Better Sleep: Practical, Evidence-Based Ways to Improve Sleep Quality

Written and medically reviewed by Kwaku Osafo-Mensah, MD
Pulmonary Medicine | Sleep Medicine | Diplomate, ABSM
Medically reviewed: August 2026

Adequate sleep is not simply about spending more hours in bed. Healthy sleep depends on adequate duration, appropriate timing, continuity, restorative sleep stages, and the ability to breathe normally throughout the night.

Poor sleep can result from insomnia, sleep apnea, irregular schedules, medications, stress, environmental factors, circadian disruption, pain, respiratory symptoms, or other medical conditions.

This guide explains practical ways to improve sleep while recognizing when persistent sleep problems deserve medical evaluation.

How Much Sleep Do Adults Need?

Most adults generally need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, although individual requirements vary.

Sleep need can also change with age, health, activity level, recent sleep deprivation, and other circumstances.

Regularly obtaining substantially less sleep than your body requires can contribute to impaired alertness, mood, concentration, reaction time, and overall health.

But simply spending more time in bed does not necessarily produce better sleep.

Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule

One of the most useful ways to support healthy sleep is maintaining a reasonably consistent schedule.

Try to:

Wake at approximately the same time each day
Maintain adequate opportunity for sleep
Avoid large differences between weekday and weekend schedules
Obtain morning light exposure when possible
Avoid routinely extending time in bed far beyond your actual sleep requirement

A consistent wake time helps reinforce the body’s circadian rhythm.

Understand Your Circadian Rhythm

Your circadian rhythm is an internal biological timing system that influences sleep, alertness, hormone secretion, body temperature, and many other physiologic processes.

Light is one of its strongest environmental signals.

Bright light in the morning generally helps reinforce daytime alertness and appropriate circadian timing.

Excessive bright light late in the evening may delay sleep timing in susceptible individuals.

Timing matters: light exposure at different times can have different effects on the circadian system.

Create a Sleep-Friendly Bedroom

A good sleep environment is generally

Dark
Quiet
Comfortable
Appropriately cool
Free from unnecessary interruptions

Blackout shades, eye masks, earplugs, fans, or appropriate background sound may help selected individuals.

The goal is not to purchase as many sleep products as possible. It is to identify and correct environmental factors that are actually interfering with sleep.

Caffeine and Sleep

Caffeine promotes alertness by interfering with adenosine signaling in the brain.

Its effects can persist for hours.

People who have difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep may benefit from limiting caffeine later in the day.

Sources include:

Coffee
Tea
Energy drinks
Some soft drinks
Chocolate
Pre-workout supplements
Certain medications and supplements

Sensitivity to caffeine varies substantially between individuals.

Alcohol May Make You Sleepy—but Can Worsen Sleep

Alcohol can initially produce sedation, but sedation is not the same as normal restorative sleep.

Alcohol may:

Fragmented sleep later in the night
Alter normal sleep architecture
Increase snoring
Worsen upper-airway obstruction in susceptible individuals
Contribute to nocturnal awakenings
Increase nighttime urination

Using alcohol as a regular sleep aid is therefore generally a poor long-term strategy.

Exercise and Sleep

Regular physical activity is associated with better overall health and can improve sleep quality for many people.

Both aerobic exercise and resistance training may be beneficial.

Exercise timing is individualized. Many people can exercise in the evening without difficulty, while vigorous exercise very close to bedtime may interfere with sleep in some individuals.

Consistency matters more than finding a universally perfect exercise time.

What Is Insomnia?

Insomnia involves persistent difficulty initiating sleep, maintaining rest, or obtaining satisfactory sleep despite adequate opportunity, and it is accompanied by daytime consequences.

Occasional difficulty sleeping is extremely common.

Chronic insomnia is different.

Simply telling someone with chronic insomnia to practice better “sleep hygiene” may be insufficient.

CBT-I: A Major Treatment for Chronic Insomnia

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a structured, evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia.

