TITLE: 3 Expert-Backed Habits for Better Sleep Starting Tonight
Why Quality Sleep Matters
Quality sleep does more than just make you feel rested—it reduces stress, improves mental alertness, and can even boost your mood. However, achieving consistent, restorative sleep requires intentional habits, according to sleep expert and clinical psychologist Dr. Leah Kaylor.
Dr. Kaylor emphasizes that if sleep could be bottled and prescribed, it would be considered one of the most powerful performance enhancers available. While that remains in the realm of science fiction, her research offers practical, achievable strategies for making better sleep a nightly reality.
The Foundation: Consistency Is Key
Maintain a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day—even on weekends. Dr. Kaylor explains that varying your sleep times confuses your body clock, while consistency acts as an “anchor” for your natural sleep cycle.
To establish your ideal bedtime, calculate how much sleep you need and work backward from your wake-up time. This simple adjustment forms the foundation of sustainable sleep health.
The Worry Time Technique
Designate 10 minutes each evening—roughly 3-4 hours before bed—as “worry time.” Using two pieces of paper and a timer, you’ll transfer your concerns from mind to paper.
- Controllable worries: List tasks and responsibilities you can address. This becomes tomorrow’s actionable to-do list.
- Uncontrollable concerns: Document things beyond your control, creating a mental “parking lot” where these thoughts can reside temporarily.
As research highlighted in sleep science publications demonstrates, this practice prevents your brain from rehearsing unresolved issues overnight, allowing for more peaceful sleep.
Create a Sleep-Sanctuary Bedroom
Your bedroom environment significantly impacts sleep quality. Remove work-related items—laptops, notebooks, and work bags—as these act as visual triggers that keep your brain in “on” mode.
Dr. Kaylor advises maintaining clear boundaries between work and rest spaces. For those who frequently wake during the night, she suggests setting an alarm for five minutes before your usual wake time to identify potential disruptions like unexpected noises or light sources.
Discover Your Natural Sleep Needs
Instead of using vacation time solely for catching up on sleep, Dr. Kaylor recommends using time off to reset your sleep cycle. Without alarm clocks, your body can naturally determine its optimal sleep patterns over several days.
This discovery process, as sleep experts have documented, provides valuable insight into your true sleep requirements, which you can then incorporate into your regular schedule when returning to work routines.
These evidence-based strategies, drawn from clinical sleep research, offer practical starting points for transforming your sleep quality beginning tonight.
