😴 Sleep Onset
How to Fall
Asleep Fast
Research-based techniques to fall asleep faster tonight, plus the daytime habits that make lying awake less likely.
How Long Should It Take to Fall Asleep?
Most healthy adults fall asleep within about 10–20 minutes. Taking much longer night after night is a sign that something is keeping you alert.
Sleep cannot be switched on by effort. Two systems decide when you fall asleep: sleep pressure, which builds the longer you are awake, and your circadian rhythm, which opens a window for sleep each evening. If you go to bed before that window opens, or while your mind and body are still on alert, you lie awake. You can learn how the body clock works in our guide to the circadian rhythm.
The fastest ways to fall asleep fast therefore do two things: they lower arousal — racing thoughts, heat, light and stimulants — and they line your bedtime up with your body clock. The infographic below summarises the techniques with the best evidence.
How to Fall Asleep Faster Tonight
Measured effects from controlled studies
🛁 1–2 HOURS BEFORE BED
Bathing in warm water 1–2 h before bed shortened the time to fall asleep by about 10 minutes on average.
Writing a specific to-do list for tomorrow helped people fall asleep about 9 minutes faster than writing about finished tasks.
🛏️ IN BED
Picturing a calm, engaging scene helped people with insomnia fall asleep faster than general distraction.
Can’t sleep? Leave the bed, do something quiet in dim light and return when sleepy.
🚫 AVOID
Even 6 hours before bedtime, caffeine reduced total sleep by more than 1 hour.
Light-emitting e-readers delayed sleep onset and the body clock.
8 Ways to Fall Asleep Faster Tonight
Start with the steps that suit you. Most people get the best results by combining several.
- 1
Go to bed when you feel sleepy, not just tired
Sleepiness — heavy eyelids, nodding off — is the signal that your sleep window is open. Use the Bedtime Calculator to pick a bedtime that fits your wake-up time and sleep cycles.
- 2
Take a warm bath or shower 1–2 hours before bed
Warm water draws heat to your hands and feet, which helps your core temperature fall — part of the body’s natural lead-in to sleep. A review of studies found this shortened sleep onset by about 10 minutes on average.[1]
- 3
Write tomorrow’s to-do list
Spend 5 minutes writing a specific list of tasks for the next days. In a sleep-lab study, people who did this fell asleep about 9 minutes faster than people who wrote about tasks they had already finished.[2]
- 4
Dim the lights and put screens away
Bright light in the evening delays your body clock. Reading on a light-emitting e-reader made people take longer to fall asleep than reading a printed book.[5] Use lamps and warm light for the last hour or two.
- 5
Use imagery distraction in bed
Picture a calm, detailed scene — a walk on a beach, a familiar route — and stay with the details. In people with insomnia, this helped them fall asleep faster and reduced unwanted thoughts.[3]
- 6
Try slow breathing or muscle relaxation
Breathe slowly in through the nose and out for a little longer, or tense and release each muscle group from your feet upwards. These methods calm the body and give your mind a simple focus.
- 7
Keep the bedroom dark, quiet and cool
A cool, dark room supports the drop in body temperature that comes before sleep. Use blackout curtains, an eye mask or earplugs if needed.
- 8
Get up if you can’t sleep
If you have been awake for what feels like about 20 minutes, get up, go to another dim room and do something quiet until you feel sleepy. This stops the bed from becoming linked with wakefulness — a core part of insomnia treatment.[6]
Daytime Habits That Help You Fall Asleep at Night
What you do during the day decides how easy sleep feels at night.
Keep a fixed wake-up time. Waking at the same time every day, including weekends, keeps your sleep window predictable. If your bedtime has drifted late, follow our guide on how to reset your circadian rhythm.
Set a caffeine cut-off. In a controlled study, caffeine taken even 6 hours before bed reduced total sleep by more than 1 hour.[4] Check how long your coffee stays in your system with the Caffeine Half-Life Calculator.
