Good Night's Rest: Simple, Practical Tips That Actually Work

Can’t sleep? Small changes often make the biggest difference. This page gives clear, useful steps you can try tonight and explains when a medication or doctor visit might be the real fix.

Quick, practical habits to try tonight

Keep a consistent wake-up time, even on weekends. Your body’s clock responds to regular signals more than fancy bedtime routines. Dim lights an hour before bed and avoid bright screens—blue light tells your brain it’s daytime. Try one wind-down activity that’s low effort: a short walk, reading a paper book, or slow breathing for five minutes. Reduce caffeine after mid-afternoon. If you drink alcohol to relax, know it can fragment sleep and reduce deep rest.

Make your bedroom a sleep-only place. That means limit work, meals, and long phone chats in bed. Aim for cool, dark, and quiet: blackout curtains, an eye mask, or a white noise app can help. If your mind races, jot down tomorrow’s to-dos on paper—getting them out of your head often helps you drop into sleep faster.

Fixes that help in the short term

If you need something for a few nights, simple options include melatonin (low dose) and short-term sleep hygiene boosts. Avoid over-the-counter antihistamines every night—tolerance builds quickly and side effects add up. Gentle activity during the day, like a 20–30 minute walk, improves sleep quality more than long late-night workouts.

When you wake up at night, don’t stare at the clock. Get up after 20 minutes if you can’t fall back asleep. Do a quiet, relaxing activity under dim light and return when you feel sleepy. This reduces pressure and stops the cycle of frustration that keeps many people awake.

Mental health matters. Anxiety and lingering stress are top causes of poor sleep. Simple breathing or grounding exercises can calm you. If worry or low mood lasts more than a few weeks, talk to a clinician—treating anxiety or depression often improves sleep substantially.

Medications can help or hurt sleep. Some drugs make you drowsy, others cause vivid dreams or insomnia. For example, changes in gabapentin (including tapering) can disrupt sleep during withdrawal. Efavirenz (Sustiva) is known to cause vivid dreams for some people. Buspirone (Buspar) affects anxiety and can change sleep patterns. If you start or stop a medication and notice sleep changes, mention it to your prescriber before making adjustments yourself.

If you’re buying meds or refills online, use trusted sources and check reviews—safety matters. Talk to your pharmacist about side effects that might affect sleep, and never mix sleep medications with alcohol or other sedatives without medical advice.

See a doctor if poor sleep lasts more than a month, you regularly fall asleep during the day, or you notice loud snoring, gasping, or pauses in breathing. Those could be signs of sleep apnea or other treatable conditions. Good sleep is within reach for most people—start with the basics above, track what helps, and ask for professional help when simple steps don’t work.