Poor sleep can quickly spiral into a cycle of stress, procrastination and self-doubt. Which leads you to ask the question: How can I get more sleep? In this article, we’ll cover five ways to improve your sleep quality or quantity, the amount of sleep you get. If you’re struggling to sleep, you’ll know it depends on much more than whether you feel tired. You’re lying there, the house is quiet, everyone else is asleep… and your mind is still running on overdrive. You might be replaying conversations or planning tomorrow. Or questioning things that didn’t feel right earlier in the day. So, why can’t you switch off?

Your busy brain directly affects your energy every day and how much of yourself you have left for the people and activities you care about.

Sleep is where your brain processes the emotional experiences of the day — especially during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. If your sleep is broken or shallow, this emotional processing doesn’t happen properly. It’s like your brain carries yesterday’s stress into the next morning because you’ve not had enough rest time. And the physical repairs which the body needs to do aren’t complete either.

The answer isn’t about trying harder. It’s about understanding how your brain works — and creating the conditions where sleep can happen naturally. There are strategies to support better sleep at night which include stretching your body, mind and creative soul, which I’ll explore along with these questions:.

• Why can’t I switch off at night?

• Why do I wake at 3am feeling anxious?

• Can stress cause insomnia?

• How do I calm a racing mind?

Some of the strategies I recommend to my clients go beyond basic sleep hygiene, so see which ones you’re already doing and any that might help you get more sleep.

Why can’t I switch off at night? 

If sleep feels difficult, the first thing to look at is your day time stress level. It’s possible your nervous system is stuck on high alert, ready for danger. Some people carry stress completely subconsciously and they consciously believe they are ‘fine’. Yet it’s the symptoms which show up in their body which give it away, like sleep issues or even gut issues. Sleep isn’t something you can force — it’s something your brain allows when it feels safe to switch off. In his book, ‘Why We Sleep’, Matthew Walker explains that sleep is a biological necessity. It restores your brain, regulates emotions, strengthens memory and supports your immune system to fight disease, repair your organs and keep you well. But when your stress levels are high, your brain stays on alert. Your fight-or-flight response keeps producing adrenaline and cortisol, making it harder to switch off. This can also affect your digestion, because it affects the ability of your system to function and production of your hunger hormones. Lots of things stimulate adrenaline - and when we are tired, we feel like we need a little kick to help us get through the day. 

We cover the tools to change this cycle and more in the online workshop: The Sleep Reset: Tools to Overcome Sleep Issues and Tackle Stress (see eventbrite to book your seat for the next date).

Habits that can disrupt sleep

Many people unknowingly do things which affect their sleep. For example:

• No surprises: coffee, and caffeine in other drinks, is a stimulant that causes our brain to produce adrenaline in spikes. 

• A glass of wine may feel relaxing, but it fragments your sleep later in the night.

• Sugar or late-night snacks spike energy and disrupt blood sugar balance.

• Scrolling your phone stimulates dopamine and exposes your eyes to blue light, confusing your brain’s sense of time.

To improve sleep, we don’t just look at the night, we work together and look at the whole day. We explore:

• Your sleep symptoms — falling asleep, waking in the night, or restless sleep

• The stress factors you’re carrying

• Your evening routine (or lack of one)

• What you’ve already tried

• What activities could support better sleep because sleep is a rhythm and your daily habits shape that rhythm.

Get more sleep by cutting caffeine and sugar

That means the first strategy is to reduce your caffeine much earlier in the day. It has a longer half life than we imagine, so if you want to get more sleep, try cutting it out completely from 1pm onwards. You can drink decaffeinated tea or coffee - but do check - some herbal drinks like green tea still contain small amounts of caffeine.

The other boost we often reach for in the 3pm afternoon slump is a sugar hit. Whether biscuits, snacks, fruit or a smoothie or sweetened drink, anything with sugar will spike your energy and cortisol levels, creating a similar response to anxiety in your nervous system. If you want to avoid the unnatural spikes in your motivating neurotransmitters, you could try cutting down sugary snacks and replacing them with slow burn protein or veg snacks, like hummus and cucumber or carrot sticks.

At the same time, two other naturally occurring chemicals affect your sleep:

• Melatonin which supports your circadian rhythm (your internal body clock to fall asleep when it gets dark) gets disrupted by lightbulbs, screens, and irregular bed time and waking routines.

• Adenosine which activates your physical need for sleep (which builds the longer you’ve been awake) is blocked by caffeine and doesn’t build properly if your day lacks exercise and movement or enough energy use.

This isn’t a personal failure. It’s biology doing exactly what it’s designed to do — protect you. 

Stimulate your hormones to get better sleep

To restore and manage the flow of these hormones, the third strategy is to get outside into bright, natural light early in the day and then darken your surroundings when it’s getting closer to bedtime. In the mornings, have you got time for a quick walk on grass or soil to ground your energy and reconnect directly with nature? You could even go barefoot in the garden, like I do some mornings when there’s a wash to hang out. 

The fourth tip is to get enough vigorous exercise every day to feel physically tired. A positive flow of endorphins from exercise also helps your brain to think clearly and then relax fully.

How to stay calm when you wake in the night

Waking at 2–4am is incredibly common, especially when stress levels are high or your hormones are fluctuating. What matters most is how you respond. Try this:

• Avoid checking the clock or your phone — it increases pressure and frustration

• Don’t engage with your thoughts — let them pass through without analysing them.

• Bring your focus to your breathing or do a full body scan - relax each muscle group in turn.

• Gently return to a relaxed, calm state, rather than trying to “force” sleep - focus on everything that’s gone well lately.

• Try a relaxation track - different to meditation as you’ll drift into a light trance state.

Your goal isn’t to make yourself sleep — it’s to stay calm enough for sleep to return. 

A busy mind keeps your brain in an alert state, making it harder to access the slower brainwaves needed for sleep. This is where relaxation becomes a skill that you need to practise.

In sessions, we use a light hypnotic state — something completely natural. It’s similar to when your thoughts drift while running, swimming or doing repetitive tasks. Your thoughts drift without focus and calm is easy for you.Trance-based relaxation helps retrain your nervous system because it:

• Reduces activity in the brain’s alarm centre

• Activates your calming, rational thinking

• Supports your body’s “rest and digest” state

This is the state where sleep happens naturally. The more you practise this, the easier it becomes to switch off at night.

A simple sleep hygiene plan (start tonight)

If you’re wondering how to get more sleep, start here:

1. Get natural light early in the day
This resets your body clock and improves sleep later.

2. Move your body during the day
Even gentle movement helps build natural sleep pressure.

3. Create a clear action plan and ending to your day
Work through your actions and then switch off from work, dim the lights, and slow things down.

4. Reduce stimulation in the afternoon and evening
Limit caffeine, alcohol and screen time.

5. Use a relaxation track before bed
Train your mind to settle, rather than spiral.

Small, consistent changes create powerful results.

Ready to improve your sleep?

If you’re tired of lying awake, running on empty, or pushing through each day without proper rest, you don’t have to keep doing it alone.

In a short initial consultation, we can explore what’s affecting your sleep and how to help your mind and body settle again.

You’ll also receive a guided relaxation track to start improving your sleep straight away.

Book your place at The Sleep Reset online workshop or schedule your private initial consultation with me and take the first step toward better sleep.