February 17, 2025

Advanced Ailment Care

Elevating Health Solutions

How to sleep better: 11 unexpected ways to get a more peaceful sleep

How to sleep better: 11 unexpected ways to get a more peaceful sleep

Whether it’s work stress, children, a busy social life or keeping up with the new series of Severance, how to sleep better tends to be the last thing on your mind. Because everything that’s going on in life makes switching off at the end of the day pretty difficult. In turn, that means you probably know the misery of waking up to a busy day feeling groggy and less than refreshed.

Backed by science, the practical tips collected here for how to sleep better will help you transform your sleeping routine – crucially if you adhere to the advice it’ll allow you to drop off sooner and absorb a better quality of rest.

What do we mean by ‘sleep quality’?

First things first. You’re looking for help getting your swede down, but outside of the prescribed eight hours, what does a good night’s sleep actually look like?

According to Dr Deborah Lee from, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy there isn’t actually an accepted medical definition. Instead, experts categorise sleep quality by considering the following criteria:

Sleep efficiency – “This is the amount of time spent asleep when lying in bed. Good sleep efficiency is 85%,” says Fox.

Sleep latency – “This is the time taken to fall asleep. Normal sleep latency is 16-30 minutes. More than 60 minutes is poor sleep quality,” says Fox.

Sleep duration – “This is the total time spent asleep and should be no less than seven hours for adults,” says Fox. “60% of UK adults are getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night.”

Waking after the onset of sleep – “Sleep specialists regard it normal to be awake during the night for 21 minutes or less,” Fox explains. “Being awake for 51 minutes or more is poor sleep quality.”

How can I fix my sleep?

All four of the above need to be in sync for a restful night. If you’re lacking in just one area you may be in trouble. Luckily, there are things you can do. A 2023 systematic review looked at papers studying loads of methods of improving sleep quality. The below turned out to be the most helpful:

1. Physical sleep aids

Earplugs on their own did not improve sleep quality, but they had better results when used in combination with eye masks, which implies that light affects sleep more than sound.

2. Relaxation therapies

These are thought to improve stress by lowering sympathetic (‘fight, fright and flight’) activity. “Aromatherapy especially using lavender and rose damask scents has been shown to reduce sleep latency and lengthen total sleep time in animal studies,” says Fox.

You might remember this as a kooky practice from the Nineties – it’s very Ab Fab – but it has been found to be effective in the treatment of insomnia, “probably because it stimulates the parasympathetic nerve pathway, the body’s main rest and relaxation pathway,” says Fox.

4. Music

Using data from eight studies the meta-analysis authors concluded that listening to music is “highly significant” in improving sleep quality. “Alexa, play Slayer.”

What else can I do?

If you’ve tried the obvious: cutting out alcohol, not eating or exercising too late, hiding your phone before bed, not napping in the daytime, and journaling, you may find the following beneficial.

5. Wake up consistently

Getting to sleep starts with when you wake up. According to a 2018 meta review monitoring the sleep habits of over 92,340 participants, “earlier sleep timing and regularity in sleep patterns with consistent bedtimes and wake-up times are favourably associated with health.”

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