Why focus on your sleep?
Exercise, Nutrition, Connection and Sleep are often considered the four pillars of good health.
Of these four pillars, sleep may be the easiest to improve, and improving your sleep may give you leverage to improve your health in other ways.
Mental Health
Those who get quality sleep report lower stress levels.
They are also less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression (CDC, 2021) and the correlation between suicidality and poor sleep is very strong.
Cognitive function
Sleep impairs reaction times and other cognitive functions. For example, drowsy driving causes over 100,000 crashes in the US per year and hundreds of fatalities.
Sleep aids in learning and memory, and repairs connections—essential for mental clarity and preventing neurodegenerative diseases.
Heart and Cardiovascular Health
Poor sleep can increase the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease by 48% (AHA, 2022).1
Weight Management
Sleep helps regulate hormones that control appetite and a study from the National Institutes of Health found that insufficient sleep is linked to a 55% higher risk of developing obesity among adults.(NIH, 2010)
Top Thieves of Sleep
These are some of the most common culprits stealing your rest — and knowing them is the first step to taking your sleep back.
Irregular Schedules (and Social Jetlag)
Busy, unpredictable schedules — from work deadlines and school assignments to social events and late-night chats — can easily throw your sleep out of sync. Staying up late for a paper, early morning meetings, weekend parties, or last-minute social plans disrupts your body’s natural circadian rhythm. Over time, this “social jetlag,” when your weekday and weekend schedules differ significantly, leads to feeling constantly overtired and groggy.
Quick Tips:
- Aim to keep your bedtime and wake-up time within the same hour every day, even on weekends.
- If you’re up late, try a short nap the next day instead of sleeping in for hours, which can make the cycle worse.
- Plan social activities earlier when you can — morning coffee catch-ups or evening walks can replace midnight hangouts.
- Use consistent cues — morning sunlight, light exercise, and hydration — to help your body reset after a late night.
Technology and Screen Time
Phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs are some of the biggest culprits in stealing sleep. Blue light suppresses melatonin, and the stimulation from scrolling social media, gaming, or binge-watching makes it harder to wind down. Even “just one more episode” or “just checking email” can delay sleep by an hour or more.
Quick Tips:
- Set a “tech curfew” at least one hour before bedtime.
- Use blue-light filters or night-shift modes if screens are unavoidable in the evening.
- Keep your phone out of reach during the night to avoid disruptive notifications.
- Replace screens with a relaxing bedtime routine — reading, journaling, stretching, or even light music.
Stress, Anxiety, and Mental Load
Racing thoughts — whether about work, school, relationships, finances, or future plans — are a major sleep disruptor. Stress raises cortisol levels, keeping the brain alert when it should be winding down. Anxiety and depression also commonly interfere with both falling asleep and staying asleep, creating a frustrating cycle.
Quick Tips:
- Build a calming wind-down routine with dim lights and quiet activities.
- Practice mindfulness, meditation, or deep breathing before bed — even 5 minutes helps.
- Write down to-do lists or worries earlier in the evening to clear your mind.
- If poor sleep persists for more than a few weeks, talk with a professional — you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Caffeine, Alcohol, Marijuana, and Poor Dietary Habits
Stimulants and timing matter more than many people realize. Caffeine can stay in your system for 6–8 hours, delaying sleep onset and reducing deep sleep. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but it fragments sleep and cuts into restorative REM cycles. Marijuana, especially high-THC strains, can disrupt natural sleep architecture, reducing overall sleep quality. Eating heavy meals right before bed can also cause discomfort and interfere with sleep.
Choose one:
- Cut off caffeine by early afternoon.
- Avoid alcohol close to bedtime; stop drinking at least 3 hours before sleep.
- If using marijuana, keep doses moderate and track how it affects your rest.
- Finish heavy meals 2–3 hours before bed; opt for light snacks if you’re hungry late.
- Stay hydrated earlier in the day and taper fluids at night to minimize middle-of-the-night wake-ups.
Important Note
Not all tiredness stems from lifestyle habits. Sleep disorders are more common than many realize — for example, sleep apnea affects an estimated 3–7% of adults. If you feel excessively sleepy during the day, or if lifestyle changes haven’t helped, it’s important to seek professional evaluation to rule out underlying medical issues.
From the organizers of Sleep Awareness Month
as seen on:
SleepLiteracy.org is promoted and hosted by
Our Host
We are a nonprofit organization with a mission to foster a cultural shift in public health.
We promote open sharing of health campaigns, digital health tools, research, data, and other resources.
We nudge mission-based organizations to be more open with their content, give away some of their content for free and:
- Lift copyright with creative commons licenses
- Remove pay and registration walls
- Allow access to search engines and artificial intelligent systems
- Tag and categorize content with modern best practices for retrieval and access
These steps will help to broaden dissemination of high quality evidence-based content to overcome misinformation and biased information.
We are recruiting steering committee members for Sleep Awareness Month.
Contact us if you want to join leaders who will shape our culture around sleep and wellbeing.