The Complete Sleep Hygiene Checklist: 12 Evidence-Based Habits
The term «sleep hygiene» was coined by sleep researcher Peter Hauri in 1977. Since then, over 40 years of clinical research have refined the list of behaviours that measurably improve sleep quality, duration, and consistency. What follows is not a list of suggestions—it is a ranked, evidence-based protocol used in cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), the gold-standard clinical treatment.
The Checklist: Ranked by Impact
| # | Habit | Mechanism | Evidence Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fixed wake time, 7 days a week | Anchors circadian rhythm; most powerful single lever | Very High |
| 2 | Keep bedroom cool (16–19°C) | Matches body's core temperature drop needed for sleep onset | Very High |
| 3 | No screens 60–90 min before bed | Eliminates blue light melatonin suppression + content arousal | High |
| 4 | No caffeine after 2 PM | Caffeine half-life is 5–7 hours; residual adenosine blocking disrupts sleep architecture | High |
| 5 | No alcohol within 3 hours of bed | Alcohol suppresses REM sleep and causes rebound waking in the second half of the night | High |
| 6 | Morning sunlight within 30 min of waking | Sets the circadian clock; triggers a cortisol pulse that times the evening melatonin rise correctly | High |
| 7 | Exercise — but not within 3 hours of bed | Raises core temperature and adrenaline; late exercise delays sleep onset | High |
| 8 | Wind-down ritual (30–60 min) | Creates a physiological and psychological transition zone | Moderate–High |
| 9 | Bed is for sleep only (no work/screens) | Stimulus control: strengthen the mental association between bed and sleep | Moderate–High |
| 10 | Limit naps to 20 min, before 3 PM | Preserves sleep pressure for the night; avoids sleep inertia | Moderate |
| 11 | Consistent bedtime (±30 min) | Supports circadian predictability; less important than wake time but still meaningful | Moderate |
| 12 | Dark room or sleep mask | Even dim light during sleep suppresses melatonin and reduces slow-wave sleep | Moderate |
The One That Matters Most
If you implement only one item from this list, make it #1: a fixed wake time, every day including weekends. Sleep researchers call this the «anchor» habit because it stabilises your entire circadian system. Sleeping in on weekends to «catch up» creates what researcher Till Roenneberg calls social jet lag—the functional equivalent of flying two time zones east every Sunday night.
«You cannot cheat sleep. You can only defer the debt—and the interest is cognitive decline, immune suppression, and shortened life.» — Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep
Where to Start
Pick the three items from this list that you currently violate most consistently. Address those first. Sleep hygiene is compounding—each improvement makes the others easier. Hvile's sleep tracking helps you identify your personal patterns and the specific habits that correlate with your best and worst nights.
