What If Better Sleep Starts Before We Go to Bed?
What If Better Sleep Starts Before We Go to Bed?
Have you ever gone to bed exhausted, only to find that your brain has other plans?
You want to sleep, but your mind keeps going. Or you fall asleep easily, only to wake during the night and struggle to get back to sleep.
It's frustrating, especially when you're already trying to do everything right.
But what if better sleep starts long before your head hits the pillow?
Your brain responds to your day
Our brains and bodies respond to signals throughout the day. Light, daily routines, activity and stress can all influence how alert we feel and when we begin to feel sleepy.
One important signal is light. Natural daylight helps regulate our internal clock, while darkness in the evening helps prepare our bodies for rest.
Yet modern life often gives us the opposite pattern: we spend much of the day indoors, then expose ourselves to bright lights, screens and constant stimulation well into the evening.
Add the pressures of daily life, and it's easy to see why switching off at bedtime isn't always easy.
Instead of simply trying harder to sleep, it may help to look at what happens throughout the day.
A few simple things to try
- Get natural daylight. Spend some time outdoors during the day, particularly in the morning, to help support your body's internal clock.
- Dim the lights in the evening. Reduce bright light and give your mind a break from stimulating activities as bedtime approaches.
- Keep a regular rhythm. Going to bed and getting up at reasonably consistent times helps support your sleep-wake cycle.
- Create time to unwind. Give yourself a transition between a busy day and bedtime instead of expecting your brain to switch off instantly.
These changes can help support healthier sleep habits, although they won't resolve every sleep difficulty. If poor sleep persists, it's worth exploring what else might be contributing to it.
What if your brain has learned a pattern?
Our brains continually respond to our experiences and surroundings. Over time, habits and patterns develop, often without much conscious thought.
When we're under prolonged stress, it can sometimes feel difficult to leave the day's concerns behind, even when we're exhausted. Poor sleep can then make the next day's challenges feel harder to manage.
This doesn't mean every sleep problem is caused by stress or learned habits. Sleep is influenced by many factors, including our health, environment and individual biology.
But understanding the bigger picture can help us consider changes beyond bedtime alone.
Where does Brainwave Optimization fit in?
At Brain Awakening, I'm interested in how the brain responds to our experiences and how brain-based approaches may support overall well-being.
Brainwave Optimization is a form of EEG-based neurofeedback that uses information about brainwave activity as part of an individualized process, providing auditory feedback linked to that activity.
Researchers have investigated a related approach known as HIRREM in a controlled clinical trial involving adults with insomnia.
The findings are encouraging, although more research is needed to understand the benefits and limitations fully. Individual experiences vary, and results cannot be guaranteed.
A final thought
We can't control everything that affects our sleep. But we can pay attention to the signals we're giving our brains and bodies throughout the day.
Sometimes, better sleep begins not with trying harder at bedtime, but with understanding what happens before we get there.
For readers who want to learn more
1. Light and your body's internal clock
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains how light and darkness influence circadian rhythms, sleep and alertness.
Read more about light and circadian rhythms
2. Research examining HIRREM and insomnia
A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial published in 2020 studied 107 adults with insomnia. Participants received ten sessions of either HIRREM, which provided tones linked to their brainwave activity, or a comparison intervention using tones not linked to their brainwaves.
The researchers reported a greater reduction in insomnia severity in the brainwave-linked group at the primary follow-up. This is a useful finding, but a single trial does not establish that everyone will experience the same results.
Tegeler, C. L., et al. (2020). High-resolution, relational, resonance-based, electroencephalic mirroring (HIRREM) improves symptoms and autonomic function for insomnia: A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Brain and Behavior, 10(11), e01826.
3. What does broader neurofeedback research say?
A 2024 systematic review examined seven randomized clinical trials of surface neurofeedback approaches. It found no additional benefits over comparison conditions for self-reported sleep quality or insomnia severity.
The studies largely examined protocols different from HIRREM, so the results should not be taken as a direct test of Brainwave Optimization. They do, however, highlight the need for further research.
Recio-Rodriguez, J. I., et al. (2024). Neurofeedback to enhance sleep quality and insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 18, 1450163.
This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