CBT-I may incorporate the following:

Stimulus control
Sleep scheduling or sleep restriction/compression strategies
Cognitive approaches
Relaxation techniques
Education about sleep
Modification of behaviors that perpetuate insomnia

CBT-I addresses mechanisms maintaining insomnia rather than simply producing temporary sedation.

People with persistent insomnia should consider discussing CBT-I with an appropriately trained healthcare professional.

Avoid Spending Long Periods Awake in Bed

For someone with insomnia, repeatedly spending hours awake in bed can strengthen an unwanted association between the bed and wakefulness, frustration, or worry.

One principle used in behavioral insomnia treatment is to strengthen the association between bed and sleep.

The exact approach should be individualized, particularly when medical conditions, fall risk, mobility limitations, bipolar disorder, seizure disorders, or other clinical considerations are present.

Napping: Helpful or Harmful?

Naps can be useful, particularly when someone is sleep-deprived or when schedules require them.

However, long or late naps can reduce the drive to sleep at night in people struggling with insomnia.

Whether to nap depends on the individual’s sleep problem, schedule, age, health, and degree of daytime sleepiness.

Importantly, dangerous daytime sleepiness should not simply be managed with naps without investigating its cause.

Snoring Is Not Always Harmless

Snoring occurs when airflow causes tissues in the upper airway to vibrate during sleep.

Snoring alone does not prove that someone has obstructive sleep apnea.

However, loud habitual snoring—particularly when accompanied by witnessed pauses in breathing, gasping, choking, daytime sleepiness, or hypertension—should raise concern for sleep-disordered breathing and the need for sleep apnea testing.

Persistent concerning snoring may warrant evaluation rather than simply purchasing an anti-snoring product.

Nasal Congestion and Sleep

Nasal obstruction can make sleep uncomfortable and may interfere with PAP therapy.

Potential contributors include:

Allergic rhinitis
Viral illness
Structural nasal obstruction
Environmental irritants
Dry air
Medication effects

Treatment depends on the underlying cause.

People with persistent nasal obstruction, particularly when it interferes with sleep or PAP therapy, should discuss appropriate evaluation and treatment with a healthcare professional.

Sleep Position

Body position can influence both snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

Some individuals experience substantially more airway obstruction while sleeping on their back.

For appropriately selected patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea, strategies that encourage side sleeping may reduce respiratory events.

Positional therapy is not an adequate substitute for effective treatment in every person with sleep apnea.

Screens and Electronics Before Bed

Electronic devices can interfere with sleep through several mechanisms.

Bright light may affect circadian timing, but content matters too.

Work email, news, social media, games, emotionally stimulating content, and constant notifications may keep the brain engaged when someone is trying to transition toward sleep.

A practical strategy is to create a predictable wind-down period and reduce stimulating activities near bedtime.

What About Blue-Light Glasses?

Blue-light-blocking products are heavily marketed for sleep.

Light exposure can influence circadian physiology, but the effectiveness of consumer blue-light glasses depends on factors including wavelength filtering, intensity, timing, duration, and individual circumstances.

They should not substitute for sensible evening light management or treatment of an underlying sleep disorder.

Melatonin: More Is Not Necessarily Better

Melatonin is a hormone involved in circadian timing.

Supplemental melatonin can be useful in selected circumstances, particularly certain circadian-rhythm disorders and situations involving appropriately timed phase adjustment.

It is not simply a universal sleeping pill.

Dose, formulation, timing, product quality, medications, age, and the underlying sleep problem matter.

People using other medications or managing significant medical conditions should discuss supplements with an appropriate healthcare professional.

Sleep Medications

Prescription and over-the-counter sleep medications can be useful in selected circumstances, but they also have limitations and potential adverse effects.

Depending on the medication, concerns may include the following:

Residual morning sedation
Cognitive impairment
Falls
Abnormal sleep behaviors
Tolerance
Dependence
Drug interactions
Worsening of certain breathing disorders

Medication decisions should be individualized rather than based solely on advertising or online recommendations.

