Proven Tips for Better Sleep: How to Sleep Well Naturally and Wake Up Refreshed. The Science of great sleep.
- Amy Simpson
- Mar 6
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 4
Struggling to get a decent night’s sleep? You’re not alone. From the chaos of parenting and mental load of modern motherhood, anxiety, perimenopause, ADHD meds and endless to-do lists, quality rest can feel out of reach. But sleep isn’t optional, it’s a physiological reset that your body and brain depend on.
In this blog, I share practical, science-backed strategies to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake with the kind of energy that helps you to thrive.
TL;DR - Top 10 tips for better sleep
☀️Get morning sunlight in your eyes (and on your skin) for 10 minutes to honour our circadian rhythm. Sunlight governs our sleep-wake cycle.
🍜Aim to eat dinner at least 3 hours before bed. This ensures digestion can happen while you are awake – it is harder to get great sleep while digesting a meal.
🕤Aim to be in bed by 9:30pm every night and asleep by 10:00pm.
🖥️Turn off your devices at least 1–2 hours before bedtime - or at the least greatly dim the screen and download a red-light blocking app.
❌Remove all electronics from the bedroom – the wifi and electromagnetic radiation may contribute excessive oxidative stress on our bodies. I put my phone on aeroplane mode and make sure that location, wifi, and Bluetooth are all off.
☀️Get into the afternoon sun, even when its freezing. The warm, golden hues of the afternoon sun signal the body to start winding down, subtly priming melatonin production and preparing you for restful sleep later in the evening.
🚿A nightly hot shower aids sleep onset by dissipating body heat, priming us to cool down for sleep.
🌬️Keep things cool (not hot). Our core body temperature needs to drop by about 1-1.5°C to initiate and maintain quality sleep.
💡For extra support create a non-stimulating environment with low, warm lights, serene sounds and smells such as lavender.
♀️Aim for a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night. Women may need longer - up to 10 hours even.
Let's deep dive: The science of good sleep
In this blog, I deep dive into the science of good sleep! Learn why going to bed before midnight, blocking blue light, and supporting brain detox can boost your sleep quality, maintain metabolism, and even manage hormone health.
Why going to bed before midnight matters
Heading to bed before midnight isn't just about getting enough hours of sleep, it's about the quality of that sleep. Your sleep architecture, which is the natural cycle of non-REM (NREM) and REM sleep stages, changes as the night goes on.
Early in the night, your body prioritises deep, restorative NREM sleep (also known as slow-wave sleep), which is essential for feeling truly rested and brain detoxification. When you push bedtime past midnight, you shorten this crucial phase and end up with more lighter REM sleep. This shift can leave you groggy and less refreshed, contributing to daytime sleepiness and even mild sleep deprivation.
How sleep impacts hormones
Sleep is a critical regulator of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, the system that governs reproductive hormone production.
♀️The menstrual cycle is highly sensitive to both the duration and quality of sleep, as disrupted sleep can alter the pulsatile release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus. This, in turn, impacts follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) secretion from the pituitary, which are essential for follicle development and ovulation. Chronic sleep restriction elevates evening cortisol, which can suppress gonadotropin activity, disrupt oestrogen and progesterone balance, and impair luteal phase function. Especially if you suffer from PMDD.
♂️Research shows that even a single week of sleeping fewer than five hours per night can lower testosterone by 10 to 15 percent, reducing libido, energy, and muscle synthesis.
These hormonal shifts can contribute to irregular cycles, fertility challenges, and pronounced premenstrual symptoms, highlighting that sleep is a cornerstone of hormonal health.
Why NREM Sleep is Essential for Brain Detoxification
While you sleep, your brain engages in a critical cleaning process called glymphatic detoxification, a unique waste clearance system that uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to flush out metabolic waste, including neurotoxic proteins such as beta-amyloid, which are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Animal models have shown that this system is most active during deep NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep, particularly in the slow-wave sleep stage when CSF flows efficiently through brain tissue and clear out accumulated waste. Research suggests that the pulsation of blood vessels during sleep also helps propel CSF through these pathways, enhancing this detoxification process.
Deep sleep is when your brain takes out the rubbish. Consistent, high-quality rest clears out the glymphatic system to keep memory sharp, thinking clear, and long-term cognitive health intact. Chronic disruption to this clear-out increases the risk of brain fog, memory loss, and even neurodegenerative disease.
Why it's important to block blue light at night
If you struggle to wind down at night, your evening lighting might be part of the problem. Blue light emitted by screens, overhead lights, and even some light bulbs can suppress melatonin production, the hormone that signals your body it’s time to sleep. To support a natural sleep rhythm, try these simple changes help your body produce the melatonin it needs, leading to deeper, more restorative sleep:
Switch to Lamps: Overhead lights can be harsh in the evenings. Instead, use lamps or dim your main lights to create a softer, more melatonin-friendly environment.
Amber Bulbs for Better Sleep: Blue-light-blocking bulbs, like those from Block Blue Light, emit a calming amber glow.
Dim Your TV: Lower the brightness and reduce the blue hues in your TV settings to take the edge off and let your brain relax.
Blue Light Filter on Your Phone: Most smartphones have a blue light filter setting. Find out how to activate it on your device.
How sleep impacts metabolism and why breakfast is so important
Circadian rhythm follows a 24-hour cycle, regulate vital body functions like metabolism and cardio-metabolic health. Controlled by a "central" clock in the hypothalamus, these rhythms sync with the light-dark cycle and coordinate "peripheral" clocks throughout the body. These peripheral clocks can also respond to cues like meal timing.
Chrono-nutrition is a new field of science that explores how eating and fasting times impact metabolism and body weight. Research shows that delaying meals by five hours can disrupt glucose metabolism, increase appetite, and lower energy expenditure (this means the thing we all dread - "slow metabolism"). The body’s response to food, including glucose and insulin levels, follows a natural circadian rhythm, with morning eating potentially offering metabolic benefits.
Studies on morning-loaded calorie intake (a large breakfast, small dinner) suggest it reduces appetite compared to evening-loaded intake. While short-term studies didn’t show changes in energy metabolism, longer trials indicate it might support better fat loss.
These findings reinforce the benefits of aligning meal and sleep schedules with natural circadian rhythms to support metabolic health and well-being. This is why I always encourage my clients to eat breakfast and flip fasting windows to stop eating after an early dinner.
Why heating up and cooling down improves sleep
Raising your body temperature through warm baths, saunas, or even moderate exercise has been shown to facilitate better sleep by temporarily increasing core body temperature.
As the body cools down afterward, it triggers physiological changes that promote relaxation and sleep readiness.
Taking a warm bath about 1-2 hours before bedtime improves sleep onset but also increases the proportion of slow-wave sleep, the deep, restorative stage of the sleep cycle. Slow-wave sleep is essential for brain recovery, memory consolidation, and overall cellular repair. It is particularly important for protecting against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, as it supports the brain's glymphatic system, our "clean-up" process that removes toxins accumulated during the day.
Prioritising quality sleep is one of the simplest ways to support your brain’s natural detoxification process, protect your cognitive health, and balance your hormones. By creating a sleep-friendly environment and practising good sleep routines, you can enhance your body’s ability to perform this critical overnight reset.
If you need extra support for sleep, book in a free assessment today.
References and further reading
Beroukhim, G., Esencan, E., & Seifer, D. B. (2022). Impact of sleep patterns upon female neuroendocrinology and reproductive outcomes: A comprehensive review. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, 20(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-022-00889-3
Chaput, J.-P., Dutil, C., Featherstone, R., Ross, R., Giangregorio, L., Saunders, T. J., Janssen, I., Poitras, V. J., Kho, M. E., Ross-White, A., Zankar, S., & Carrier, J. (2020). Sleep timing, sleep consistency, and health in adults: A systematic review. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism = Physiologie Appliquee, Nutrition Et Metabolisme, 45(10 (Suppl. 2)), S232–S247. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2020-0032
Dorsey, A., de Lecea, L., & Jennings, K. J. (2021). Neurobiological and Hormonal Mechanisms Regulating Women’s Sleep. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 625397. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.625397
Flanagan, A., Ruddick-Collins, L. C., Fielding, B., Middleton, B., Gerichten, J. von, Short, M., Revell, V., Mendis, J., Mayer, C.-D., Morgan, P. J., Johnstone, A. M., & Johnston, J. D. (2024). Short-term changes in human metabolism following a 5-h delay of the light-dark and behavioral cycle. iScience, 27(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111161
Harding, E. C., Franks, N. P., & Wisden, W. (2019). The Temperature Dependence of Sleep. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 336. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00336
Hauglund, N. L., Andersen, M., Tokarska, K., Radovanovic, T., Kjaerby, C., Sørensen, F. L., Bojarowska, Z., Untiet, V., Ballestero, S. B., Kolmos, M. G., Weikop, P., Hirase, H., & Nedergaard, M. (2025). Norepinephrine-mediated slow vasomotion drives glymphatic clearance during sleep. Cell, 188(3), 606-622.e17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.027
Himali, J. J., Baril, A.-A., Cavuoto, M. G., Yiallourou, S., Wiedner, C. D., Himali, D., DeCarli, C., Redline, S., Beiser, A. S., Seshadri, S., & Pase, M. P. (2023). Association Between Slow-Wave Sleep Loss and Incident Dementia. JAMA Neurology, 80(12), 1326–1333. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.3889
Leproult, R., & Van Cauter, E. (2011). Effect of 1 Week of Sleep Restriction on Testosterone Levels in Young Healthy MenFREE. JAMA, 305(21), 2173–2174. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2011.710
Sletten, T. L., Weaver, M. D., Foster, R. G., Gozal, D., Klerman, E. B., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., Roenneberg, T., Takahashi, J. S., Turek, F. W., Vitiello, M. V., Young, M. W., & Czeisler, C. A. (2023). The importance of sleep regularity: A consensus statement of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability panel. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 9(6), 801–820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2023.07.016
Touzet, S., Rabilloud, M., Boehringer, H., Barranco, E., & Ecochard, R. (2002). Relationship between sleep and secretion of gonadotropin and ovarian hormones in women with normal cycles. Fertility and Sterility, 77(4), 738–744. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0015-0282(01)03254-X
Vijayakrishnan Nair, V., Kish, B. R., Chong, P. L., Yang, H.-C. (Shawn), Wu, Y.-C., Tong, Y., & Schwichtenberg, A. J. (2023). Neurofluid coupling during sleep and wake states. Sleep Medicine, 110, 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2023.07.021
