Quality sleep can be surprisingly hard to come by. Daily stress, routines and modern habits all play a role in how well we rest.
Here are six gentle, expert-inspired shifts explored in The Sleep Well Edition of Wellness on Time Magazine, designed to spark awareness and invite you to discover what works best for you.
1. Support your nervous system
If you want to sleep better, start by supporting your nervous system.
Dr Raluca Munteanu, Specialist in Physical Medicine and Recovery, explains that sleep is regulated by the autonomic nervous system — the system responsible for stress, calm, and recovery. When this system remains stuck in a heightened state due to stress or lifestyle demands, deep rest becomes difficult. Prioritising nervous system regulation helps create the internal conditions where restorative sleep can occur naturally.
2. Work with your natural rhythm
Stop trying to sleep like someone else. Marissa Rowles, Certified Health and Wellness Coach and Founder of The Chrysalis Coach, encourages individuals to understand their natural biological rhythm, or chronotype. When your daily schedule consistently conflicts with how your body is wired to function, sleep can suffer. Aligning your day — not just your bedtime — with your natural energy patterns can reduce stress and make rest feel more attainable.
3. Create consistent signals for sleep
Teach your body when it’s time to slow down.
Nicole Plotkin, Principal Psychologist and Director of the Emotional Health Centre, highlights the importance of predictable evening cues. Consistent night-time patterns help your brain recognise when the day is ending, easing the transition into sleep. Small, repeated behaviours can become powerful signals that prepare both the mind and body for rest.
4. Nourish the gut-brain-sleep axis
True rest starts in your digestive system, as roughly 90% of the body's serotonin—the precursor to the sleep hormone melatonin—is produced in the gut. Candace Coughlan, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Founder of Wild Health Hub, explores how internal balance, digestion, and nourishment influence sleep quality. When the body is supported through what and when you eat, it’s better equipped to settle into restful sleep. Looking after your body’s internal systems can quietly but profoundly affect how well you rest.
5. Allow yourself to enter deep rest
Sometimes, the best way to sleep better is to stop trying so hard.
Kelsea Houghton, Founder of Holistic Hatha Yoga, introduces Yoga Nidra as a guided awareness practice that allows the body to rest deeply while the mind gently follows. This practice meets you in the space between wakefulness and sleep, offering restoration without effort. By allowing the body to fully relax, many people experience a sense of rest that extends beyond the practice itself.
6. Stop overthinking your sleep
If you want better sleep, ease up on the pressure to get it “perfect.”
Dr Moira Junge, Health Psychologist and CEO of the Sleep Health Foundation, explains that one of the most common barriers to good sleep isn’t insomnia itself, but sleep-related anxiety. With so much advice and misinformation circulating, many people become overly focused on rigid sleep rules or worried about not sleeping enough. This pressure can actually interfere with rest. By debunking common myths and replacing them with evidence-based understanding, Dr Moira offers key sleep solutions that help restore a calmer, more balanced relationship with sleep — one that supports health without overthinking it.
The Sleep Well Edition of Wellness on Time Magazine brings together trusted voices across medicine, psychology, nutrition, coaching, and holistic wellness to explore sleep from every angle. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, it encourages readers to understand their own patterns and discover what truly supports their rest.
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Explore how better sleep can support your energy, resilience, and overall wellbeing.
Inside The Sleep Well Edition you'll also find:
- Rest retreats Travel experiences designed for deep renewal By Natalie Pickett
- Unlocking deep sleep – using neuromodulation to transform your rest By Dr Raluca Munteanu
- The Sleep Health Foundation – raising awareness about the importance of sleep
- Wide awake to sleep wellness – Simple sleep solutions and debunking of sleep myths By Dr Moira Junge
- Why we stay up late even when we are dead tired By Delia Petrescu, MA, RP
- The secret strategy to better rest By Marissa Rowles
- Is your jaw telling you something? How reflexology can help with temporomandibular joint dysfunction and teeth grinding
- How ‘Access Bars’ supports deep sleep and relaxation By Simone Milasas
- The healing power of touch – how massage therapy improves physical and mental wellness By Brendan Collins
- Three keys to a good night’s sleep By Nicole Plotkin
- Sleep divorce – how to overcome tension for a better night’s sleep By Jennifer Adams
- Yoga Nidra – an awareness and relaxation technique to support better wellbeing By Kelsea Houghton
- Connecting to heart – the key to a good night’s sleep By Carolyn King
- How exercise positively improves sleep By Dr Michael Hobbs (Chiropractor)
- An introduction to reflexology By Charlotte Edwards
- Herbal rituals for restful sleep By Aurora Bennett
- Chamomile – the gentle healer of sleep By Aurora Bennett
- Improving sleep by reducing inflammation – nutrition that makes a difference By Angela Liberté
- Eat, sleep, heal – the surprising link between your microbiome and restful sleep By Candace Coughlan
- Unlock your inner glow – a deep dive into Ayurvedic skin and hair care By Dr Tania Anvar
- Using the Emotional Freedom Technique to tap your way to sleep By Jeanne Teleia
- From rest to resilience – the untold links between sleep, stress, and nutrition By Karina Marais
- Creating a nightly ritual for better sleep By Sara Psoras
- The mirror effect – how your sleep struggles may be affecting your pet By Dr Sue Williams, DQC Cl-Hyp
- Horses helping humans heal By Elizabeth Denniss
Looking to deepen other areas of your wellness journey?
Wellness on Time Magazine features a growing collection of themed editions. From Women in Wellness and Healing Chronic Pain to Gut Wellness, Sensory Wellness, Sleep Wellness, and more — every issue offers expert insight, lived experience, and practical inspiration to support your wellbeing journey.
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