use. Discuss this with your GP or pharmacist.

When will you notice improvement?

This varies between people and causes. Review several nights together. With persistent problems, continuing to experiment with tips is not always the right next step.

At Aurora Personal Training, we adapt your training to your goals, experience and available time. We also discuss how nutrition, sleep and recovery fit into your week.

You do not need perfect sleep before working on your fitness. A manageable programme considers your current circumstances and can be adjusted.

Book a free intake at Aurora Personal Training to discuss a suitable training approach.

1. Thuisarts: advice for better sleep — in Dutch.
2. NHS inform: sleep problems and insomnia self-help guide.
3. NHLBI: healthy sleep habits.
4. NHS: falling asleep faster and sleeping better.
5. Stutz et al. (2019): evening exercise and sleep.
6. NHLBI: insomnia treatment.
7. NHLBI: how much sleep is enough?.
8. NHLBI: symptoms of sleep apnoea.