Better sleep: the essential sleep hygiene rules
In most cases, sleep can be improved without medication: with sufficient sleep pressure built up through an active day, regular sleep times, a quiet, dark and cool bedroom, and the right approach to caffeine, alcohol and daytime naps. These recommendations were compiled by Michael Adler, DMD, MSc, from his sleep medicine consultations at the Swiss Dental Center in Zurich.
Build up sleep pressure: sleep comes from being awake
Live your life to the full – do not switch to low gear just because your nights are bad. An active day with work, hobbies and exercise is the precondition for a genuine need for sleep, the so-called sleep pressure. Only with sufficient sleep pressure can sleep be truly restful. A spell of bad nights can often be ended simply by skipping the afternoon nap or going to bed later – the nightly need for sleep can then settle back in. Try to let go of anxiety about the coming night: natural sleep pressure will let you sleep again.
How much sleep is normal?
Time in bed should be sleeping time: the bed is not a living space but a place to sleep – so spend only your sleeping hours there. Around seven hours of sleep are often enough for an adult body; the need varies from person to person. Keep your sleep times on weekends and holidays too, because the sleep-wake rhythm knows no days off.
Regular sleep times – the wake-up time is your anchor
Find a fixed bedtime and vary it by no more than about 30 minutes – including weekends and holidays. Most important of all is a regular wake-up time: it is the “anchor point” of our biological rhythms.
The bedroom: quiet, dark, cool
The bedroom should be pleasant and conducive to sleep. Check your bed, slatted frame, mattress and pillow – this is no place for false economy. A room temperature of around 17 to 18 degrees, a slightly open window and good blackout create the right conditions; avoid draughts and noise. Things that remind you of work or stress – a desk, the ironing board – do not belong in the bedroom.
Two points are often underestimated: a visible or audible clock in the bedroom triggers tension at night (“3 a.m. – another night ruined”) and robs you of the last bit of relaxation. And blue light – standby LEDs, a TV in bed, your smartphone – signals “daylight” to the body and markedly disrupts the release of the sleep hormone. Cover LEDs and banish screens from the bed.
Falling asleep: buffer zone and bedtime routine
Create a “buffer zone” between your day and bedtime: work, planning and demanding conversations should be finished about two hours before you go to bed. If worries and brooding will not let go, write them on a piece of paper next to the bed – then your brain does not have to hold on to the thought and can switch off. A short, always identical bedtime routine (checking the front door, switching off lights, changing, brushing your teeth) attunes the body to sleep. Relaxation techniques such as autogenic training, yoga or progressive muscle relaxation help as well. And do not try to force sleep: if you cannot fall asleep, get up and try again only when drowsiness returns.
Awake at night? How to get back to sleep
Brief nocturnal awakenings are no cause for concern – we all wake more often than we realise. Interpret quiet wakefulness as “resting in pleasant drowsiness”; the body recovers from that too. If sleep will not return at all, leave the bed, read or listen to music in another room, and start a new attempt only when you feel sleepy – repeatedly if necessary. Do not eat at night (the body otherwise gets used to nocturnal “feeding”) and avoid bright light, which acts as a wake-up signal and shifts the internal clock.
The morning: daylight instead of the snooze button
Expose yourself to bright, real daylight soon after getting up – even on grey days. This stabilises the sleep-wake rhythm and lifts your mood. Get up at the usual time even after a bad night and start your day (“all the more reason”) – dozing on merely shifts the problem to the next night. Allow yourself a calm start: stretch, take a contrast shower, have breakfast.
Daytime naps: short or not at all
A daytime nap reduces sleep pressure and can cause problems falling and staying asleep at night. If you do not want to give it up: 20 to 25 minutes at most, with an alarm, and never after 3 p.m. Particularly treacherous is briefly nodding off in front of the TV in the evening.
Food, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine
Dinner is ideally eaten three to four hours before bedtime and kept light – heavy food (fatty fried dishes, alcohol, rich desserts) disturbs sleep. A small snack before brushing your teeth can actually promote sleep: milk with honey or a banana contain L-tryptophan, a building block of sleep regulation.
Caffeine (coffee, black, green and mate tea, cola, energy drinks) can impair sleep even in people who do not notice it subjectively – depending on individual sensitivity, the effect lasts for many hours. Avoid caffeine in the last hours before bedtime; if sleep problems persist, a several-week trial of drinking coffee only in the morning, and in moderation, is worthwhile.
Alcohol may sometimes help you fall asleep faster, but it fragments sleep, suppresses deep sleep and causes problems staying asleep, especially in the second half of the night. Even relatively small amounts noticeably reduce how restorative sleep is. Important for snorers: alcohol intensifies and prolongs nocturnal breathing pauses – people with sleep apnea should particularly avoid it in the evening. Nicotine also affects sleep negatively, especially combined with alcohol.
Exercise – but not too late
Regular physical activity improves sleep and has anxiety-reducing, mood-stabilising effects. Aim for about 30 minutes of activity a day – but finish intensive exercise around three hours before your planned bedtime.
Be careful with sleeping pills
Avoid taking sleeping pills over longer periods: many preparations are habit-forming and alter the natural sleep-wake rhythm. If sleep problems persist for weeks, the cause belongs in medical hands – rather than being masked with tablets.
When the tips are not enough: get snoring and breathing pauses checked
Sleep hygiene works – but not against everything. Anyone who snores loudly despite good sleep habits, is constantly tired during the day, or has been observed to stop breathing at night should consider obstructive sleep apnea. Our online sleep test gives you a first assessment in a few minutes; diagnosis and treatment take place at the Swiss Dental Center at Hardbrücke in Zurich.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours of sleep do we really need?
Sleep needs vary from person to person – around seven hours are enough for many adults. What matters is not the number of hours but whether you feel rested and productive during the day.
What is the single most important sleep rule?
A regular wake-up time – on weekends and after bad nights too. It is the “anchor point” of the internal clock; all other biological rhythms align with it.
Does a glass of wine help you fall asleep?
Alcohol makes some people fall asleep faster, but it clearly worsens sleep quality: sleep becomes more restless, deep sleep is missing, and problems staying asleep often occur in the second half of the night. In sleep apnea, alcohol additionally intensifies nocturnal breathing pauses.
Author: Michael Adler, DMD, MSc – dentist focused on dental sleep medicine · Based on the guidelines of the SSSSC and DGSM · Last updated: August 2026