Practical Steps to Improving Sleep Quality
Sleep is at the cornerstone of your health and fitness
By
May 25, 2025
We’ve all heard that sleep is important, but what of we feel like we’re constantly not getting enough quality sleep? At Showtime, we run a 5am adult group and in reality if someone can’t focus on getting good quality sleep, it becomes near impossible to make those workouts and have quality sessions. For many people, the before work time might be their most optimal time of day to get their training in. We can see how lack of sleep can quickly move everything down the line of negative events for the day pushing you further away from your health and fitness goals. Sleep isn’t as exciting as cold plunges, saunas, or a new detox tea, but the efforts of your training and nutrition really are limited by your sleep habits. Sleep is where most of our recovery and growth happens both physically and mentally. We know for children that sleep schedules are critical, but then as we become adults we lie to ourselves and think we no longer need a schedule. Let’s look at how much sleep we need, the problems associated with poor sleep, and tactical tips to improve your sleep.
How much sleep should I get?
School age children - 9 hours per night
Teens- 8-10 hours per night
Adults - 7 or more hours per night
Dangers of not getting enough sleep
Most people reading this would be underwhelmed by generic “get more sleep” as a tip. Telling someone struggling to sleep to sleep more is highly ineffective and frustrating. Here are tips proven by science to help improve sleep time and quality.
1- Develop a routine. Your body’s circadian rhythm becomes more in tune when you have a consistent go to sleep and wake time. By not having a routine, your body is being thrown off track every single day. Even on the weekends, try to keep these times within an hour of your normal routine.
2. Don’t consume caffeine past 12pm. A 2023 research review found that late caffeine consumption reduced total sleep time by 45 minutes and overall sleep efficiency by 7%.
3. Avoid alcohol. Alcohol can bring on symptoms of sleep apnea, increase snoring, and disrupted sleep patterns. It also will change night time melatonin production, which is critical to your circadian rhythm.
4. Set room temperature - Set the temperature in your bedroom to between 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit for a good night of sleep. Infants and older populations might need it a little warmer. As you sleep, your body temp naturally drops creating a cooling process. Your sleeping posture, bedding, and clothing can effect your preferred temperature.
5. Eat your last meal earlier. Try eating your last meal at least 2 hours before going to sleep. Your body needs time to digest the food so you can actually relax while trying to fall asleep. Try to avoid higher carbohydrate meals prior to bed as they have a worse effect on sleep.
6- Regular exercise. Just not before bed. Exercise enhances all aspects of sleep and can help reduce the symptoms of insomnia. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend getting 150 minutes of exercise per week. If you spread this throughout the week and make sure to leave a few hours between your workout and bedtime, you may notice a positive effect on your sleep quality.
7- Relax and clear your mind. In the evening, avoid checking emails or doing tasks that stimulate your brain. Create a routine that helps you feel calm. This could include a hot shower, stretching, caffeine free hot tea, or reading a book.
8- Increase bright light exposure earlier in the day. This might be difficult with your work schedule or if you live in the midwest where the winter months see limited sun. There are many options available for a light lamp that many people (myself included) will use during the morning. This helps to keep your circadian rhythm on track and healthy while helping provide you energy during the day which will make you more tired at night when trying to fall asleep.
9- Keep your bed for sleep and sex. Take the television out of your bed room. You don’t need it to fall asleep and doing work emails from your bed is sending your body mixed signals. Your bed is a place to wind down.
10- Use an alarm clock, not your cell phone. Being near your phone while you sleep, especially if notifications are turned on make it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Your phone should be at least 3 feet away from you while sleeping, but it’s best to leave your phone out of the room.
- Your phone is easier to hit snooze. If you constantly feel the need to snooze, your body is telling you more sleep is needed. The cell phone next to you is too easy to hit snooze without moving, which makes you more comfortable and likely to stay asleep.
- The last thing you see at night and first thing in the morning shouldn’t be a screen. News headlines, upsetting text or emails can all wreck our ability to go to sleep, stay asleep, or wake up not in a panic. How you begin and your day will play a large role in your energy levels and ability to sleep the next day.
- Doom scrolling. Most of us are on devices too much throughout the day. Having a phone near us increases the chance that we’ll scroll the internet when we should be winding down to sleep. Have you ever got up to use the bathroom and night and just briefly checked your phone? Even if it was quick, it just became more difficult to fall back asleep.
The sooner sleep becomes a priority in your health and fitness journey the sooner you’ll have compounded success. You’ll be able to make some progress for a while with compromised sleep, but at some point will hit a wall and sleep will be what is holding everything else back. Sleep and exercise our some of the biggest pillars we have for our physical, mental, and emotional well being. Ask anyone trying to continue with their normal activities with a newborn in the house how important sleep is.
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