Be careful with alcohol. Alcohol can make you fall asleep faster, but it disturbs sleep in the second half of the night.[7] It is not a good sleep aid.
Nap early and short. A long late-afternoon nap reduces sleep pressure at bedtime. See our guide to the best time to take a nap.
| Habit | Effect on falling asleep | Better choice |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee after lunch | Can keep you alert into the night[4] | Stop caffeine at least 6 hours before bed |
| Scrolling in bed | Bright light delays sleep onset[5] | Dim the screen or read a printed book |
| Nightcap before bed | Lighter, broken sleep later in the night[7] | Avoid alcohol close to bedtime |
| Lying in bed awake for an hour | Links the bed with wakefulness[6] | Get up and return when sleepy |
| Sleeping in at the weekend | Shifts your body clock later | Wake within about an hour of your usual time |
When Trouble Falling Asleep Is More Than a Bad Night
Occasional slow nights are normal. Ongoing problems deserve attention.
Talk to a doctor if it regularly takes you more than about 30 minutes to fall asleep, three or more nights a week for several weeks, or if poor sleep is affecting your mood, work or safety. Persistent problems can be a sign of insomnia, a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, sleep apnoea, restless legs or another condition. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a well-established treatment.[6]
If you are building up missed sleep, see how much with the Sleep Debt Calculator and our guide on how much sleep you need.
This guide is for general education about healthy sleep. It is not a diagnosis or a treatment plan, and it does not replace advice from a qualified healthcare professional.
🌙 Plan Tonight’s Sleep
Find the bedtime that fits your sleep cycles and wake-up time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Falling Asleep Fast
Falling asleep within a few minutes every night can actually be a sign of sleep deprivation. A healthy target is about 10–20 minutes. To get there, go to bed when sleepy, keep the room dark and cool, and use a calming technique such as imagery or slow breathing.
The ‘military method’ combines muscle relaxation, slow breathing and calming imagery. Each of these parts has some research support, but the method itself has not been tested in proper studies.
Often your body clock has not opened its sleep window yet, or stress, caffeine, light or heat is keeping you alert. Being tired is not the same as being sleepy.
If you have been awake for about 20 minutes, get out of bed, go somewhere dim and do something quiet until you feel sleepy, then return. Avoid bright screens and clock-watching.
Yes, for many people. A warm bath or shower 1–2 hours before bed helps your core temperature drop afterwards, and studies found it shortened the time to fall asleep by about 10 minutes.
Sleep medicines and supplements are not right for everyone and can have side effects. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist before using them, especially during pregnancy or alongside other medicines.
Related Sleep Resources
Put this guide into practice with our free calculators and in-depth guides.
References & Further Reading
- Haghayegh S, et al. (2019). Before-bedtime passive body heating by warm shower or bath to improve sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 46, 124–135. PubMed 31102877 · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2019.04.008
- Scullin MK, et al. (2018). The effects of bedtime writing on difficulty falling asleep: a polysomnographic study comparing to-do lists and completed activity lists. J Exp Psychol Gen, 147(1), 139–146. PubMed 29058942 · doi:10.1037/xge0000374
- Harvey AG, Payne S. (2002). The management of unwanted pre-sleep thoughts in insomnia: distraction with imagery versus general distraction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40(3), 267–277. PubMed 11863237 · doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00012-2
- Drake C, et al. (2013). Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 9(11), 1195–1200. PubMed 24235903 · doi:10.5664/jcsm.3170
- Chang AM, et al. (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. PNAS, 112(4), 1232–1237. PubMed 25535358 · doi:10.1073/pnas.1418490112
- Edinger JD, et al. (2021). Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: an AASM clinical practice guideline. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(2), 255–262. PubMed 33164742 · doi:10.5664/jcsm.8986
- Ebrahim IO, et al. (2013). Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37(4), 539–549. PubMed 23347102 · doi:10.1111/acer.12006