Sleep Hygiene Checklist: Review Your Habits and Build a Plan for Better Sleep

About this tool

Sleep hygiene is the set of daily habits and environmental conditions that support good sleep. The term covers the practical basics: a consistent schedule, a cool, dark, quiet bedroom, sensible use of caffeine and alcohol, light exposure, and a calming wind-down. These habits do not treat a sleep disorder on their own, but poor sleep hygiene can undermine otherwise healthy sleep, and improving it is a sensible first step for almost anyone sleeping poorly.

The evidence is strongest for a few core habits. Keeping a regular schedule, especially a fixed wake time, steadies your internal clock. Getting bright light in the morning and dimming it at night supports your natural sleep-wake rhythm. Limiting caffeine to earlier in the day, avoiding alcohol close to bed (it fragments sleep even though it can make you drowsy), and keeping the bedroom cool and dark all reduce the things that disrupt sleep. Reserving the bed for sleep, rather than work or scrolling, strengthens the link between bed and sleep.

A realistic word of caution: for chronic insomnia, sleep hygiene alone is usually not enough, and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the recommended first-line treatment. Think of sleep hygiene as the foundation. Get the basics in place, see how much they help, and seek targeted treatment if poor sleep persists. The most useful approach is to change a few habits at a time, which is what the personalized plan below is for.

Caffeine's effects last longer than most people expect. Caffeine has a half-life of roughly five hours, so half of an afternoon cup can still be active in your system at bedtime, and it can measurably shorten and fragment sleep even when taken six hours before bed (Drake et al., 2013). That is one reason the checklist asks about the timing of your last dose, not just whether you drink coffee at all.

Light is the strongest cue your body uses to set its internal clock. Bright light in the evening, including from phone and laptop screens, delays the release of the hormones that make you feel sleepy, while morning daylight helps anchor an earlier, more consistent wake time (American Academy of Sleep Medicine, reviewed 2021). That is why the checklist separates morning light exposure from evening screen habits rather than treating light as one item.

The most common mistake is trying to change everything on the same night. Habits compound: pick two or three items from the checklist, keep them for a week or two, and notice whether your sleep improves before adding more. Chasing one bad night with a long list of strict new rules tends to backfire, since the added pressure around sleep can itself make it harder to fall asleep.

If you have kept good sleep hygiene for several weeks and still struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, or feel rested, that is a sign to look further than habits alone. A therapist trained in CBT-I, or tracking your nights with a Sleep Diary, can help identify what is actually driving the problem. Our therapist directory can help you find someone who treats insomnia.

Reviewed by Michael Callans, MSW
Reviewed the checklist items for accuracy and alignment with evidence-based sleep guidance.

References

1. Irish LA, Kline CE, Gunn HE, Buysse DJ, Hall MH. The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: a review of empirical evidence. Sleep Med Rev. 2015;22:23-36.
2. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Healthy sleep habits. AASM; reviewed 2021.
3. Drake C, Roehrs T, Shambroom J, Roth T. Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. J Clin Sleep Med. 2013;9(11):1195-1200.

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