How to Actually Go to Bed Earlier, According to Sleep Experts

Considering sleep is one of our most innate biological functions, it’s easy to take its importance for granted. But getting enough sleep at night influences how well you’ll perform at work tomorrow, how good of a workout you’ll have the next day, and even how long you’ll live.

“Sleep is vital and occupies one-third of your life,” says Adrian Pristas, MD, corporate medical director of the Centers for Sleep Medicine/NeuroScience at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey. “If you embrace it, you can live for a long time. Rejecting it could result in costly consequences.”

Yet more than a quarter of US adults don’t get the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. Making matters worse, some 15 percent of adults have trouble falling asleep most days, especially women. 

There are lots of reasons why many of us get too little Zzzs, from to-do lists keeping us awake to pushing bedtime back because we want to score a little more “me” time after a long, stressful day. But considering many of us have inflexible wake-up times—whether for work, kids, or exercise—one of the best things we can do to score more sleep at night is to go to bed earlier.

That said, wanting to fall asleep at a decent hour and feeling physiologically ready to drift off are two different things. To find out what we can do to go to bed earlier and, hopefully, get some more Zzzs at night, we chatted with two sleep specialists: Dr. Pristas and Nicole Carmona, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Sleep Health and Insomnia Program at Stanford University. Read on for everything you need to know.

Why Is It So Hard to Go to Sleep Early? 

There are many reasons people have trouble going to sleep at a reasonable hour. 

Some of it comes down to our lifestyles: “[We’re often] very busy during the day taking care of work, kids, and other tasks, which means the evening is often the first opportunity to unwind without the pressure of having to work, be productive, or to parent,” Carmona says. This is called revenge bedtime procrastination and (understandably) tempts many people to delay bedtime to get their “me time” in. Other times, you simply lose track of time and unintentionally delay bedtime, such as when you’re scrolling on Instagram or watching just one more episode of your favorite show.

For others, staying up late is more of a physiological by-product: You may feel tired, but your mind may still be racing with reflections from the day or running through to-do lists for tomorrow. “An active mind interferes with falling asleep earlier,” Carmona says.

It’s also important to note that some folks have internal body clocks (aka circadian rhythms) that naturally prefer a later bedtime and wake time, which can make falling asleep earlier difficult or unrealistic. “Even if they think they would prefer to go to bed earlier, they might really struggle to fall asleep,” Carmona says. (More on this later.)

Benefits of Going to Sleep Earlier 

Going to bed earlier isn’t “better” in and of itself. But getting enough sleep each night is crucial for your health—and people often need to hit the hay earlier than usual to make that happen, Dr. Pristas says.

“Getting less than seven hours of sleep a night raises the risk for cardiovascular disease,” he explains, adding that getting less sleep is also tied to a shorter life span. 

Getting enough rest is particularly crucial for your brain. While you snooze, your brain digests everything you learned that day and prepares for it to be recalled tomorrow and beyond. Dr. Pristas also points out that the glymphatic system in our brain, which cleans the waste and toxins that build up during daily activity, works almost exclusively during sleep.

Sufficient sleep is also a major player in your fitness routine. Athletes who get a higher quantity and quality of sleep may notice improved athletic performance, reaction time, accuracy, and success in team sports, and they may also have a lower risk of getting injured or sick, according to a 2017 study review in Current Sports Medicine Reports. On the flip side, the study found when athletes didn’t get enough sleep, their neurocognitive performance suffered. Specifically, they felt more fatigued and sore, had a worse mood, and felt more confused—all things you don’t want to experience during a workout. Even getting just one hour less than the amount of sleep you need can negatively impact strength, speed, anaerobic power, and endurance during next-day exercise, particularly for evening workouts, according to a 2022 study review in Sports Medicine.

All that said, not everyone needs eight hours of sleep: Some of us naturally thrive on seven hours a night while others may need nine, both experts say. Carmona also reminds us that some of our circadian rhythms prefer to stay up and sleep in later, while others are on an early bird schedule. But if you have a strict wake-up time in the morning (as most of us do), you’ll want to ensure you’re getting sufficient sleep to reap all the benefits mentioned above.

Tips for Going to Bed Earlier 

A good sleep routine is a 24-hour-a-day job, Dr. Pristas says. You’re probably familiar with some of the best practices of how to sleep early, from avoiding caffeine late in the day to resisting the urge to doomscroll before bed. But there are many other simple, practical moves you can make to go to bed earlier and, as a result, hopefully reap all the benefits of a solid night’s sleep. Here are a few tips on how to go to sleep earlier:

1. Wake up 15–30 Minutes Earlier Each Week

Our sleep is regulated by two internal systems: our homeostatic sleep drive (which builds up “pressure” to sleep from the time you wake up) and our circadian rhythm (which is that internal body clock we talked about earlier).

“To fall asleep earlier, you need to have enough sleep pressure built up and your body clock needs to be on board with the new bedtime,” Carmona explains. “So, the most effective way to start going to bed earlier is to start waking up earlier—and to stick to this new wake-up time consistently.” 

