Tags: Routines | Sleep | Strategies | Stress | Tips & Tricks | Work-life

We know that sleep quality significantly impacts cognitive performance, emotional regulation, and overall health—areas particularly important for busy professionals. Here are some practical suggestions to help improve your sleep quality and establish better sleep hygiene. As with all our insights and advice at the Mental Health Gym we dig into the evidence-based support for recommended techniques:

Environmental Modifications

Optimize Sleep Environment

  • Maintain cool room temperature (16-19°C): Studies show that cooler temperatures promote deeper sleep by facilitating the natural drop in core body temperature associated with sleep onset (Czeisler et al., 2013)
  • Use blackout curtains or eye masks: Light exposure suppresses melatonin production; total darkness promotes deeper sleep (Gooley et al., 2011)
  • Reduce noise disturbances with earplugs or white noise machines: Even when not causing awakening, noise disrupts sleep architecture (Halperin, 2014). We also find that nature sounds like crickets or flowing water helps, although personal preference may be to include a timer switch this off after an hour or two.

Electronic Device Management

  • Avoid screens 1-2 hours before bedtime: Blue light from devices suppresses melatonin production by up to 50% (Chang et al., 2015). 
  • Use night mode settings or blue-light blocking glasses if device use is necessary: These interventions partially mitigate melatonin suppression (Shechter et al., 2018). We know that many devices have built in features to reduce the blue light problem, however we also think there are significant benefits to ‘unplugging’. 

Behavioural Strategies

Consistent Sleep Schedule

  • Maintain regular sleep-wake times, even on weekends: This reinforces circadian rhythms and improves sleep efficiency (Irish et al., 2015). 
  • Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep for optimal cognitive performance: Meta-analyses confirm this range optimizes cognitive function (Watson et al., 2015). We are aware of the fact that as you get older your need for sleep may diminish so adjust these hours to suit your personal circumstances but make sure that you stick to the same number of hours each night. 

Pre-Sleep Routine

  • Develop a 30-60 minute wind-down routine: Consistent pre-sleep activities signal to the brain that sleep is imminent (Milner & Cote, 2009). At the Mental Health Gym we recommend an evening routine that facilitates this slow down. 
  • Practice relaxation techniques (progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing): These reduce physiological arousal that interferes with sleep onset (Neuendorf et al., 2015)

Stimulus Control

  • Use your bed only for sleep and intimacy: This strengthens bed-sleep association (Spielman et al., 2011). We find spatial association is strong driving force in habit and routine formation and believe that this type of association is an important principle in mental health management techniques. 
  • If unable to fall asleep within 20 minutes, leave bed and return when sleepy: This prevents conditioning insomnia (Morin et al., 2015). The challenge here is not to do anything that would re-activate your awakened state, so shifting attention back to your evening wind-down routine is the plan and consider how this routine can be improved. You may need to experiment with different things (e.g. including hot milk or herbal tea). 

Physiological Considerations

Nutrition and Consumption Habits

  • Avoid caffeine 6+ hours before bedtime: Caffeine has a half-life of 5-7 hours and blocks adenosine receptors involved in sleep promotion (Drake et al., 2013). At the Mental Health gym we recommend abstaining from caffeinated drinks and other similar stimulants several hours before dinner.  
  • Limit alcohol, especially close to bedtime: Although alcohol may facilitate sleep onset, it disrupts REM sleep and overall sleep architecture (Ebrahim et al., 2013). Alcohol is particularly pernicious, especially if consumed at night. 
  • Avoid large meals within 3 hours of bedtime: Digestive processes can interfere with sleep quality (St-Onge et al., 2016)

Physical Activity

  • Regular exercise improves sleep quality: Meta-analyses show moderate-intensity exercise improves sleep onset and efficiency (Kovacevic et al., 2018). Personal experience has shown that physical exhaustion (especially when resulting from exercise) has a particularly good effect on sleep induction and quality. 
  • Complete vigorous exercise at least 1-2 hours before bedtime: Evening high-intensity exercise may increase arousal and delay sleep onset in some individuals (Stutz et al., 2019). 

Cognitive Approaches

Cognitive Restructuring

  • Challenge catastrophic thoughts about sleep: Reducing sleep-related anxiety improves sleep quality (Harvey et al., 2017). There is nothing worse than stressing about whether you’re going to be able to fall asleep or not. We recommend distraction techniques like thinking about enjoyable past holiday experiences and transporting yourself back to a special moment when mindfulness of living in the present moment was strong. 
  • Practice acceptance of occasional poor sleep: This reduces performance anxiety that perpetuates insomnia (Ong et al., 2012). 

Stress Management

  • Schedule “worry time” earlier in the day: Processing concerns before bedtime reduces rumination during the pre-sleep period (Carney et al., 2010).
  • Maintain a “worry journal” to externalise concerns: Writing down thoughts reduces cognitive load at bedtime (Scullin et al., 2018). 

Professional-Specific Interventions

Work-Life Boundaries

  • Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time: Work-related rumination significantly impacts sleep quality (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015).
  • Implement a digital curfew for work communications: Checking work emails before bed is associated with poorer sleep quality and next-day work engagement (Lanaj et al., 2014).

Treatment of Underlying Sleep Disorders

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I): First-line treatment has demonstrated that CBT has efficacy equal or superior to sleep medications (Trauer et al., 2015). We have an article dedicated to understanding CBT. 
  • Sleep tracking: While consumer devices have limitations, they can identify patterns requiring intervention (Baron et al., 2018). 

Conclusion

At the Mental Health Gym, we know that sleep quality [INSERT LINK] is an important foundation to your mental health. Research indicates that non-depressed individuals with insomnia have a significantly increased risk of developing depression and sleep disruption can lead to negative spirals that can lead to mental heath deterioration. Fortunately, if you do struggle with the quality of your sleep there are several techniques you can apply to help improve your sleep quality and establish better sleep hygiene. These range from environmental management strategies, to changes in behaviour, attitude, and physical interventions that include exercise and nutrition adjustments. As a high performing professional you’ll also want to pay attention to your work-life balance boundary management and use data tracking techniques (including sleep quality tracking in your daily Mental Health Gym Journal).

References

As with much of the research assistance we obtain at the Mental Health Gym, not all studies are publicly accessible. These references can be accessed through academic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, or university library systems. Some may be available as open-access publications or require pre-paid institutional access.

At the Mental Health Gym, we’re not too hung up about the specific academic details. We are more interested in the fact that there is generally overwhelming evidence that the routines and exercises we recommend are supported by evidence-based research.

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