The last hour of the day often fills itself: one more message, one more episode, one more look at the news. A simple wind-down will not solve every sleep problem, and it is not a treatment for insomnia or for any other health condition. For many people, though, a short, repeatable routine can help the body and mind recognize that night is arriving.

MyHealth.Alberta.ca describes insomnia as trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or sleeping as long as you need, and notes that sleep difficulty can be linked to health problems, medicines and stressful events. If sleep has been hard for a while, a healthcare provider can help you look at the larger picture. The ideas below are everyday practices, not a personal care plan.

Keep a regular sleep schedule

One of the most useful steps in public sleep guidance is also one of the plainest: go to bed at about the same time each night and get up at about the same time each morning. MyHealth.Alberta.ca suggests keeping that schedule even when you are working on sleep, and avoiding daytime naps if they make night-time sleep harder.

A regular rising time can matter as much as a regular bedtime. If you have had a short night, it can be tempting to sleep in. A consistent morning hour, with daylight if you can get it, may help your body clock stay steadier over the following days.

Give your bedroom a clear job

MyHealth.Alberta.ca recommends using the bedroom for sleep and sex, and not reading, watching television or using your phone in bed. The idea is to keep the bed linked with rest, rather than with problem-solving, scrolling or work.

If your home does not allow a perfect setup, do what you can. A cooler, darker, quieter room is the usual aim. If noise or light is hard to control, a sleep mask or earplugs are options some people find helpful. There is no single “right” bedroom, only a space that feels as calm as your circumstances allow.

If you are still awake after a short while

Give yourself about 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. If you are still awake, MyHealth.Alberta.ca suggests getting out of bed and doing a quiet task until you feel sleepy again. That step is meant to keep the bed from becoming a place you associate with lying awake and watching the clock.

Choose something low-key and already familiar: folding a few clothes, reading a paper page under dim light, or sitting with a warm, non-caffeinated drink. Bright screens, exciting shows and work email tend to pull the other way.

Build a short wind-down you can repeat

A relaxing bedtime routine can help teach your body and mind that it is time to slow down. Examples from MyHealth.Alberta.ca include a warm shower, soothing music, or a cup of herbal tea, as well as meditation or other relaxation techniques. You do not need an elaborate ritual. Ten or twenty unhurried minutes is enough to start.

You might dim the lights, put tomorrow’s clothes where you can find them, write down a worry so it does not have to stay in your head, and then do one calming thing you actually enjoy. The point is repetition, not perfection.

A note about tea and natural health products

A warm cup can be a comforting part of an evening, and herbal tea appears in MyHealth.Alberta.ca’s examples of a relaxing routine. That does not mean a tea treats insomnia, anxiety or any other condition. It is a beverage that some people find soothing, in the same way a warm shower can feel soothing.

Black and green tea contain caffeine. Health Canada’s average figures put brewed black or green tea at about 30 to 50 milligrams of caffeine in a 237 millilitre cup, so an evening “tea” is not automatically caffeine-free. If you want a drink without caffeine, choose a product that says it is caffeine-free and read the label.

If a packaged tea or supplement makes a health claim — for example, that it is for sleep — look for an eight-digit Natural Product Number (NPN) or Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label. Health Canada uses that number to show the product has been licensed for sale and assessed for use as directed. Read the purpose, dose and warnings on the label. Talk with a pharmacist or other healthcare provider before you use a natural health product if you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, breastfeeding, giving a product to a child, or taking other medicines. “Natural” does not mean a product is risk-free or that it will not interact with a medicine.

Do not replace a prescribed sleep medicine, or any other prescribed medicine, with a tea or supplement unless the clinician who prescribed it has agreed.

Caffeine, alcohol and nicotine

MyHealth.Alberta.ca advises avoiding or limiting caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, and not using them late in the day or in the evening. Caffeine is a stimulant. Health Canada notes that it can be linked with insomnia, irritability, headaches and nervousness, and that people who are sensitive to it may want to lower their intake or avoid it.

For most healthy adults, Health Canada’s recommended maximum is 400 milligrams of caffeine a day. That is a total from all sources, not only coffee. The recommended maximum is 300 milligrams a day for people who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. Children and adolescents have a lower, weight-based suggested limit.

Alcohol can make you feel sleepy at first and still interfere with how restful the night feels. If you drink, leaving a longer gap before bed is a gentler habit than using alcohol as a way to fall asleep. Nicotine is also a stimulant, so an evening cigarette or vape can work against the wind-down you are trying to build.

When a routine is not enough

Some people who have ongoing insomnia benefit from a structured approach called cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). MyHealth.Alberta.ca describes CBT-I as a way to change thoughts and behaviours that get in the way of sleep, and notes that a healthcare provider can recommend specific steps. Some people also take medicine for a time. Those decisions belong in a clinical conversation, not in an article.

A wind-down is a kindness you can offer yourself. It is not a promise of eight unbroken hours, and it is not a substitute for care when sleep trouble is persistent, sudden or paired with other worrying symptoms.

References

These sources were checked when this article was written. They are offered so you can read the same public information we used.

  1. MyHealth.Alberta.ca, Insomnia: Improving Your Sleep. https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=zq1031
  2. Health Canada, Caffeine in Foods. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-safety/food-additives/caffeine-foods.html
  3. Health Canada, Information Sheet #5 for Consumers: Informing Yourself About Natural Health Products. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/natural-non-prescription/information-sheet-5-consumers-informing-yourself-informing-you-about-natural-health-products-health-canada.html
  4. Health Canada, Licensed Natural Health Products Database. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/natural-non-prescription/applications-submissions/product-licensing/licensed-natural-health-products-database.html
  5. Public Health Agency of Canada, Mental health support: Get help. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html