Better Sleep, Better You: 5 Wellness Habits That Will Change Everything

If you’re a busy woman juggling your career and family commitments, a good night’s sleep can feel like the ultimate luxury. But the truth is that quality rest is often the first thing sacrificed just to keep things going. But what if the key to unlocking more energy, better moods, and a healthier glow wasn’t a complex new regimen, but a series of simple, science-backed wellness habits?

Leading wellness experts agree that your overall well-being is built on sleep. Peter Attia, M.D., is a renowned physician with a specialty in longevity. He says that “Good sleep is critical to our innate physiological repair processes, while poor sleep triggers a cascade of negative downstream consequences”.

Here are five wellness habits, each with expert backing, that can help transform your nights and days.

Your bedroom should be a haven for rest and definitely should not be what it is for many: work-from-home office by day and bedroom by night. If you want to give yourself the best chance for a good night’s sleep, focus on the three pillars of a sleep sanctuary: your room should be cool, dark, and quiet.

Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., has repeatedly emphasised the importance of room temperature on his popular podcast, noting that to fall asleep, the body’s core temperature must decrease by approximately 2-3°F. He recommends keeping your bedroom cool, around 67°F, to facilitate this natural drop. A warm bath or shower an hour or two before bed can also help with this because of how the body naturally cools off after, signaling that it’s time to sleep.

He is also an advocate for sleeping with a window slightly ajar, not just for the temperature but also to reduce the build-up of carbon dioxide overnight.

Light is the most powerful signal for regulating your body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm. Huberman (and others) recommend getting 10-15 minutes of natural sunlight within the first hour of waking. Exposure to morning light suppresses melatonin and triggers a healthy cortisol release, which can help make you feel more alert for the rest of the day.

As night draws in, try to reduce your exposure to bright light. Electronic screens emit a blue light that inhibits melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep. You can try enabling “Night Mode” on your devices to reduce blue light or, better yet, try to stay off them and read a book instead. Dim the lights in the hour before bed.

Breathing difficulty is one of the most overlooked factors in sleep quality, although this may apply more to a snoring partner than to you! If not addresses, it can lead to frequent disruptions throughout the night, therefore stopping you from getting the deeper REM sleep that helps repair and restore the body.

Breathing issues are often linked to lifestyle habits, with smoking being a major culprit. A 2025 analysis commissioned by Discount Vape Pen found that people who switched from smoking traditional cigarettes to vaping had 67% less nighttime coughing and a reduction of 43% in sleep disruptions. The study, which analyzed data from over 12,000 people, also found that 52% reported having overall better quality sleep within six months of making the change.

Attia and Huberman both stress the importance of timing your consumption since what you eat and drink in the run up to bedtime can affect the quality of your sleep massively.

It’s not just the timing you should be concerned with. Attia recommends finishing your last meal at least three hours before bedtime to allow for proper digestion.

Huberman advises avoiding caffeinated drinks for 8-10 hours before bedtime as its halflife means it lingers in your system, disrupting your ability to fall and stay asleep.

Unsurprisingly, both experts recommend avoiding alcohol before bed because although a glass of red might make you feel drowsy initially, it significantly impairs sleep quality later in the night.

Exercise helps reduce stress, regulates your mood, and requires your body to burn energy in a healthy way. It's one of the best things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep, with one small caveat: timing.

A vigorous workout too close to bedtime can be overstimulating for some people, having the opposite effect. Try to fit your workout in earlier and do something more relaxing like yoga or going for a walk if you prefer an evening workout.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider.