How to Relax Your Mind & Body Before Bed

Reviewed by the Sleep Well Tips team using peer-reviewed sleep research

Falling asleep fast depends on calming your mind and body before you get into bed. Everyone’s sleep patterns differ, so no single method works for every person. The tips below come from published sleep research and clinical practice. Test a few methods for one to two weeks each and track what changes.

Write a To-Do List Before Bed

A 2018 Baylor University study asked 57 healthy adults, ages 18 to 30, to spend five minutes writing before bed. One group wrote a to-do list of tasks for the coming days. The other group wrote about tasks they had already finished. Researchers used overnight polysomnography to measure how fast each group fell asleep.

The to-do list group fell asleep significantly faster. More specific lists led to faster sleep onset, researchers found. Writing “call the dentist about Tuesday’s appointment” works better than writing “call people.”

Steps to try tonight:

• Set a five-minute timer before you turn off the light.
• Write down tasks for the next few days, not tasks you already finished.
• Add specific details for each task instead of vague notes.
• Close the notebook once the timer ends and get into bed.

Try the 4-7-8 Breathing Technique

Dr. Andrew Weil, a physician known for work in integrative medicine, developed the 4-7-8 breathing method as a variation on a yogic breathing exercise.

• Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds.
• Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
• Breathe out through your mouth for 8 seconds.

Repeat the cycle four times, then continue until you fall asleep. Practice it nightly for one week before deciding if it works for you. Large clinical trials specific to sleep onset don’t back this technique, but it carries no known risk for most healthy adults and is widely used for general relaxation and anxiety.

Try Paradoxical Intention: Stop Trying to Sleep

Researchers at the University of Glasgow tested a technique called paradoxical intention. In the study, 34 adults with sleep-onset insomnia spent 14 nights either practicing the technique or following their normal routine.

The technique works like this: instead of trying to fall asleep, keep your eyes open and stay awake on purpose.

Participants who practiced paradoxical intention reported lower sleep-related anxiety and less effort spent trying to sleep. Their self-reported time to fall asleep improved, though objective sleep-tracking devices showed no significant difference between the two groups. The technique lowers the pressure of trying to sleep, which is often the real obstacle.

If outside light bothers you while keeping your eyes open, use a sleep mask with room for your eyes to stay open, or add blackout curtains to your bedroom.

Redirect Your Thoughts With a Mental Exercise

Trying to avoid stressful thoughts rarely works on its own. Give your mind something else to focus on instead.

Pick a simple object, such as a piece of fruit, a tree, or a cloud. Picture it in detail. Build the image further by adding related objects, colors, or textures. This keeps your mind occupied on something other than the next day’s problems.

Replay Music in Your Mind

If you know song lyrics well, repeat a calming song in your head. Pick a steady, calming song, not one tied to stressful memories.

If you prefer instrumental music, focus on individual instruments in your favorite track and try to isolate each one in your memory.

Relax Your Muscles One Group at a Time

Physician Edmund Jacobson described progressive muscle relaxation in the 1930s. The method works by tensing and releasing each muscle group in your body.

Steps:

• Contract one muscle group, starting with your feet, for 5 to 10 seconds while breathing in.
• Exhale and release the tension suddenly.
• Rest for 10 to 20 seconds before moving to the next muscle group.
• Work upward through your calves, thighs, torso, arms, and face.

People with insomnia commonly report faster sleep onset with this method. It also builds body awareness, so you notice tension earlier in the day.

Block Out Noise

Noise disrupts both how fast you fall asleep and how deep your sleep stays through the night.

Options to reduce noise:

• Wear earplugs, if you’re comfortable with them.
• Use a white noise machine or app to mask outside sound.
• Add a soundproofing curtain or thicker window to reduce noise from outside.

If earplugs bother you, these earplug alternatives cover other ways to block noise without anything in your ears.

Cool Down Your Bedroom

Your body temperature drops before sleep as part of your natural sleep cycle. An overly warm bedroom interferes with this process. Sleep Foundation research recommends a bedroom temperature between 65 and 68°F (18 to 20°C) for most adults.

Quick ways to cool down:

• Put your bed sheets in a sealed bag in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes before bed.
• Dampen a sheet or towel in cold water, place a dry cloth underneath to protect your mattress, and use it as a light cover.
• Keep windows or blinds closed during the day to block heat, then open them at night if outdoor air is cooler.

Eat a Light Snack If You’re Hungry

Going to bed hungry keeps you alert and makes falling asleep harder. Overeating before bed causes the opposite problem: heartburn and disrupted sleep.

A balanced bedtime snack combines protein and complex carbohydrates. Good options include a banana with a small amount of nut butter, whole-grain crackers with cheese, or Greek yogurt. Skip sugary foods and anything with caffeine within a few hours of bedtime. If caffeine timing tends to catch up with you at night, this guide on sleeping after caffeine covers what to do when it does.

Play Relaxing Sounds

Natural sounds, such as rain or ocean waves, work for many people because they mask sudden noises without demanding attention the way music with lyrics does.

Test a few types of sound, such as rain, white noise, brown noise, or nature recordings, to find what works for you. If headphones feel uncomfortable while lying down, a small speaker placed a short distance from your bed removes this problem.

What to Do If You Still Haven’t Fallen Asleep

If you haven’t fallen asleep within 15 minutes, get out of bed. Staying in bed while awake trains your brain to associate your bed with wakefulness instead of sleep.

Get up and do something calm in low light: read, stretch, or write. Avoid screens. Return to bed only when you feel drowsy.

If you wake up during the night and don’t fall back asleep within 15 minutes, repeat the same process. For more on managing this pattern, see this guide on whether it’s better to stay awake or sleep for an hour.

Avoid Blue Light Before Bed

Screens from phones, tablets, and televisions emit blue light. This short wavelength suppresses melatonin more strongly than other light colors. Harvard researchers found blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as green light of the same brightness, and shifted circadian rhythm by twice as much.

Steps to reduce blue light exposure:

• Stop using screens two to three hours before bed.
• Switch your phone to night mode or a blue-light filter setting in the evening.
• Use dim, red-toned lighting for any night lights, since red light disrupts melatonin less than other colors.

If checking your phone late at night isn’t avoidable, use a blue-light filter and keep the screen dim.

Reserve Your Bed for Sleep Only

If you work, eat, or watch television in bed, your brain stops linking your bed with sleep. Use your bed only for sleep, so your brain builds a clear association between lying down and falling asleep.

When to Talk to a Doctor

Trouble falling asleep occasionally is common and usually resolves with the steps above. If sleep problems continue for several weeks despite trying multiple methods, or affect your daily functioning, talk to a doctor. Persistent insomnia sometimes signals an underlying condition. Treatment beyond relaxation techniques sometimes becomes necessary.

Sources:

Scullin MK, Krueger ML, Ballard HK, Pruett N, Bliwise DL. “The Effects of Bedtime Writing on Difficulty Falling Asleep.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2018.
Weil A. “The 4-7-8 Breath.” DrWeil.com.
Broomfield NM, Espie CA. “Initial Insomnia and Paradoxical Intention.” Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2003.
Stöppler MC. “Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Stress and Insomnia.” WebMD.
“What’s the Best Temperature for Sleep?” Sleep Foundation.
“Healthy Bedtime Snacks to Eat Before Sleep.” Sleep Foundation.
“Blue Light Has a Dark Side.” Harvard Health Publishing.