3 doctors recommended this sleep hygiene tip and it’s why I’m finally waking up with loads of energy — here’s how it works
My eyes close at 11 p.m. and my alarm goes off at 7 a.m. — I should be waking up fresh as a daisy, right? But even though I’m getting eight hours sleep, I spend the morning feeling groggy (this is known as sleep inertia). I asked three doctors why this might be and each said that while my sleep quantity is good, my sleep quality is probably lacking.
“You can spend eight hours in bed but still wake up exhausted if your sleep is fragmented or if you’re not getting enough of the deeper, restorative stages of sleep,” explains Dr. Shelby Harris, board-certified sleep specialist at BetterSleep.
Key takeaways: At a glance
- If you’re getting enough hours of sleep yet feel tired each morning, the quality of your sleep is likely to be the issue.
- Your body needs to cycle through many important stages of sleep in order for you to feel rested the next day.
- If your sleep is broken or fragmented, you won’t get the deep sleep you need.
- The best way to improve sleep quality is to create a bedtime routine that you can stick to.
- This teaches your brain that it’s time to wind down, which helps regulate your circadian rhythm (internal body clock) and improves your sleep quality.
- To ensure consistency, set a regular bedtime and wake time.
- Getting at least 7 hours sleep a night, and going to sleep and waking up within the same hour every day, is known as the 7:1 Sleep Rule.
- Major new science says this 7:1 approach to sleep can extend lifespan by up to four years, and it’s an excellent way to help you maintain a regular sleep schedule that can improve the quality of your sleep fast so that you wake up with more energy.
How to improve the quality of your sleep
“The most practical way to improve your quality of deep sleep is a nighttime routine.” Explains Dr Tim Mercer.
“It’s essential for signalling to your body that it’s time to wind down, helping to regulate your circadian rhythm and improve sleep quality.”
Consistency is key, continues Dr Mercer. “Following the same steps each night strengthens this association, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up feeling refreshed.”
“A bedtime routine is about winding down and transitioning from the busy day to sleep,” explains Dr. Lindsay Browning, a chartered psychologist, author, and insomnia expert at Trouble Sleeping. “We can only sleep when we relax.”
So your ideal bedtime routine would include an activity that you find so relaxing, it puts you into a space where you feel worry-free and ready to sleep. It also needs to be something you can also do every night – bedtime routines are only effective if they can be replicated easily every single night.
“It just means doing the same things in the same kind of steps,” adds Dr Browning.
Here are some ideas for relaxing bedtime routine activities that help your brain learn when it’s time to sleep, and therefore in time helps to strengthen your circadian rhythm and increase your sleep quality:
What affects sleep quality?
- Inconsistent sleep routines make it hard to achieve regular, high quality sleep.
- There are many potential causes for disrupted sleep quality, including your environment: light, temperature and noise can keep your body alert.
- Stress is another major cause, while underlying health issues can fragment your sleep without you realizing.
“Irregular sleep schedules that disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm and lifestyle factors like alcohol, heavy meals, or late caffeine can all interfere with sleep quality,” she adds.
Other causes might be health related, with sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea often disrupting your rest without you noticing.
“Underlying health issues such as anemia, thyroid problems, depression, or medication side effects can also play a role in persistent fatigue,” adds Dr. Shelby.
5 expert tips for waking up with energy
- You can improve sleep quality but the trick isn’t spending more time in bed.
- Consistency is the goal — prioritize regular bed times and and wake times.
1. Keep to a consistent sleep-wake time
This can help you avoid a long sleep latency (so you fall asleep quicker) and disruptive hormone fluctuations (so you can stay asleep.)
“If you can only anchor one thing, anchor your wake time,” says Dr. Harris. “Waking up at the same time every day is the strongest cue for resetting your circadian clock, especially when paired with morning light exposure.”
We recommend picking an ideal time — say, 7 a.m. Each morning your alarm rings within a half hour either side of that ideal. (That’s from 6.30 a.m. to 7.30 a.m.)
2. Plan your meals carefully
Dr. Raja notes that eating late can raise your temperature and blood sugar levels, keeping your body active when it should be winding down.
Caffeine also has a long-lasting impact on your sleep — yes, even your afternoon cappuccino can cause disruption. Caffeine has a half-life of roughly five to six hours, so it lingers in your system keeping you alert late into the day.
3. Use a wind-down routine
“When creating a sleep routine, keep it personal and sustainable,” says Dr. Mercer. “Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and bright screens in the evening, and ensure your sleep environment is comfortable and conducive to rest.”
4. Refresh your bedroom
Dr. Harris advises keeping your bedroom “cool, dark, and quiet” if you want to achieve quality sleep without disruption from your outdoor environment.
Light and temperature are two important pillars in your circadian rhythm — a cool, dark room tells your body that it’s time for sleep.
And if snoring partners, busy roads or night owl housemates are keeping you up, try some of the best sleep headphones.
Finally, don’t forget your bed itself. Tossing and turning on an uncomfortable mattress will keep you from deep sleep, so make sure you have the best mattress for your needs (or a mattress topper as a short-term fix.)
5. Use a sunrise alarm clock
It’s not just sleep quality that might be causing your fatigue — sleep writer Lauren Jeffries found that aiming for eight hours meant she was waking up in the midst of a sleep cycle, leaving her groggy and confused.
Traditional alarm clocks make it hard to time your wake up to coincide with a sleep cycle, as they use loud noises to yank you out of even the deepest of sleep
The best sunrise alarm clocks, on the other hand, utilize light to create a more natural wake up, gently easing you awake and allowing your sleep to reach a more comfortable stopping point.
Sleep quality vs sleep quantity
While getting a magical eight hours might seem like the cure for your exhaustion, if that time is spent in fragmented, low quality sleep, it won’t have the restorative effect you want.
“Getting eight hours of sleep doesn’t automatically mean you’ll wake up feeling rested,” explains Dr. Harris. “Sleep duration matters, but sleep quality is just as important.”
Sleep quality refers to how much of the night is spent moving through the sleep stages, including light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep.
“Sleep quantity and sleep quality are not the same,” adds Dr. Tim Mercer, NHS GP partner & GP trainer with Opera Beds. “If your body is disrupted as it cycles through the different sleep stages… you can sleep for 8 hours and still wake up feeling unrested.”
He notes that disrupted sleep often means missing out on the all important deep sleep stage, which supports recovery and energy restoration.
“Without enough deep sleep, about 1 to 2 hours, you might feel unrefreshed and mentally foggy the next day,” says Dr. Mercer.
Dr. Anita Raja, in partnership with Herbalife, agrees. “Even if you spend eight hours in bed, an alert nervous system can keep your sleep from being truly restorative,” she says.
When to speak to a doctor about fatigue
If you’re regularly experiencing sleep issues or sleep deprivation is impacting your mood, productivity and energy levels, we recommend speaking to a healthcare professional to receive personalized advice.
In addition, if you suspect an underlying health condition is leading to your poor sleep, contact your doctor.
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