10 TIPS ON

HOW TO FALL
ASLEEP FAST
We spend a third of our lives asleep. Good quality sleep is
fundamental for our health and well-being, and because
of this It’s important to have a healthy attitude to sleep.
Experts at the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute
at the University of Oxford, UK, have developed these 10
top tips to help you drop-off and have better sleep.1

1
CREATE A SLEEP
FRIENDLY BEDROOM
What’s preventing you from getting to
sleep? Is your bedroom too noisy? Too
hot or cold? Do your blinds let in too
much light? -A bedroom that is dark and
comfortable is best for promoting sleep

2
WIND DOWN ROUTINE
Start your wind down routine 90
minutes in advance of sleep. Try reading
a book, listen to calm music or practice
relaxation exercises. If thoughts are
racing through your head, write them in
a diary or write down your tasks for the
next day.

3 BED IS JUST FOR SLEEP

AND INTIMACY
Don’t check emails or watch TV in bed.
Keep it for the important things.

4
THE QUARTER-OF-
AN-HOUR RULE
If you don’t fall asleep within 15
minutes of going to bed, get up, go to
another room and repeat your wind
down routine until you feel tired.

5 RISE TIME
Don’t lie in, this means you won’t
have been awake long enough to
build up sufficient sleep pressure
for the next night.

6 KEEP ACTIVE!
Being physically active during the
day can set us up for a good night’s
sleep. Try not to exercise too close to
bed time, though.

7
CONSIDER WHAT YOU
PUT INTO YOUR BODY
Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and
nicotine before bed. Alcohol before bed
also impacts on sleep by decreasing
sleep quality. Eat at regular times
throughout the day and avoid eating a
large meal before bed.

8
NATURAL LIGHT - IT'S
ALL ABOUT TIMING
Try to expose yourself to as much
natural light throughout the day as you
can. Similarly, avoid light, especially
blue light from smartphones, before
bed time. Avoiding light before bedtime
increase the production of melatonin.

9
SCREENS AND
ELECTRICAL DEVICES
Blue-light suppresses melatonin
production and backlit screens
produce a lot of blue light. Limit their
use before bed time.

10
BE SMART WITH
YOUR NAPS
The longer you are awake, the more
sleep pressure you build up, promoting
sleep in the evening. Try to avoid
napping during the day to increase your
sleep pressure.

CAN'T
CAN’T SLEEP?
INSOMNIA FACTS

30-35%
of all adults
have brief
symptoms
of insomnia

15-20%
of all adults have
short-term
insomnia, lasting
three months or less
10%
of all adults have chronic
insomnia disorder, which
occurs at least three times
per week for at least
three months.

WHO GETS THE MOST

SLEEP IN THE WORLD?
Sleep apps and sleep trackers are used by people across the
world to understand how much sleep they get and to enable
them to track their sleep and assess its quality.
Northcube’s Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock has over 3 million users.
Data sampled from over 950k users shows where in the World,
on average, people get the best sleep.3

WESTERN
EUROPE

07:18 ASIA-PACIFIC

07:36 06:46

US & CANADA 06:59

EASTERN
07:13 EUROPE

07:32 07:06

07:20

MEXICO

06:48

07:05 BRAZIL

06:50

07:05

AUSTRALIA
& NEW ZEALAND
SOUTH AFRICA
07:27
07:12

MIDDLE EAST
07:49
07:31
06:40

06:55

DID YOU KNOW?

ON AVERAGE 16 MINUTES
WOMEN SLEEP LONGER

THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS

IN THEIR COUNTRIES

MEN AND
WOMEN
SLEEP THE MEN AND
LONGEST IN WOMEN
SLEEP THE
LEAST IN

7:41 7:39 7:36

6:15
New Zealand Netherlands Finland Japan

SleepCycle.com

Sources:
1. Having trouble with your sleep? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/research/sleep-circadi-
an-neuroscience-institute/training-and-dissemination/having-trouble-with-your-sleep
2. Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P. A., Coulouvrat, C., Hajak, G., Roth, T., Shahly, V., ... & Walsh, J. K. (2011). Insomnia
and the performance of US workers: results from the America insomnia survey.�Sleep,�34(9), 1161-1171.
3. Data supplied by SleepCycle. Data from a total of 975742 users (>1000 per country) over 81304244 nights.