5 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Sleep

Considering your New Year resolutions? Make sleep one of them. And with our handy, printable sleep tracker, it's easier than ever!

Committing to better sleep is the key to boosting your health and well-being, not to mention supporting any other resolutions you’ve made. No matter your goals for the new year, getting better quality shut-eye is an ally.

Whether you’re setting health and well-being goals, striving to live a more active life or even simply trying to boost your happiness, there’s a common denominator in ensuring in the success of your new year’s resolutions - sleep.

New year’s resolutions are often sniffed at, but starting the year with good intentions can provide a sense of direction and focus, serving as motivation for positive changes.

Why Make Sleep Resolutions?

Sleep is crucial to your well-being. This you know. So, it’s no surprise that when we’re sleep-deprived, the effects are far-reaching, posing threats to both your physical and mental health.

The figures regarding the lack of sleep are sobering, so by making resolutions to get better sleep, you’re setting positive intentions and treating yourself with the care you deserve.

So, if you’re going to try and make new year’s resolutions to make sleep a priority, you might consider some of the ideas we’ve pulled together.

And to make things even easier, we've created a downloadable weekly Sleep Tracker for you to print out, stick up and fill out daily. There's space for you to jot down anything from what time you went to bed to what you done before bed, such as reading or spending time on your phone. The tracker will help you identify what is and isn't helping you to get a good night's sleep, so you can improve it.

1. Setting New Routines to Improve Sleep

Routines are important; especially when they concern sleep. And they’re easy to settle into. (Only 66 days until they’re habitual.)

So, the simplest (Read: easiest to stick to) resolution for better sleep is setting a sleep routine. Sound too good to be true? It doesn’t have to be.

By creating a wind-down routine, you’ll start to see near-instant improvement – it’s one of the best ways to improve sleep length and quality.

But where to start? Well, in a phrase: screen time. Less of it.

Often find yourself up hours past your usual bedtime binge-watching a TV series on Netflix? Or in a TikTok black hole at 3a.m? By cutting down on screen time before bed, or by setting an alarm 30 minutes before you’re ready to hunker down for the night to switch off any devices, you could be setting yourself up for a seamless journey to the land of nod.

So, make sleep a priority. Get your phone on do not disturb, grab yourself a cuppa (decaf or herbal – check out our tea-riffic recommendations!) and settle down for a great night’s rest.

Then, repeat the next night. And the next. And the next. And the next. Soon, you’ll wonder what you did before the routine.

2. Combat Caffeine Nightmares

Sticking to the topic of tea, we’re about to spill it.

Although it may be second nature for you to reach for a steaming mug of liquid gold to wind down, caffeinated or sugary drinks (or snacks!) are one of the worst ways to settle down for the night. Perhaps the worst.

You see, caffeine and sugar are both powerful stimulants that can put your brain into overdrive before you try to sleep, making it near-impossible to settle down for forty winks.

You may be looking to cut down sugar from your diet as part of another resolution, so aim to stick to herbal or decaf drinks in the evenings to best prepare your mind and body for a sensational snooze.

3. Sleep Diary Dedication

So, you’ve set a routine, cut out caffeine post-3 pm but are you ready to level up and get serious about your new year health and wellbeing resolutions?

Adding a sleep diary to your nightly routine can help you get a clearer understanding of any unwanted sleep issues.

You might try jotting down details like the time you went to bed, the overall quality of your sleep, or any dreams (or nightmares) you experienced.

By doing so, you can monitor and check the progress of your sleep resolutions as the months go by or help you focus on areas of your sleep you want to improve on.

Still not getting good sleep? There may be other reasons, which could be a good indication to get in touch with your GP – where keeping a sleep diary can be hugely beneficial.

4. Exercise Yourself Sleepy

Okay. Not exactly an original resolution, but hear us out.

As we emerge from the festive fog and into the starkness of January, it’s important to honour our bodies with some healthy movement.

Gyms will be packed; vegetables will be steamed, laces tied, and pavements pounded. Trying to get fitter and exercising more may seem counterintuitive for overall tiredness, but in fact, exercising can boost energy levels and release endorphins which help to relieve stress and worry.

Setting goals to move more doesn’t have to be as intense as sweaty workouts and busy gym classes, it could be as simple as walking the dog, getting out on lunch breaks, or taking the stairs – whatever works for you. You’re not on trial.

And by relieving stress through exercise, you’ll hopefully have less to worry about when you’re settling down to sleep.

5. Create the Perfect Pre-Slumber Set-Up

Struggling to settle down for slumber? Maybe your sleep space needs a makeover.

Our final tip to help you in your new year’s quest to get more sleep – make your bedroom into a space you want to relax, unwind, and sleep.

Dimming lights, installing blackout blinds, and maintaining a comfortable room temperature are all ideal ways of switching your brain into sleep mode and creating the perfect sleeping environment to drift off in.

Room décor can hugely influence how you feel going to bed, we’ve got plenty of tips and tricks on creating the perfect sleep sanctuary in our cosy bedroom style guide.

Lastly, and it may seem obvious, but if you want to get good sleep, and we mean really good-I’ve-never-felt-so-rested sleep, you should make sure your bed is as comfortable as possible.

If your mattress is feeling its age, it’s probably a good time to upgrade to a new one, whether that’s a memory foam for optimal support and comfort or an entirely personalised mattress to target pain areas.

And there we have it, a few reasons and tips for setting sleep resolutions for the new year. And don't forget to download our handy, printable Sleep Tracker to make your sleep management easier than ever.