How to Get to Sleep Quickly: 11 Evidence-Based Ways to Fall Asleep

Lying in bed willing yourself to fall asleep rarely has the desired effect. In fact, worrying about how long you’ve been awake can make you feel even more alert.

If falling asleep has become difficult, the answer usually isn’t one magic trick. Your daytime habits, bedtime routine, bedroom environment and even the way you respond to being awake can all play a part.

Here are 11 practical, evidence-based ways to make falling asleep easier, plus what to do if you’re regularly lying awake for much longer than you’d like.

Quick Answer: How Can You Fall Asleep Faster?

To make falling asleep easier, start with a consistent wake-up time, reduce caffeine later in the day, give yourself time to wind down, keep your bedroom dark, quiet and comfortably cool, and try not to force sleep.

If you’re still wide awake after around 20 minutes, the NHS recommends getting out of bed and doing something relaxing until you feel sleepy again. Regular difficulty falling asleep may be a sign of insomnia and is worth discussing with your GP if changing your sleep habits doesn’t help.

How Long Should It Take to Fall Asleep?

The amount of time between trying to sleep and actually falling asleep is known as sleep latency.

For many healthy adults, falling asleep within roughly 10 to 20 minutes is considered typical. Taking a little longer occasionally isn’t necessarily a problem, particularly during periods of stress or disruption.

You can read more about sleep latency and how long it usually takes to fall asleep at the Sleep Foundation.

Why Can’t I Fall Asleep Quickly?

Difficulty falling asleep can have lots of causes, and often several things are happening at once. Common sleep disruptors include:

• Stress, anxiety or a busy mind
• Caffeine later in the day
• Alcohol close to bedtime
• An inconsistent sleep schedule
• Using phones, laptops or other stimulating technology late at night
• A bedroom that’s too hot, cold, light or noisy
• An uncomfortable mattress or pillow
• Pain, menopause or another health condition
• Medicines that interfere with sleep
• Sleep conditions such as restless legs syndrome or sleep apnoea

Sometimes the problem isn’t that your body cannot sleep. It’s that you’re trying to sleep before you’re actually sleepy.

The NHS recommends going to bed when you feel sleepy and getting up at roughly the same time each day, rather than spending increasingly long periods awake in bed.

11 Ways to Help You Fall Asleep Faster

1. Put Your Phone Away Before Bed

Your phone isn’t necessarily the enemy of sleep, but what you’re doing on it matters. Bright light, notifications, work emails, social media and endlessly scrolling through content can all keep your brain engaged when you’re trying to wind down.

Try creating a short screen-free period before bed. Reading, listening to music, an audiobook or a relaxing podcast can give your mind something quieter to focus on.

If working from home has blurred the line between work and rest, our guide to sleeping better when working from home may also help.

2. Take a Warm Bath or Shower

A warm bath or shower can be a useful part of your evening routine, and there is research behind the idea.

A systematic review found that warm bathing or showering around one to two hours before bed was associated with a shorter time to fall asleep and improved self-reported sleep quality in the studies reviewed.

The effect isn’t simply about making yourself hot. Warming the skin can support the body’s subsequent release of heat, which fits with the natural drop in core temperature that occurs around sleep.

Read the systematic review on warm bathing and sleep

3. Give Your Brain Somewhere to Put Its Worries

It’s remarkably easy for a small concern at 3pm to become an enormous problem once the lights go out.

If your mind becomes busy at bedtime, try setting aside a little time earlier in the evening to write down anything you’re worrying about, along with anything you need to remember for tomorrow.

4. Create a Consistent Wind-Down Routine

A bedtime routine doesn’t need to involve an elaborate collection of candles, skincare and herbal tea unless you genuinely enjoy those things.

Its main job is to create a predictable transition between being awake and trying to sleep.

That might mean dimming the lights, washing your face, changing into pyjamas, reading for 20 minutes and going to bed at a similar time each night.

5. Stop Watching the Clock

If you already know you aren’t asleep, discovering that it’s 1:47am rarely makes the situation better.

Clockwatching can turn falling asleep into a countdown, with every glance creating another calculation about how many hours you have left before morning.

Set your alarm, turn the clock away and put your phone face down or somewhere out of reach.

6. Keep Your Bedroom Comfortably Cool

Being too hot or too cold can make settling down difficult. Rather than chasing one supposedly perfect bedroom temperature, aim for a room that feels comfortably cool to you.

Bedding matters too. If you’re repeatedly waking hot or throwing the duvet off, lighter or more breathable bedding may be useful. If you’re cold, layers can give you more flexibility than overheating the entire room.

Our guide to creating a relaxing bedroom has more advice on setting up your sleep environment.

7. Read Something Relaxing

Reading can provide a useful transition away from the demands of the day, particularly if it replaces something more stimulating such as emails, work or social media.

Choose something you actually find relaxing and stop when you begin to feel sleepy. There isn’t a magic number of pages or minutes you need to reach.

If you’re using an e-reader, consider reducing its brightness and avoiding other apps and notifications that may pull you back into scrolling.

8. Warm Up Cold Feet

If cold feet are stopping you from getting comfortable, wearing a light pair of socks can be worth trying.

Warming the hands and feet can increase blood flow near the skin, which helps the body release heat. That process is linked with the changes in body temperature that occur as we prepare for sleep.

This isn’t a guaranteed sleep trick, but if being cold is keeping you awake, making yourself comfortably warm is a sensible place to start.

