Question: What is the best thing that affects your sleep and what is the worst?

Rachel Sharman answered on 7 Nov 2018:

Hi! Personally or for all people?

I think the key things are light, stress, and caffeine!!! Our body clock is not quite 24hrs so uses light (and other things) to synchronize to the 24hr day. Light in the morning can reset your clock and make you feel more alert in the morning and makes it easier to go to bed at a regular time. So in this way light is really good for your sleep.
However light at night can trick the body clock into thinking that its earlier in the day than it really is. Some studies have shown that using a tablet just before bed at full brightness can delay sleep by around 30 minutes! Light in the evening makes it more difficult for us to go to sleep.
For me its also stress stopping us sleeping. So when I have a busy day I try and make sure that for 90 minutes before I want to go to sleep, I stop working and start doing nice calming things like reading a book or listening to music. Caffeine too late in the day is also a big problem for sleep. Caffeine takes 5-6 hours to leave our body so a late cup of coffee can really impact our sleep!