Sleep is more than a biological function—it's a necessity. So it’s understandably frustrating when sleep doesn’t come easy, or it feels like you spend more time tossing and turning instead of actually sleeping. But if it’s of any comfort, you’re hardly alone.
The Goods Inside
- How your circadian rhythm and sleep hygiene affect sleep
- 5 sleep hygiene practices you can try immediately
- OLLY’s Melatonin collection can help readjust your sleep cycle*
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over a third of American adults are getting insufficient sleep (as of 2022).1
Now, there could be lots of reasons why you’re having trouble sleeping, but you don’t have to fall down a research spiral just yet. There are still some things you can do on your own, like practicing sleep hygiene and getting in tune with your circadian rhythm, to improve the quality of your sleep.
Get Into (Circadian) Rhythm
Circadian rhythms are the 24-hour cycles your body follows, running in the background to carry out functions like metabolism, body temperature and—you guessed it—sleep. Everyone has an internal rhythm, but it can be disrupted by factors like travel, stress, or work. So if you’re feeling jet lagged after traveling for work or pleasure, or you find yourself “off schedule” in the days (or weeks) before and after Daylight Savings change, it could be that you’re slightly off step with yourself.2 Thankfully, even if you’re out of sync with this “master clock,” there’s ways to get back on time and even strengthen it.
What’s sleep hygiene?
Despite the word “hygiene,” sleep hygiene isn’t about cleanliness (although please, prioritize that too), but rather science-backed practices you can do to get a good night’s sleep.3 While your circadian rhythm regulates more than your sleep cycle, a lot of good sleep hygiene comes down to reinforcing and supporting this biological rhythm.
Let’s Start Tonight
So now that you’ve gotten the very (very) brief 101 on sleep hygiene, here are a few practices you can start today (or tonight, or whenever you’re reading this) to improve your sleep hygiene and hopefully, your sleep. Remember to start gradually and try one thing at a time—starting small leads to bigger wins down the road.
1. Give Yourself a Bedtime
Sorry not sorry. Adults need a set bedtime, too. Establishing a bedtime is the first piece of advice you’ll come across when you look up sleep hygiene. Sleeping and waking up at the same time every day (yes, even on weekends) calibrates your body’s internal clock, so you begin to develop a “sense” for when you’re about to rest and go to sleep.4
2. Get Some Sunlight
We see “go touch grass” and raise you “get some sunlight.” You might be wondering what the heck light has to do with catching Zzz’s, but light—both natural and artificial—is a huge influence on your circadian rhythm. Your body responds to light as it’s an indicator that it’s time to be awake. Exposure to natural daylight, especially in the morning, is shown to not only improve your sleep quality, but help you sleep longer (by up to 30 minutes).5
3. Dim the Lights
On the flip side, darkness is an internal indicator that it’s time to go to sleep. We understand you can’t just sit in complete darkness for hours before you actually go to bed, but you can switch to softer, dimmer lighting ahead of bedtime. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends dimming everything two hours before your appointed bedtime to encourage your body to wind down and make it easier to drift off.6
4. Screens are Bad Bed Chem
Repeat after us: screens and sleep don’t mesh. When we said that artificial light affects your circadian rhythm, we also meant devices. The light from our phones, laptops, TVs, and tablets not only messes with your rhythm, but keeps you up—how many nights have you opened an app for a quick scroll, only to look up an hour later?7 If you don’t want to physically leave your phone in another room, put your phone on Do Not Disturb and leave it face down on a surface that’s not your bed. We promise your notifications and DMs and texts will still be there in the morning.
5. Your Bed is for Sex and Sleep
And since we’re on the topic of bed chem, keep your bed for bed-activities only. We want to further encourage the mental association between your bed and sleep. So that means no eating, non-sexual playing, scrolling or working in bed.8
Need a little more help?
Humans are creatures of habit, so we get it if some (or all) of these practices feel like a big change from your norm. If you find that adjusting to your new designated bedtime to be a drastic change, it might be helpful to try Melatonin.
If you’re new to sleep aids, don’t fret. We’ve outlined some OLLY sleep supplements by Melatonin dose per serving. All our sleep aids are also expertly formulated with L-Theanine, an amino acid that encourages relaxation*, and traditionally used botanical extracts from Chamomile, Passionflower and Lemon Balm.
Sleep Blackberry Zen
Who doesn’t like a gummy? If you’re new to Melatonin, this is a tasty intro. Each yummy serving (2 gummies) contains 3 mg of Melatonin. Also comes in Strawberry Sunset flavor.
Extra Strength Sleep
If you’d like just a little more, try Extra Strength Sleep gummies, which contain 5 mg of Melatonin per 2 gummy serving.
Maximum Strength Sleep
This is the most amount of Melatonin you’ll find in OLLY sleep gummies. Each 2 gummy serving comes with 10 mg of Melatonin in case your body prefers to dream in double digits.
Kids Sleep
For kids 4 and up, OLLY Kids Sleep gummies are child-friendly with 0.5 mg of Melatonin per gummy for those occasional restless nights.
Bonus—Ultra Strength Sleep Softgels
Same expertly formulated sleep supplement, just in a soft gel. Ultra Strength Sleep is also 10 mg of Melatonin per 2 softgel serving as well as 150 mg of Magnesium, which helps to relax your muscles.
Adjusting your sleep habits are hard, but new habits can be formed. The best way to do so is to start small, stick to it and repeat, repeat, repeat. You’ve got this.
Happy snoozing.
References
1 CDC. (2024, May 22). FastStats: Sleep in Adults. Sleep. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data-research/facts-stats/
2 Bryan, L., & Guo, L. (2023, September 8). What Is Circadian Rhythm? Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm - New Window
3 Suni, E. (2020, August 14). Mastering Sleep Hygiene: Your Path to Quality Sleep (D. Rosen, Ed.). Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene - New Window
4 Suni, E. (2020, August 14). Mastering Sleep Hygiene: Your Path to Quality Sleep (D. Rosen, Ed.). Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene - New Window
5 Blume, C., Garbazza, C., & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnology : Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine, 23(3), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-019-00215-x - New Window
6 Effects of Light on Circadian Rhythms | NIOSH | CDC. (2023, April 13). Cdc.gov. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/light.html - New Window
7 Blume, C., Garbazza, C., & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnology : Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine, 23(3), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-019-00215-x - New Window
8 Suni, E. (2020, August 14). Mastering Sleep Hygiene: Your Path to Quality Sleep (D. Rosen, Ed.). Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene - New Window
The Goods Inside
- How your circadian rhythm and sleep hygiene affect sleep
- 5 sleep hygiene practices you can try immediately
- OLLY’s Melatonin collection can help readjust your sleep cycle*
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