9. Make Sure Your Bed Is Actually Comfortable

Sleep habits matter, but so does the surface you’re trying to sleep on.

Your mattress should feel supportive and comfortable for your body, sleeping position and preferences. There isn’t one firmness level that’s automatically better for everyone, and a firmer mattress isn’t necessarily healthier simply because it’s firm.

Think about whether you’re regularly waking with discomfort, rolling into dips, feeling springs through the surface or struggling to find a comfortable position.

If firmness is the issue, our guide to choosing the right mattress firmness can help.

You can also browse mattresses if your current one is uncomfortable or showing clear signs of wear.

10. Watch the Caffeine

Caffeine blocks adenosine, a chemical involved in building the pressure to sleep, which is exactly why coffee can make you feel more alert.

The effects can last for several hours. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, it’s worth experimenting with moving your last caffeinated drink earlier in the day.

NHS sleep guidance suggests avoiding tea and coffee for at least six hours before bed. Remember that caffeine isn’t only found in coffee. Tea, energy drinks, cola and some medicines can contain it too.

11. Stop Trying So Hard to Fall Asleep

This might be the most useful tip of the lot.

Sleep isn’t something you can force by concentrating harder. Staying in bed feeling frustrated can gradually create an association between your bed and being awake or anxious.

If you’re still awake after around 20 minutes, NHS advice is to get out of bed and sit somewhere comfortable. Do something relaxing, such as reading or listening to quiet music, and return to bed when you feel sleepy.

If You Can’t Sleep Tonight, Try This

1. Stop checking the time.
2. Put your phone out of reach.
3. Make sure you’re not too hot or cold.
4. Relax your jaw, shoulders and hands rather than deliberately trying to “make” yourself sleep.
5. If you’re still wide awake after around 20 minutes, get out of bed.
6. Do something quiet in low light.
7. Go back to bed when you begin to feel sleepy.
8. Get up at your usual time the following morning rather than dramatically shifting your routine.

Does Alcohol Help You Fall Asleep?

Alcohol can make you feel sleepy initially, which is why a nightcap can appear to work. However, that doesn’t necessarily translate into better sleep.

Alcohol can disrupt sleep later in the night and is associated with poorer sleep quality. If falling or staying asleep is a problem, cutting back on alcohol in the evening may help.

You can learn more about what happens during the night in our guide to the different stages of sleep.

When Should You Get Help With Sleep?

The occasional bad night is normal. Speak to your GP if changing your sleep habits hasn’t helped, you’ve had trouble sleeping for months, or poor sleep is affecting your ability to cope with everyday life.

Persistent sleep problems can sometimes be connected with conditions such as insomnia, sleep apnoea, restless legs syndrome, menopause, pain, anxiety or depression.

Read NHS guidance on insomnia

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I fall asleep in five minutes?

There isn’t a reliable technique that guarantees you’ll fall asleep within five minutes. In fact, regularly falling asleep almost immediately can sometimes indicate that you’re not getting enough sleep. Focus on creating the conditions for sleep rather than trying to beat a particular time.

Why am I tired but can’t fall asleep?

Being physically tired doesn’t always mean your brain is ready for sleep. Stress, anxiety, caffeine, alcohol, an irregular schedule, pain, your sleep environment and health conditions can all contribute to feeling exhausted but unable to switch off.

What should I do if I can’t sleep?

Try not to force sleep or repeatedly check the time. If you’ve been lying awake for around 20 minutes, get out of bed, sit somewhere comfortable and do something relaxing. Return to bed when you feel sleepy.

Is it normal to take 30 minutes to fall asleep?

It can happen occasionally and doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong. If it regularly takes more than 20 to 30 minutes to fall asleep and the problem is affecting your daytime wellbeing, it is worth looking at your sleep habits and seeking professional advice if it continues.

Should I stay in bed if I can’t sleep?

Not indefinitely. NHS guidance recommends getting up if you’re still unable to sleep after around 20 minutes, doing something relaxing and returning to bed when you feel sleepy.

Creating a Bed You Actually Want to Sleep In

Sleep problems aren’t always caused by the bed, and buying a new mattress isn’t a treatment for insomnia. But if your mattress, pillows or bedding are uncomfortable, they can make settling down unnecessarily difficult.

Land of Beds has been helping people choose beds and mattresses since 1974. As a third-generation family business, our approach is simple: understand how someone sleeps first, then help them find something that suits their body, comfort preferences and bedroom.

That might mean a new mattress. It might mean changing a pillow or duvet. And sometimes, if your current bed is still comfortable and supportive, it might mean you don’t need to replace anything at all.

Explore our mattresses, browse bedding, or speak to our team if comfort is one of the things getting between you and a good night’s sleep.

The Bottom Line

If you want to fall asleep faster, don’t make speed the goal. The most useful changes are usually the boringly consistent ones: getting up at roughly the same time, reducing late caffeine, winding down properly and keeping your bedroom comfortable.

And if sleep doesn’t arrive straight away, try not to turn it into a battle. Get comfortable, stop watching the clock and give your brain a chance to become sleepy naturally.

Sources and Further Reading

• NHS: How to fall asleep faster and sleep better
• NHS: Insomnia
• Sleep Foundation: Sleep Latency
• Haghayegh et al.: Warm bathing and sleep, systematic review and meta-analysis

A Quick Note

This article is intended for general information and sleep education only. It isn’t a substitute for medical diagnosis or personalised healthcare advice. If sleep problems are persistent, severe or affecting your everyday life, speak to your GP or another appropriate healthcare professional.

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