--- title: These 6 Things Will Bring You a Great Night’s Sleep description: Using iPad in your bed may be comfortable, but not-so-helpful for a good night's sleep canonical: https://time.com/3640894/six-things-great-sleep/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-26T05:01:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:05:57.187Z article:section: Ideas og:title: These 6 Things Will Bring You a Great Night’s Sleep og:description: Using iPad in your bed may be comfortable, but not-so-helpful for a good night's sleep og:url: https://time.com/3640894/six-things-great-sleep/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a0214187d35258e/69876ffa0b72e30d1f6dcbf5/woman-sleeping-bed.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: woman-sleeping-bed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These 6 Things Will Bring You a Great Night’s Sleep twitter:description: Using iPad in your bed may be comfortable, but not-so-helpful for a good night's sleep twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a0214187d35258e/69876ffa0b72e30d1f6dcbf5/woman-sleeping-bed.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These 6 Things Will Bring You a Great Night’s Sleep by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Dec 26, 2014 5:01 AM UTC  Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Dec 26, 2014 5:01 AM UTC ## **Your Worst Enemy Is Probably You** Stop cheating yourself. You can’t cut corners on sleep [and not have it affect you](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-little-sleep-can-you-get-away-with): --- > “” --- Being tired actually makes it harder to be happy. Via [NurtureShock](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054U5ENY/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0054U5ENY&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- “Sleeping on it” does [improve decision making](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-sleep-on-it-good-advice) and can help you [follow through on your goals](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-an-easy-way-to-help-you-follow-throu). Lack of sleep makes you [more likely to get sick](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-do-some-people-get-sick-so-often-and-othe) and [more likely to behave unethically](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-lack-of-sleep-make-us-unethical). There [is such a thing as beauty sleep](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-really-such-thing-as-beauty-sleep): --- > “” --- Lack of sleep makes you dumber. Via [Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979777704/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0979777704): --- > “” --- Yes, some people don’t need much sleep but they’re [exceedingly rare](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-some-people-only-need-a-few-hours-of-sleep). Out of 100 people who think they can go without much sleep, only five really can. ## **So What Makes For A Great Night’s Sleep?** 1) **Exercise during the day promotes good sleep at night.** Via [Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039308020X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=039308020X&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). --- > “” --- 2) **Keep it cold.** Via [Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039308020X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=039308020X&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). --- > “” --- 3) **Avoid light before bed, and that includes TV’s and computers.** Via [Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039308020X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=039308020X&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). --- > “” --- 4) **Avoid coffee or alcohol at night.** Via [Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039308020X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=039308020X&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). --- > “” --- Also: 5) **Mattress quality** [**doesn’t matter**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-vital-is-a-good-mattress-to-quality-sleep)**.** The only factor that was relevant with regard to beds was when traveling, people sleep best on a mattress similar to the one they have at home. 6) **Keeping a consistent sleep and wake schedule is more important than you think.** Shifting Daylight Savings Time around [lowers SAT scores](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/would-you-have-scored-higher-on-the-sat-if-it). Jet lag can be devastating to [performing at your best](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-does-jet-lag-affect-performance). **This piece originally appeared on** [**Barking Up the Wrong Tree**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/01/sleeping-well/)**. Join over 145,000 readers and get a free weekly email update** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: * [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) * [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) * [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) _Read next:_ [_7 Mental Health Resolutions for 2015_](http://www.time.com/3641834/mental-health-resolutions/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://www.time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3640894/six-things-great-sleep/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3640894/six-things-great-sleep/"},"headline":"These 6 Things Will Bring You a Great Night’s Sleep","datePublished":"2014-12-26T05:01:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:05:57.187Z","description":"Using iPad in your bed may be comfortable, but not-so-helpful for a good night's sleep","url":"https://time.com/3640894/six-things-great-sleep/","keywords":["Psychology","Sleep","healthy living"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a0214187d35258e/69876ffa0b72e30d1f6dcbf5/woman-sleeping-bed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a0214187d35258e/69876ffa0b72e30d1f6dcbf5/woman-sleeping-bed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"woman-sleeping-bed","caption":"woman-sleeping-bed","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3640894/six-things-great-sleep/","name":"These 6 Things Will Bring You a Great Night’s Sleep"}}]}] ```