Dos and Don’ts for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

McNeill Brown Interior Design Photo: Dante Jones Photography

Some good shut-eye doesn’t begin when your head hits the pillow. It starts earlier, in the small choices that shape your evening, your bedroom, and the way your home feels after the day winds down.

For busy homeowners, renters, parents, and anyone juggling a full schedule, sleep can start to feel like one more thing to manage. To help you get a good night’s sleep, we’ve outlined some of the dos and don’ts that anyone can do to improve their sleep hygiene.

Do: Create a Calming Evening Rhythm

A steady evening rhythm gives your brain familiar signals that bedtime is near. A good start to creating a night routine that works for you is assessing what prevents you from falling asleep: light, food, stress, alcohol, or something else.

Once you understand what is creating problems for your sleep hygiene, you can learn what to change or cut out near bedtime, whether that’s fewer electronic devices, stress-reducing techniques, exercise, or something else. Lower the lights, soften the noise, and give yourself a simple routine that feels realistic enough to repeat.

Don’t: Treat Bedtime Like a Finish Line

Many people push through the evening to exhaustion, then expect sleep to arrive instantly. That approach turns bedtime into a crash landing. Your body needs a transition, especially after a full day of work, errands, caregiving, cooking, and mental to-do lists.

Instead of racing straight from activity to sleep, build in a buffer. Even 20 or 30 minutes of slower pacing can change the feel of the night. Choose one or two closing rituals that help your home feel settled, not spotless.

Do: Keep Your Sleep Schedule as Steady as Real Life Allows

A sleep schedule is one of the most important dos and don’ts for getting a good night’s sleep. For one, you do want to prioritize it as part of your daily schedule and don’t have a different sleep and wake-up time every day.

Life may not always respect your schedule, but you can still aim for a regular wake-up time most days and avoid swinging your bedtime wildly from night to night. Small consistency beats an unrealistic schedule that falls apart by Wednesday.

Don’t: Let Your Bedroom Work Too Hard

Bedrooms sometimes become offices, folding stations, snack zones, TV rooms, and storage spaces all at once. When every part of life spills into the bedroom, the space may stop feeling restful. You do not need a full makeover, but you do need a room that supports sleep rather than competing with it.

Clear the surfaces closest to your bed first. A nightstand crowded with receipts, water glasses, devices, and random hair ties can quietly add stress. Choose simple bedding you like, keep the room comfortably cool, and reduce light where you can. The same overlooked details that make a house feel like a home can also help a bedroom feel peaceful.

Do: Pay Attention to Light

Light sends powerful cues to the body. Bright light in the morning helps you feel awake, while dimmer light in the evening helps signal that the day is winding down. This does not mean you need to live by candlelight after dinner, but your lighting choices should match the mood you want.

If your bedroom gets streetlight through the windows, consider curtains that block more glow. If your bathroom light feels harsh during a nighttime wake-up, add a small nightlight. These changes sound tiny, but they make the home feel gentler when you want to rest.

Don’t: Scroll Your Way Into Bed

Phones make bedtime tricky because they bring the whole world under the covers. Messages, headlines, videos, shopping carts, school emails, and social feeds can keep your mind active when your body craves sleep. Removing electronic devices from the bedroom is a key habit of healthy sleep.

That can feel hard when your phone serves as your alarm, calendar, camera, and connection to everyone you love. Start with a practical boundary. Charge your phone across the room, set a cut-off time for social apps, or switch to an old-fashioned alarm clock.

Do: Choose Evening Snacks and Drinks with Care

What you eat and drink in the evening can affect how comfortable you feel at bedtime. A heavy meal right before bed may leave you feeling too full, while too much liquid late at night may lead to extra bathroom trips.

You do not need strict food rules to sleep better. Aim for comfort. If you feel hungry, choose something simple and light. If you enjoy tea, choose a caffeine-free option.

Don’t: Ignore Stress Just Because the Day Is Over

Stress does not disappear when the lights go out. In fact, bedtime may give worries more room to speak. A quiet house can make tomorrow’s appointments, family needs, bills, conversations, and unfinished tasks feel louder.

Try giving your worries a place to land before you climb into bed. Write down tomorrow’s top tasks, set out clothes, pack a bag, or put a reminder on the counter.

Do: Make Your Bed Feel Like a Place You Want to Return To

A bed should feel inviting, not fussy. Fresh sheets, a pillow that supports your neck, breathable blankets, and a mattress that feels comfortable for your body all play a role. You do not have to buy everything new. Sometimes the best upgrade comes from washing bedding earlier in the day, removing extra throw pillows at night, or choosing layers that match the season.

Think about sensory comfort, too. A lavender sachet in a drawer, a soft blanket at the foot of the bed, a fan for gentle noise, or a clean glass of water on the nightstand can make bedtime feel more welcoming.

Don’t: Stay in Bed Fighting Sleep for Too Long

Lying awake and staring at the ceiling can train your brain to associate bed with frustration. If you cannot fall asleep after a while, get up and do something calm in low light. Read a few pages, sit quietly, or breathe slowly until you feel sleepy again.

Avoid turning this into a second evening. Do not start a show, tackle email, or clean the pantry. Keep the activity boring and gentle.

Do: Move Your Body During the Day

Daytime movement supports nighttime rest. Physical activity during the day can help people fall asleep more easily at night.

That does not mean every day needs a full workout. A walk around the block, a few trips up and down the stairs, a dance break while cooking dinner, or stretching while the kids finish homework all count as movement.

Make Rest Part of the Home You Love

Your home shapes your mornings, your evenings, your mood, and the way you recover from the day. When you treat sleep as part of home care, your bedtime routine starts to feel less like a rule and more like an act of kindness.

Start small tonight: dim one light, put the phone farther away, clear one corner of the nightstand, and choose one ritual that tells your body that it’s time to rest. Little by little, your bedroom can become one of the reasons your home feels like your favorite place to be.