The best thing you can do for your sleep in 2026
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I write about sleep for a living and still the holiday season messed up my sleep schedule. Between big meals, busy evenings and far too many hours on the couch, my sleep patterns are in need of a New Year refresh.
Especially as back to work looms on the horizon — I think we’re in for a round of collective Sunday Scaries like no other.
But let’s be honest, it’s the start of January and a total lifestyle refresh isn’t likely to stick. These sleep hacks are all about ease and upkeep, designed to give your circadian rhythms a helping hand to help you feel refreshed.
3 easy ways I’m getting my sleep back on track
1. Re-focusing on my wind-down routine
During the holiday break I often found myself moving straight from socializing into bed, so tired I dropped off once my head hit the pillow.
That’s not sustainable, particularly as my schedule slows to coincide with the return to work. I need to actually prepare my body for sleep, rather than just allowing sheer exhaustion to get me snoozing.
An easy and enjoyable way to do this is with dark showering (or dark bathing.) A shower before bed already primes your body for sleep. A dark shower further reinforces the shift in your circadian rhythms, as your body recognizes darkness as a signal to sleep.
Alternatively, you could try picking up one of those books your aunt gifted you for Christmas…
2. Starting gentle pre-bed exercise
Moving from the kitchen to the couch might add some numbers to your step count but the holidays are rarely a time for dedicated physical exertion.
If you’re among the many vowing to move more in 2026, now’s a good time to combine two goals: staying active can help you sleep.
However, it’s important to time your exercise. A strenuous workout gets the blood pumping but that rush makes it harder to drift off. So avoid heavy physical activity before bed.
Gentle exercise can, on the other hand, be calming. Yoga and tai chi are linked to better sleep as they help slow the heart rate and can ease racing thoughts, meaning your stretching routine preps you for rest.
Plus, a few minutes of pilates before bed can be incorporated into your busy first week back at work and maintained throughout January — one exercise routine you’ll keep up past Quitter’s Day.
3. Gradually adjusting my bedtime
Enjoyed some late nights over the holiday break? Me too, and now my general sleep time is somewhere in the range of 11pm to 2am.
That’s no good if I want a productive work week. However, switching to a 10pm bedtime is likely to result in several hours lying awake, staring at the ceiling, as my body clock tries to figure out what’s going on.
We asked Dr. Lindsay Browning, chartered psychologist and neuroscientist, how to fix a poor sleep schedule. She suggested incremental adjustments of 20 minutes a night, describing it as “easily doable and has no negative effects whatsoever.”
Starting tonight, pull that 11pm bedtime back by 20 minutes (adjust your morning alarm, as well.) Tomorrow, another 20 minutes. In just three nights, you’ll be going to bed an hour earlier.
Why does a sleep schedule matter?
The time you go to bed and the time you wake up have a long-term impact on both your sleep quality and sleep quantity.
Our circadian rhythms help control the release of hormones such as cortisol (to wake you up) and melatonin (to help you sleep.) As the name suggests, these rhythms like routine.
A regular sleep schedule essentially trains your body to sleep. You learn to recognize certain habits as a sign to start winding down, reducing sleep latency (that’s the time spent lying awake in bed) and helping you stay snoozing all night long.
Events such as holidays and vacations tend to disrupt our sleep schedule. And that’s okay, in the short term. But it’s important to get your body clock back on track, so you can enjoy all the benefits of a good night’s rest throughout 2026.
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