The Best Time to Turn Off the Lights for Better Sleep, According to Sleep Experts

Key Takeaways

• There isn't one perfect bedtime for everyone, so the best time to sleep is when you notice real drowsiness rather than simply counting back from your alarm.

• To make falling asleep easier, start winding down about three hours before bed by lowering the lights, cutting back on screens, and avoiding stimulating activities.

• Better sleep comes from matching bedtime to your body's natural signals and keeping your sleep and wake times as steady as possible each day.

Whether you're a night owl who stays up past midnight or you're asleep by 8 p.m. for an early morning workout, the time you go to bed can directly impact the quality of your sleep. Go to bed too early, and you might find yourself staring at the ceiling for hours . Stay up too late, and the next day might be hard to get through. Bright lighting and nighttime scrolling are common culprits that can keep you awake far past your bedtime. We asked a sleep expert what is the best time to turn off all the lights for optimal sleep, and here's what she said.

Meet Our Expert

• Daniella Marchetti, PhD, DBSM clinical health psychologist, behavioral sleep medicine specialist, and Mattress Firm Sleep Advisor

What Time Should You Turn Off the Lights for Better Sleep?

According to psychologist and sleep expert Daniella Marchetti, PhD, DBSM, there is no "magic hour" to go to bed each night. In fact, everyone's ideal bedtime is different. "There is no time that is one size fits all for everyone," she says. "It depends on your wake time, your natural circadian timing , and how well your sleep pressure is already working."

If you're not sure what your ideal bedtime is, start by noticing when you get sleepy. "The best way to identify your ideal bedtime is to pay attention to when you're actually feeling sleepy," says Marchetti. "Most people work backwards from when they need to wake up and assume they need eight hours of sleep, but very rarely does that actually work."

Sleepiness and tiredness are two different feelings, and it's important to distinguish between the two to discover your ideal bedtime. "Tiredness or fatigue is feeling like your body needs to rest, whereas sleepiness is involuntary: Your eyes are closing, your head is bobbing, or you can't focus on what you're reading anymore," she says. "When you feel that true sleepiness, that's your ideal bedtime."

Marchetti explains that your melatonin starts releasing once it gets dark; that's why she recommends transitioning your home into night mode three hours before you'd like to go to sleep. "Start taking intentional steps to fall asleep , like dimming lights, closing the kitchen, not engaging in intense workouts, and starting to limit screen exposure," she says. "This gives the body plenty of time to transition from daytime activities to nighttime ones, so you feel settled by the time you want to fall asleep."

How the Time You Go to Sleep Impacts Your Sleep Quality

Going to sleep when you're feeling sleepy will help you stay asleep longer (and help limit nighttime wake-ups), according to Marchetti. "Going to bed at the right time sets you up for the right sleep duration," she explains. "If you go to bed before you're sleepy or way past the point of sleepiness, you're more likely to experience fragmented sleep, multiple wake-ups, or spend more time awake in bed."

This also helps your sleep quality improve. "Sleep quality is just as important as sleep duration," Marchetti says. "You can't force sleep, so aligning your bedtime with when you're actually sleepy can help you get both sufficient and better quality sleep."

Above all, when it comes to sleep quality, your body loves consistency . Going to bed and waking up around the same time every day, structured with your natural bedtime in mind, can help you sleep better. "Keeping a consistent wake time and regularity around light exposure , meals, exercise, and social activities can help your body predict when it's supposed to be awake and when it's supposed to sleep."

Read the original article on Real Simple