If you’re having trouble falling asleep – or staying asleep – you’re certainly not alone. Some 60 percent of U.S. adults are struggling to get enough shut-eye, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2025 Sleep in America Poll.
Nearly four in 10 Americans struggle to fall asleep at least three nights a week and nearly half wake up in the middle of the night, the survey of more than 1,300 people found. And, about 50 to 70 million Americans have sleep or wakefulness disorders, according to the American Brain Foundation.
Getting enough sleep, the federally-recommended seven hours a night, is crucial to our health and well-being, ensuring that we are sick less often, stay at a healthy weight, have improved attention and memory and have a reduced risk of chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Still, it can be tricky if you’ve been looking at your phone, had caffeine or worked out right before bed.
But experts approve several strategies they say can help the sleep-challenged. However, it really all comes down to your body’s schedule.
The best way to fall asleep effortlessly is to “maintain a consistent sleep-wake schedule seven days a week to anchor your circadian rhythm,” Dr. Wendy Troxel, a senior behavioral sleep scientist at the non-profit research group RAND Corporation, told USA Today on Monday.
Our circadian rhythm – or the body’s internal 24-hour clock – regulates when you feel alert and when you feel sleepy, including our hormones, body temperature and digestion. It triggers the release of the hormone melatonin as it gets dark.
“It doesn’t make you sleep, but as melatonin levels rise in the evening it puts you into a state of quiet wakefulness that helps promote sleep,” Johns Hopkins sleep expert Dr. Luis Buenaver explained.
Working with these signals is key for melatonin to do its job. Levels rise about two hours before we go to sleep. That includes making sure the lights are off and smart devices are out of reach and eyesight.
Doomscrolling is one of the top reasons Americans are up at night, with more than a quarter of more than 2,000 Americans surveyed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine owning up to the practice instead of getting the recommended amount of sleep.
But, gaming your body’s internal system to produce melatonin for sleep at the right time of day can help.
Make sure to get exposure to daylight in the morning and afternoon by walking outside or sitting near a sunny window, Johns Hopkins says.
Limit daytime naps, unless you work at night and need to make up your sleep deficit, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. Limit naps to no more than one hour and avoid napping late in the day,” the Clinic advises.
Hundreds of thousands of people have what is known as delayed sleep phase syndrome, a disorder in which a person’s sleep is delayed by two or more hours past what is considered an acceptable or conventional bedtime, according to Stanford Medicine. This can be treated using melatonin or light therapy.
But, if you figure out how to get to sleep, does that mean you’ll stay asleep? Not necessarily.
Staying asleep may be as simple as cultivating a beneficial sleep environment. Is your bedroom at an optimal temperature between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit?
“If your bedroom becomes uncomfortably hot or cold, you are more likely to wake up,” the Cleveland Clinic’s sleep psychologist Dr. Michelle Drerup said.
Do you have lights on that could interfere with your sleep? Light stimulates your brain, even if your eyes are closed, and can help prevent you from entering deep and restorative stages of sleep, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Blackout currents or wearing an eye mask can help fight those effects.
And, making sure your body recognizes that the bed is for sleeping is also important. That means no time spent languishing in bed and binge-watching late-night TV, no matter how good the new season of Bridgerton is.
“Don’t use your bed as an office for answering phone calls, texting and responding to emails. Also, avoid watching late-night TV there,” Harvard Health instructs. “The bed needs to be a stimulus for sleeping, not for wakefulness. Reserve your bed for sleep and sex.”