Can Wearables Measure Sleep?

Smartwatches, rings, wearable sleep trackers, pillows, positioning products, or other sleep products can estimate aspects of sleep.

Reviews & Comparisons.

Depending on the device, they may report the following:

Estimated sleep duration
Sleep timing
Nighttime heart rate
Heart-rate variability
Movement
Estimated sleep stages
Respiratory rate
Oxygen-related measurements

These devices can be useful for observing trends, but they are not equivalent to clinical polysomnography.

Consumer sleep-stage estimates and other derived metrics should therefore be interpreted cautiously.

Don’t Chase a Perfect Sleep Score

Wearable technology can help people understand patterns, but it can also create unnecessary anxiety.

A low sleep score on one night does not necessarily mean something is medically wrong.

Pay attention to longer-term trends and how you actually feel and function.

For some people, excessive concern about sleep-tracker data can itself worsen sleep.

When Poor Sleep May Be a Medical Problem

Consider medical evaluation when sleep difficulties are persistent or accompanied by symptoms such as the following:

Loud habitual snoring
Witnessed pauses in breathing
Gasping or choking during sleep
Excessive daytime sleepiness
Falling asleep while driving
Persistent insomnia
Unusual behaviors during sleep
Frequent uncomfortable leg sensations
Repeated nighttime movements
Morning headaches
Persistent nighttime oxygen concerns
Significant mood or cognitive changes
Sleep problems associated with major medical conditions

Falling asleep or struggling to remain alert while driving is particularly important and requires prompt attention to safety and the underlying cause.

A Practical Better-Sleep Checklist

For many adults, a reasonable starting approach is the following:

Allow adequate time for sleep.
Maintain a consistent wake time.
Obtain appropriate daytime and morning light exposure.
Exercise regularly.
Limit caffeine sufficiently before bedtime.
Avoid relying on alcohol for sleep.
Create a dark, quiet, and comfortable sleeping environment.
Develop a predictable wind-down routine.
Address persistent nasal or breathing problems.
Seek evaluation when symptoms suggest a sleep disorder.

Better Sleep Is Not About Perfection

Everyone has occasional poor nights.

Healthy sleep should be evaluated over time rather than judged by a single night, wearable score, or morning feeling.

The objective is not to achieve a perfect sleep score every night.

The objective is to obtain sufficient, restorative sleep that supports alertness, health, performance, and quality of life.

Explore Sleep Breathing Guide

Continue with:

Sleep Apnea—symptoms, diagnosis, health implications, and treatment options.

Sleep Tests — Understand HSAT, polysomnography, AHI, RDI, REI, oxygen measurements, and your sleep-study report.

CPAP & PAP Therapy — practical guidance about PAP machines, masks, leaks, humidification, and treatment problems.

Reviews & Comparisons—independent evaluations of sleep products, PAP equipment, and sleep technology.

References & Further Reading

Watson NF, Badr MS, Belenky G, et al. Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: a joint consensus recommendation of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2015;11(6):591–592. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.4758
Edinger JD, Arnedt JT, Bertisch SM, et al. Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2021;17(2):255–262. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8986.
Sateia MJ, Buysse DJ, Krystal AD, Neubauer DN, Heald JL. Clinical practice guideline for the pharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia in adults. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2017;13(2):307–349. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6470
Ramar K, Malhotra RK, Carden KA, et al. Sleep is essential to health: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2021;17(10):2115–2119. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.9476
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Sleep. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/

Medical Author & Reviewer
Kwaku Osafo-Mensah, MD
Pulmonary Medicine | Sleep Medicine
Diplomate, American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM)
More than 20 years of experience in sleep medicine

Medically reviewed: August 2026
About the medical reviewer · Editorial Policy

Medical Disclaimer: Information on Sleep Breathing Guide is provided for general educational purposes and does not constitute individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have persistent sleep symptoms, excessive daytime sleepiness, suspected sleep apnea, or other significant sleep problems, talk to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.