Carmona says shifting your wake-up time 15–30 minutes earlier each week will give your body enough time to adjust to its new sleep opportunity window, which is the period of time you give your body to try to fall asleep, as opposed to the actual time you spend in slumber. This approach builds up the necessary sleep pressure you need to fall asleep earlier and helps your circadian rhythm adapt to your new bedtime. 

2. Bump up Your Bedtime in Small Increments Each Week, Too

Once you’ve chosen your new wake-up time, count back seven to nine hours before that to mark your new bedtime goal. Then, just like how you’re slowly adjusting to your earlier wake-up time, gradually shift your bedtime to earlier in the evening, too. 

Dr. Pristas’s recommendation: Move up your bedtime goal post by 10–20 minutes every week until you get to your desired bedtime (and forgive yourself when you occasionally miss that goal).

Keep in mind that your circadian rhythm and sleep drive won’t change overnight, Dr. Pristas adds, noting that it may take two months for your body to adjust to the new norm. 

3. Schedule an Evening ‘Worry-Purge’

If tomorrow’s to-dos or other worries frequently keep you awake at night, Carmona suggests setting aside daily problem-solving time in the early evening after your work day ends. The goal of this “worry purge” is to intentionally reflect, organize, and plan—essentially “closing the day” before transitioning into the evening. 

“Think through pressing concerns when you are at your mental best, and let go of worrying at night when you would like to be sleeping,” she says. 

4. Create a Relaxing Wind-Down Routine

It’s important to have a consistent, relaxing, and enjoyable wind-down routine in the evening to help calm your nervous system and reduce sleep-interfering anxiety, Carmona says. Set a firm cut-off time for work- or family-related tasks, and then begin to unwind, making sure that cut-off gives yourself plenty of time to physiologically relax before it’s time to go to sleep. 

Once you reach that cut-off time, start your sleep-prep routine. A solid place to start, per Dr. Pristas, is dimming the lights one hour before bedtime as you begin to unwind. From there, do what you personally find relaxing and enjoyable, such as:

And while blue light is notorious for wreaking havoc on your ability to fall asleep, the reality is many of us watch TV before bed to wind down, too. If you can’t imagine going to bed without a quick episode or two, Carmona notes that what you consume is far more impactful than the screen (and blue light itself): Watching a funny or comforting show can help your body physiologically relax, she explains, as long as you stay away from things that will make you feel stressed, anxious, angry, or alert.

5. Take a Warm Shower or Bath

As we mentioned above, there are plenty of ways to relax before bed—but taking a warm bath or shower might be an especially good way to wind down. Research shows a warm shower or bath taken one to two hours before bed can improve sleep quality and sleep efficiency. Just 10 minutes is enough to help get your body ready for dreamland. 

6. Write Tomorrow’s To-Do List Before Bed

Stress can make it harder to fall asleep. Like Carmona suggests doing a “worry purge” to transition from work mode to relax mode in the early evening, Dr. Pristas also recommends writing down your important duties for tomorrow to get them off your mind before bed. 

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General found that participants fell asleep significantly faster after taking five minutes before bed to write a to-do list for the next few days compared to journaling about what they’d completed the previous few days.

7. Maintain Your Sleep Schedule on Weekends

Both experts—as well as most research—agree that a consistent sleep schedule is crucial. Not only do you want to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every night, but you also want to make sure you’re sticking to this schedule on the weekend as much as possible. 

Sleeping in for an extra hour or two on the weekends might be beneficial if you’re operating on a sleep debt, but snoozing much longer can present health risks. This common shift in sleep schedules between the work week and the weekend, also known as “social jet lag,” can take a toll on your health, with possible side effects ranging from a higher risk of depression to cardiovascular risks. 

When to Talk to Your Doctor

If you regularly have trouble falling or staying asleep or struggle to wake up at conventional hours, talk to your primary care physician or a sleep specialist. Dr. Pristas notes that it only takes about four weeks to develop a chronic insomnia problem, so if you’re regularly struggling with your sleep, it’s smart to get help sooner than you may think.

There are effective treatments available for sleep problems, Carmona notes—namely, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and prescription sleep medications. “Importantly, many providers can help you get better quality sleep on a schedule that complements your internal clock and fits with your lifestyle and goals,” she says. 

The Takeaway 

Getting sufficient sleep is crucial for your brain and body to function at their best, including during and after workouts. For many people, going to bed at a decent hour is a good way to make sure you get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night. That said, everything from anxiety to family and work obligations late into the evening can make going to bed early difficult.

Taking time to wind down with methods like a warm shower, dim lights, and “worry purge” can help your body feel prepared for sleep sooner. Most importantly, try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, shifting up your bedtime and wake-up time 10–30 minutes earlier each week so your body can gradually adjust.

It’s also crucial to listen to and follow your body’s cues for when it’s ready to sleep, Carmona points out. “Sleep is an automatic process and trying to control that process [too much] actually interferes with sleep,” she adds. 

If you’ve been trying to adjust your sleep schedule to go to bed earlier for three to four weeks to no avail, talk to your doctor or a sleep specialist.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.