We spend a third of our lives in bed. So it's important this Sleep Health Week, to remember some simple ways to improve our snooze, without the need to take recourse to expensive remedies, treatments, and medical interventions.

With people in the past generally living harder, more strenuous, lives – often working longer hours involving manual labour without electronic devices to distract them – sleep disorders are very much a modern phenomenon.

Simple changes to your sleep habits, however, can significantly improve almost anyone’s sleep quality with the colder months – with their longer, cooler nights and a general slowdown in many people’s body clock – a great time to start.

Key strategies can include establishing a consistent sleep schedule, creating a relaxing bedtime routine, optimising your sleep environment, and avoiding devices:

1. Consistent Sleep Schedule:

Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even on weekends, helps regulate your body's natural sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythm). This consistency makes it easier to fall asleep and wake-up naturally to improve sleep quality and reduce daytime fatigue.

2. Relaxing Bedtime Routine:

A calming routine before you hit the sack – a cocoa, hot milk with honey, reading a novel in bed, a quick shower or bath, putting on comfortable pyjamas, and doing your teeth – is the ideal way to signal to your body, that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep.

At our regular bedtime, our body often goes through 20-minute cycles of tiredness and relative alertness, and it’s important to recognise this sleep “window” opportunity, by being ready for bed at this time.

3. Limit screen time:

Avoid using electronic devices like mobiles, tablets, computers, and smart televisions before bed. For one thing, the “blue” light emitted by devices interferes with sleep-inducing melatonin production.

These gadgets also stimulate the brain and often create emotional responses that are antithetical to the slow, calming mood most people need to properly fall and stay asleep.

4. Optimize Your Sleep Environment:

Make your bedroom a comfortable “cave” for sleep by ensuring that it's dark, quiet, and cool. Consider using heavy curtains, earplugs, or the sleep masks that many people use on long-distance flights, or a white noise machine, to minimise distractions.

Also, do not have electronic devices that emit tiny amounts of flashing or persistent “on lights” in the room with you as you sleep, these affect your ability to get to proper rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, vital for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, brain development and, potentially, even creative problem-solving.

5. Manage Stress and Anxiety:

As everyone knows, stress, anxiety, and external worries, will significantly disrupt sleep for even the heaviest of snoozers. There’s nothing worse than the “2am wake-up” with the weight of the world on your shoulders as you lay in bed, eyes staring at the ceiling.

While we can’t do much about the adult pressures that we all face in life’s ups and downs, you can incorporate stress-reducing activities into your daily routine.

This may include regular exercise, “mindfulness” techniques, deep-breathing exercises, meditation, and spending time in nature.

6. Other Helpful Tips:

Short naps (20–30 minutes) can be beneficial, but long or late-afternoon naps, can interfere with nighttime sleep.

Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime, as these can disrupt sleep.

Physical activity can improve sleep quality; but avoid intense workouts close to bedtime.

Consider a sunrise alarm clock; to help wake you up more naturally by mimicking the sunrise.