How to improve your sleep quality: the habits UK health sources list, and how to test them

What do we mean by sleep quality?

The Sleep Charity says there is no magic number of hours that works for everyone, and that the quality of sleep matters as much as the quantity.⁶ Its description of good quality sleep includes falling asleep within 15 to 20 minutes.⁶

The Royal College of Psychiatrists gives a plainer test: judge your sleep by how you feel in the day, not by the number of hours you slept.⁴ If you feel rested and can do what you need to, the hours on the clock matter less.

You will often see the habits in this guide called “sleep hygiene”. The NHS describes sleep hygiene as small changes to habits and routines that help you sleep.¹ This guide mostly says habits, meaning the everyday things you do and the conditions in your bedroom that affect sleep.

The habits UK sources list, side by side

Most of the advice is common to the NHS, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and The Sleep Charity. Where they differ, the table shows each one. The pages read are information for the public, so none of them rates the strength of evidence for each habit, and this guide does not either.

The bedroom: dark, quiet and cool

The NHS says sleep may come more easily in a room that is quiet, dark and cool. It suggests earplugs, closed curtains, an eye mask or opening a window, and gives no temperature figure.¹

The Sleep Charity does give numbers. An ideal bedroom temperature is around 16 to 18 °C. Above 24 °C is likely to cause restlessness, and about 12 °C makes it hard to drop off.³ The charity adds that hot, cold or draughty rooms can affect sleep, in particular REM sleep.³

Alcohol, caffeine and meals: the timings

This is where the UK sources differ most, so it is worth setting them out without picking a winner.

• NHS insomnia page: do not smoke or drink alcohol, tea or coffee at least 6 hours before bed.²
• NHS Every Mind Matters: alcohol and nicotine can disrupt sleep, and it suggests avoiding them 1 to 2 hours before bed.¹
• Royal College of Psychiatrists: stop tea, coffee and anything else with caffeine by 2pm.⁴
• The Sleep Charity: caffeine has an average half life of five to seven hours, so a coffee at 8pm is still 50% present at 2am. It adds that tolerance varies between people.⁵

The differences are real. The first source ties the cut-off to bedtime, the third to a fixed hour of the afternoon, and the second asks for a shorter gap but names only alcohol and nicotine. If you want to test your own response, you can pick the cut-off you find most workable and keep it for a fortnight.

A worked calendar for a 23:00 bedtime

Using the NHS insomnia page for someone who goes to bed at 23:00: the last tea, coffee, alcohol or cigarette is 23:00 minus 6 hours, which is 17:00. Exercise should finish 4 hours before bed, at 19:00. Wind-down starts at 22:00, an hour before bed, and screens go off at 22:00.²¹

On the Every Mind Matters timing, alcohol and nicotine would stop between 21:00 and 22:00 for the same bedtime.¹ On the Royal College’s advice, the last caffeine is 14:00 whatever your bedtime.⁴ For a bedtime of 22:30, a 6 hour gap puts the cut-off at 16:30. These are arithmetic from the stated gaps, not extra advice.

On meals, the NHS says not to eat a big meal late at night.² The pages read do not link late meals to deep sleep or give a time.

Light, screens and the hour before bed

The NHS says to try not to use phones, tablets or computers for an hour before bed, because blue light can make it harder to fall asleep.¹ Its insomnia page also says not to watch television or use devices such as smartphones right before bed, because the blue light makes you more awake.²

For the wind-down itself, the NHS suggests relaxing for at least an hour, for example with a bath or a book.² If worries keep you awake, it suggests writing a list of things you need to do the next day before you go to sleep.¹ The Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests setting aside 30 minutes to a couple of hours before bed with no work or study.⁴

The Royal College adds a simple rule about the bed itself: go to bed only when you are feeling sleepy.⁴

A 14-night experiment: change one thing, track the trend

This protocol is our own suggestion. It is not from the NHS or any other source read, and no source read says that tracking sleep improves it. It is simply a tidy way to find out what works for you.

1. Choose one habit from the table, for example a 17:00 cut-off for caffeine.
2. Keep your get-up time fixed for 14 nights, as the NHS advises.²
3. Each morning, note the time you went to bed, the time you woke, roughly how long it took to fall asleep, and how you feel on a simple 1 to 5 scale.
4. After 14 nights, compare the middle value (median) of the first seven nights with that of the last seven. A median is steadier than an average when one night goes badly.
5. Keep the habit if you feel better in the day. Judging by how you feel in the day follows the Royal College of Psychiatrists.⁴

A wearable can make the record easier, but it is not needed. A notebook does the same job.

What if habits do not help?

The Royal College of Psychiatrists describes cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as using psychological and behavioural techniques to help you sleep.⁴ The NHS says a GP may offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), face to face or through an online self-help programme, and that GPs now rarely prescribe sleeping pills.²

For short spells of poor sleep, the NHS says that pharmacy sleeping aids may help you sleep better for 1 to 2 weeks and should not be taken for any longer.²

Frequently asked questions