How to Get to Sleep Faster: A Sleep Hygiene Checklist

Have you ever become more alert the more you force yourself to nod off at night? 

Researchers call this period sleep onset latency - the time it takes to go from fully awake to sleep. Difficulty with this first step in the sleep cycle can negatively impact depth of slumber and the next day’s cognitive functioning and energy. 

Here are some techniques to help you quickly drift off:

1. Get 20-30 minutes of sunlight as soon as you wake up. 

   There are a few studies that suggest sunlight first thing in the morning can improve sleep. In my own experience, getting sunlight in the morning specifically helps me get to sleep faster once I go to bed.

2. Cut out or moderate caffeine intake. 

   Caffeine stays in our system for a lot longer than we think. If you drink coffee, I'd advocate having a cutoff point at noon to avoid problems dozing off at night. Or try cutting it out entirely.

3. Use blue light filters on devices. 

   Studies suggest that blue light at night negatively effects sleep. I found that having something like f.lux on my computer and activating a phone filter once it gets dark dramatically improves my general sleep quality. In my personal experiments, it also specifically correlated to getting to sleep faster.

4. Don't use phones or laptops in bed. 

   However, there’s some debate whether it’s blue light that actually keeps you up or just the activity of staring at social media and the internet in general before bed. Try to avoid using devices when in the bedroom before falling asleep.

5. Experiment with different meditation styles. 

   Meditation isn’t all one thing, and different techniques have different effects on the brain. Logically, they would also have different effects on getting you to sleep.
   
   I found that vipassana made my mind more active - as did guided meditations. Tibetan Dream Yoga and progressive muscle relaxation didn't do much of anything, but 61 points Yoga Nidra meditation (and other related practices) worked in getting to me to sleep but noticeably messed with its quality (I had very vivid dreams that were not restful). However, self-inquiry, natural awareness, and Dzogchen practices zonk me out quickly.
   
   So try a few and note which ones work and which ones don’t.

6. Practice pranayama. 

   One small study suggests that controlled deep breathing sessions can dramatically improve overall sleep quality and reduce sleep onset latency. Several other studies indicate that deep breathing practices can reduce anxiety. I found that it settles my entire body and mind down when done before bed, priming me for rest.
   
   I recommend my old pranayama teacher’s album, Pranayama: The Art of Conscious Breathing (also available on Spotify and Apple Music).

7. Wind down with scents.

   There have been a lot of unsubstantiated claims with regards to aromatherapy and essential oils. But a few small studies link use of lavender essential oil with reduced anxiety levels and increased sleep quality.
   
   According to this fascinating pilot study, researchers tested 9 subjects hooked up EEG and EOG monitors to measure stages of sleep in the hopes to discover the exact mechanism by which this all works. They found that lavender essential oils diffused during the night improved depth of sleep, and they hope to launch a larger study to lay to rest the dispute that aromatherapy might just be a placebo.
   
   But with regards to sleep latency, I’ve personally found that scent effects me in different ways. Citrus oils that I’ve put in my beard before bed kept me up, and a lavender diffuser before bed seemed to mellow me out.

8. Use creativity to unfocus the mind. 

   A lot of our day is a struggle to maintain focus and will, but I've found that using a bridging exercise to open up unfocus and zoning out helps me better transition to sleep. My hunch is that this type of activity nudges me towards a place closer to sleep and dreams. And there might be something to this.
   
   In a study on musical improvisation, researcher (and jazz saxophonist) Charles Limb stuck musicians in an fMRI to see what the brain looked like when they played. When they improvised, the brain “turned off areas linked to self-monitoring and inhibition and turned on those that let self-expression flow”. The fMRI showed this state was incredibly similar to that of deep REM sleep.
   
   I try to do this to with night time “crappy doodling”. With this exercise I AVOID focus or engaging in perfectionism. Rather, I want to tap into low stakes creative meandering.
   
   To help get into this diffused state I’ll listen to background music I don't have to pay attention to (like low-fi hip hop beats to relax to) and reruns of shows I'm not going to actively watch. Anytime I come to a standstill I'll flip over a tarot card to get inspiration or just start drawing geometric shapes. I'll sometimes do this with r/writing prompts and go down the list and write a little - even if it's a line or two. But anytime I hit a pause, I’ll move on to the next one in order to maintain that flow.
   
   This prevents me from going down the internet rabbit holes that prime my mind for wakefulness and anxiety. And it almost always gets me to bed sooner.

Disclaimer: These techniques have worked for me and my own sleep hygiene, but I am not a medical professional.