What to Do If You Can’t Sleep at Night - 11 Simple Habits to Fall Asleep Faster

You’re lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling, and your brain has decided now is the perfect time to replay every awkward thing you said in 2014. This guide answers the questions people ask most when they can’t sleep: what to actually do in the moment, how long to stay in bed before giving up, whether your phone is really the villain, and which habits are worth building. Read the quick answers first, then dig into the ones that apply to you.

Quick answers

• How do I fall asleep fast when I can’t sleep? Get out of bed if you’re still awake after roughly 20 minutes, do something quiet and boring in dim light, and go back when you feel drowsy. Staying in bed frustrated trains your brain to associate bed with being awake.
• Why can’t I sleep even though I’m tired? Feeling tired and feeling sleepy aren’t the same thing. Stress, caffeine, irregular schedules, and too much time in bed can leave you exhausted but wired at bedtime.
• Should I just stay in bed and try harder? No. Trying harder is the problem. Sleep responds to relaxation and routine, not effort.
• Is it bad to look at my phone in bed? Usually yes. The light and the endless scrolling both push your brain toward alertness. If you must use it, keep it dim, brief, and non-stimulating.
• When should I see a doctor about insomnia? If poor sleep lasts more than a few weeks, affects your daytime functioning, or comes with loud snoring, gasping, or leg discomfort, talk to a healthcare professional.

What should I do right now if I can’t sleep?

First, stop watching the clock. Clock-watching turns every minute into evidence that tomorrow will be terrible, and that anxiety is what keeps you up.

If it’s been about 20 minutes and you’re no closer to sleep, get up. Go to another room, keep the lights low, and do something quiet: read a boring book, fold laundry, listen to calm audio. Skip anything exciting or bright. When you start to feel drowsy, go back to bed. If you’re still awake 20 minutes later, repeat. It feels counterintuitive, but it works because you’re protecting the link between your bed and sleep.

One more thing: if your mind is spinning, write down what’s on it. A scrap of paper with tomorrow’s worries on it is often enough to let your brain release them for the night.

Why can’t I sleep even though I’m tired?

Being physically tired and being sleepy are two different states. You can be worn out from a long day and still not be ready for sleep, because your nervous system is still switched on.

Common culprits:

• Caffeine later than you think. Its effects can linger for many hours. That 3 p.m. coffee might still be working at 11 p.m.
• An irregular schedule. Sleeping in until noon on Sunday makes 11 p.m. on Monday feel like the middle of the afternoon.
• A racing mind. Unfinished tasks and unresolved worries are classic sleep thieves.
• Too much time in bed. If you go to bed at 9 and get up at 8 but only sleep seven hours, your brain learns that bed is for lying awake.
• Alcohol. It can knock you out, then wake you at 3 a.m. as it wears off.

If you’re genuinely unsure what’s causing it, keep a simple sleep log for a week or two. Patterns usually show up fast.

How long should I stay in bed before getting up?

Around 20 minutes is the usual advice, but don’t measure it precisely, that defeats the purpose. The point is to avoid lying there for an hour getting more frustrated by the minute.

If you don’t have a clock you can check without stress, use a rough sense of time. And if you wake in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, the same rule applies. Getting up at 3 a.m. feels wrong, but it beats four hours of staring at the ceiling.

Is my phone really the problem?

Partly, yes. Two things happen when you scroll in bed. The light tells your brain it’s still daytime, and the content, news, arguments, videos, keeps your mind engaged when it should be winding down.

That said, phones aren’t the only issue, and ditching yours won’t fix everything if your schedule is chaos. A reasonable middle ground: set a cutoff an hour before bed, charge the phone outside the bedroom, and use a plain alarm clock if you rely on your phone to wake up. If that feels extreme, at least switch to something calm and turn the brightness down.

What are the 11 habits that actually help?

These aren’t exotic. They’re boring, which is exactly why they work.

1. Keep the same wake-up time every day. Even weekends. Your wake time anchors your whole rhythm; your bedtime will follow.
2. Get daylight early. Ten to thirty minutes of outdoor light in the morning helps set your body clock. Cloudy days still count.
3. Cut caffeine after early afternoon. If you’re sensitive, noon is a safer cutoff. Experiment and see.
4. Move your body during the day. Regular activity helps sleep. Intense workouts right before bed can backfire for some people.
5. Build a wind-down routine. Twenty to thirty minutes of the same low-key activities, shower, tea, reading, signals that sleep is coming.
6. Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Most people sleep better in a slightly cool room. Earplugs and blackout curtains are cheap fixes.
7. Use the bed for sleep (and sex) only. No working, no scrolling, no arguing about the mortgage in bed.
8. Get up if you’re awake too long. The 20-minute rule from above. It’s the single most useful habit on this list.
9. Limit alcohol in the evening. It helps you fall asleep and then sabotages the second half of your night.
10. Eat lighter and earlier in the evening. A huge late meal can keep you uncomfortable. Being slightly hungry is usually fine.
11. Write down tomorrow’s worries. A two-minute brain dump before bed gets the looping thoughts out of your head and onto paper.

Pick two or three to start. Changing everything at once rarely sticks, and you won’t know which habit actually helped.

What if I’ve tried everything and still can’t sleep?

That’s worth taking seriously. Persistent insomnia is common, and it’s treatable, but the fix is usually a structured approach, not another supplement.

A few things to know:

• Sleeping pills aren’t a long-term answer for most people. They can help short-term, but they don’t address the habits and thoughts that keep insomnia going.
• A therapy called CBT-I is the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia. It’s structured, it takes weeks not days, and it often works better than medication over the long run. Ask your doctor about it.
• Some causes are medical. Sleep apnea, thyroid issues, restless legs, depression, and anxiety can all wreck sleep. These need proper evaluation, not a new pillow.

If your sleeplessness has lasted more than a few weeks, or you’re struggling to function during the day, book an appointment. That’s not a dramatic step, it’s just the sensible one.

Related questions

Does melatonin help?

For some people, in some situations, like jet lag or shift work, melatonin can help shift timing. For ordinary chronic insomnia, the evidence is mixed and the effect is usually modest. It’s also a hormone, not a vitamin, so it’s worth talking to a pharmacist or doctor before using it regularly. Dosages vary widely by product and country, so don’t guess.

Should I nap during the day if I slept badly?

Keep it short and early if you do, a nap in the late afternoon can steal the sleep pressure you need at night. If you’re chronically short on sleep, fixing the night is better than patching it with naps.

What if my child can’t sleep?

Kids’ sleep problems often look different from adults’ - bedtime resistance, night waking, fear of the dark. The basics still apply: consistent routine, dark cool room, no screens near bedtime. For family-specific guidance, the kids and family safety section is a good place to start.

Where can I find more practical guides like this?

If you want step-by-step help for other everyday situations, not just sleep, browse the practical guides and the practical-knowledge blog. And if you ever need to reach emergency services while traveling, keep the emergency numbers by country handy.

Bottom line

If you can’t sleep tonight, get out of bed after about 20 minutes, do something dull in low light, and return when you’re drowsy. Over the coming weeks, protect your wake-up time, cut evening caffeine and alcohol, and build a wind-down routine you can actually stick to. If it drags on for weeks or starts wrecking your days, see a professional, chronic insomnia is treatable, and you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through it.

This article is general information, not medical advice. For personal concerns about sleep or health, talk to a qualified healthcare professional.