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We can all have a bad night of sleep

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and that's perfectly normal,

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but how could we try to improve

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both the quantity[br]and the quality of our sleep?

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[Sleeping with Science]

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(Music)

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Here are six scientifically grounded tips

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for better sleep.

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The first tip is regularity.

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Go to bed at the same time[br]and wake up at the same time.

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Regularity is king,

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and it will actually anchor your sleep

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and improve both[br]the quantity and the quality,

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no matter whether[br]it's the weekday or the weekend

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or even if you've had[br]a bad night of sleep.

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And the reason is[br]because deep within your brain,

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you actually have a master 24-hour clock.

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It expects regularity

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and works best under[br]conditions of regularity,

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including the control[br]of your sleep-wake schedule.

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Many of us use an alarm to wake up

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but very few of us use a to-bed alarm,

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and that's something that can be helpful.

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The next tip is temperature.

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Keep it cool.

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It turns out that your brain and your body

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need to drop their core temperature[br]by about one degree Celsius

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or around two to three degrees Fahrenheit

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in order to initiate sleep[br]and then to stay asleep.

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And this is the reason[br]that you will always find it easier

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to fall asleep in a room[br]that's too cold than too hot.

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So, the current recommendation

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is to aim for a bedroom temperature

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of around about 65 degrees Fahrenheit,

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or a little over 18 degrees Celsius.

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It sounds cold but cold it must be.

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The next tip is darkness.

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We are a dark-deprived society

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and, in fact, we need darkness[br]specifically in the evening

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to trigger the release[br]of a hormone called melatonin.

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And melatonin helps regulate[br]the healthy timing of our sleep.

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In the last hour before bed,

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try to stay away from all[br]of those computer screens

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and tablets and phones.

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Dim down half the lights in your house.

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You'd actually be quite surprised

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at how sleepy that can make you feel.

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If you'd like, you can wear an eye mask

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or you can have blackout shades

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and that will help best regulate

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that critical sleep hormone of melatonin.

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The next tip is walk it out.

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Don't stay in bed awake[br]for long periods of time.

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And the general rule of thumb

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is if you've been trying to fall asleep

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and it's been 25 minutes or so,

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or you've woken up[br]and you can't get back to sleep

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after 25 minutes,

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the recommendation is to get out of bed

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and go and do something different.

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And the reason is because your brain

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is an incredibly associative device.

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The brain has learned the association

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that the bed is this trigger[br]of wakefulness,

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and we need to break that association.

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And by getting out of bed,[br]you can go and do something else.

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Only return to bed when you're sleepy.

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And in that way, gradually,

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your brain will relearn the association

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that your bed is this place[br]of sound and consistent sleep.

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The fifth tip is something[br]that we've actually

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already spoken about[br]in detail in this series,

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which is the impact[br]of alcohol and caffeine.

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So, a good rule of thumb here[br]is to try to stay away

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from caffeine in the afternoon[br]and in the evening

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and certainly try[br]not to go to bed too tipsy.

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The final tip: have a wind-down routine.

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I think many of us in the modern world,

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we expect to be able[br]to dive into bed at night,

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switch off the light,

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and we think that sleep[br]is also just like a light switch,

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that we should immediately[br]be able to fall asleep.

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Well, unfortunately,[br]sleep isn't quite like that

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for most of us.

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Sleep, as a physiological process,

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is much more similar to landing a plane.

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It takes time for your brain[br]to gradually descend down

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onto the firm bedrock of good sleep.

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In the last 20 minutes before bed[br]or the last half an hour,

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even the last hour,

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disengage from your computer[br]and your phone

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and try to do something relaxing.

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Find out whatever works for you

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and when you have found it,[br]stick to that routine.

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The last thing I should note

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is that if you are suffering[br]from a sleep disorder,

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for example, from insomnia or sleep apnea,

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then these tips aren't necessarily[br]going to help you.

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If I was your sports coach,

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I could give you all of these tips[br]to improve your performance,

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but if you have a broken ankle,

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it's not going to make a difference.

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We have to treat the broken ankle first

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before we can get back to improving[br]the quality of your performance.

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And it's the same way with sleep.

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So, if you think[br]you have a sleep disorder,

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just go and speak with your doctor.

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That's the best piece of advice.

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Where do we stand, then,

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in all of this conversation about sleep?

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Well, I think the evidence is clear.

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We can think of sleep[br]almost like a life-support system.

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In fact, some may even[br]call sleep a super power.