Question: Why does it take some people longer to get to sleep on a night than others? And what can we do to be able to try and get to sleep quicker and more easily

Alex Reid answered on 14 Nov 2018:

Hi AS29m thank you for the great question! There is an enormous amount of variation in the amount of sleep people need, just in the same way body size and shape varies naturally between people. A commonly cited number is you need ‘8 hours’ but this has two important additional bits of information I need to tell you about. Firstly, it is really the average in the population, most adults need 8 hours plus or minus two (so 6-10 hours) so individuals will have very different amounts of sleep! Secondly, this number is for adults and not children, who will generally need a bit more sleep to grow and do other things. Basically I am making the point that you shouldn’t get too obsessed with getting the ‘right’ amount of sleep, it is really down to what you need as an individual!
Now to answer your question directly: there is a thing called ‘sleep hygiene’ which doctors and medical sleep specialists will recommend. This is a series of tips to help you sleep better. It includes advice like: don’t play on your phone just before bed, don’t play computer games or do other exciting activities just before bed, try and only use your bedroom for snoozing, put your phone in night mode after dark, and keep a consistent routine (get up and go to bed at the same time every day). If sleep problems persist you should seek out a doctor though! For a more complete set of guidelines for better sleep check out this official advice from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/how-to-get-to-sleep/