Articles

Evidence based

Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.

How to Fix Sleep Schedules Naturally: 7 Tips to Help

Written by Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on August 19, 2025

Written by Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on August 19, 2025 — Reviewed by Hannah Wright

• Sleep Cycles & Circadian Rhythm|
• Causes of Sleep Problems|
• 7 Ways to Fix Sleep Schedules|

If you often find it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get back to sleep in the middle of the night, you’re not alone. Sleep disruptions can leave you feeling tired, groggy, and irritable, and they’re surprisingly common.

But poor sleep doesn’t just affect how you feel during the day. A lack of quality sleep is associated with numerous chronic health conditions, such as:

• Cognitive difficulties 1
• Metabolic syndrome 2
• Weight problems 3
• Cardiovascular disease 4
• Digestive issues 5
• Autoimmune disease 6

The good news? We’ve seen many clients make meaningful improvements to their sleep by making simple, targeted changes to their daily habits. You can, too. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how your sleep cycle and circadian rhythm work, what can disrupt your sleep schedule, and share seven key tips about how to fix your sleep schedule and get better sleep.

Sleep Cycles and Circadian Rhythm

Your sleep-wake cycle is regulated by your circadian rhythm (your body’s clock), which responds to daylight cues. Your hypothalamus, a tiny region at the center of your brain, plays an important role in this cycle. When all is working well, the hypothalamus responds to the fading light at the end of the day by releasing the hormone melatonin, which initiates your nightly sleep cycle 7.

During sleep, your brain cycles through non-REM and REM stages—REM, or rapid eye movement, is when dreaming typically occurs and heart rate, breathing, and temperature can fluctuate 8. 

When your sleep cycle runs smoothly, you go through these stages in a loop 9:

• Stage N1 (Light Sleep): The brief transition from wakefulness to sleep.
• Stage N2 (Moderate Sleep): Makes up most of your total sleep time; brain activity slows, and it’s harder to wake up.
• Stage N3 (Deep Sleep / Slow-Wave Sleep): The deepest Non-REM sleep, marked by slow delta brain waves. It’s hardest to wake up from this stage, and it may help with memory and recovery.
• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep: Starts about 70–80 minutes after deep sleep. This is when most dreaming and some body movements happen. REM stages repeat about every 90 minutes and get longer toward morning.

Research suggests 7–9 hours of sleep per 24 hours provides the best health benefits 10. 

What’s Contributing to Your Sleep Problems?

If you’re not getting enough restful sleep, it’s important to consider possible causes, such as:

• Disruptions to your biological clock, like jet lag, time zone changes, or shift work 11
• Breathing issues like obstructive sleep apnea 12 or allergies 13
• Screen time and light exposure near bedtime 14
• Sleep environment disturbances such as lights 15, a hot room 16, or noise 17
• Hormone changes such as with menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause 18
• Gut infections or disorders like IBS and IBD 19
• Stress, anxiety, or depression 11
• Certain medical conditions like hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and chronic pain 20

Periodic sleep disruptions are a normal part of life. However, a consistent lack of quality sleep may contribute to many health conditions, as I listed earlier in this article. That’s why it’s important to take stock of your sleep habits and make adjustments where you can. 

7 Ways to Fix Your Sleep Schedule

Sleep patterns respond to other behaviors, so fixing your sleep schedule is largely about creating routines that support your sleep. I recommend experimenting with these options to see which ones make the most difference for you.

1. Set a Consistent Bedtime Routine

One of the best ways to support your sleep success is to reset your circadian rhythm by sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, even on your days off. That means setting a regular bedtime and waking time. 

For some people, waking up early is a challenge. An alarm clock can help you stick to your chosen waking time. For others, going to bed on time is the harder task. Creating a bedtime routine to wind down each night can send the right signals telling your internal clock that it’s time to settle down 21.

This might include doing things like:

• Taking a hot bath or shower
• Dimming your lights and limiting screen time
• Turning off your TV and setting your phone to airplane mode to pause distracting notifications
• Doing a quiet, calming activity, like reading a real book, listening to some relaxing music, or snuggling with your family or pets
• Eating dinner at least two hours before bedtime to give your gut plenty of time to digest

Avoid Pulling All-Nighters 

Even one all-nighter–whether you’re staying up to work, study, or party—can negatively impact your working memory 22 and exercise performance 23. If you can, make it a point to avoid frequent late nights or all-nighters.

Napping and Sleep Schedules

If you have trouble sleeping, you may have been given the advice to avoid napping because it might disrupt your ability to sleep well later that night. However, one study suggests that how often and when you nap matters more than how long you nap—with late and frequent naps potentially disrupting night-time sleep 24.

Napping for 30–60 minutes at least an hour before an athletic event can improve both cognitive and physical performance while reducing fatigue—and that’s whether or not you’ve had enough sleep the night before 25. This might also work before other kinds of high-pressure activities, like giving a presentation. Short naps (less than an hour) may also improve alertness for up to two hours after the nap, especially if you nap before 1 pm 26.

To gain the benefits of napping without interfering with your nighttime sleep:

• Keep naps brief—Aim for about 30–55 minutes for mental and physical benefits 26.
• Nap earlier in the day—Ideally, take a nap at least 7 hours before your bedtime, so it doesn’t shift your natural sleep drive later 24.
• Keep naps less frequent—Taking no more than 2 naps every 8 days may be best for protecting your nighttime sleep 24.

If you’re relying on naps daily to function, it may be worth evaluating your sleep habits or getting assessed for sleep disorders. 

Shift Work and Sleep Schedules

The developed world relies heavily on shift workers, who work outside the typical Monday–Friday, 9–5 schedule. In 2019, up to a quarter of the workforce included shift workers, such as nurses, doctors, EMTs, security personnel, IT support, customer service reps, manufacturing plant workers, and transportation workers 27. 

Research has shown that shift work may have significant consequences for sleep and health 28. But if you’re one of the many people who work during the night, a panel of experts listed the following healthy sleep practices to best support your health 27:

1. Make sleep a priority: Cut back on non-essential activities and let others know when you’ll be sleeping.
2. Get 7–9 hours of total sleep per day: Aim for this amount over 24 hours, whether in one block or split up.
3. Keep a consistent sleep schedule: Stick to the same sleep times for each shift type when possible.
4. Create a wind-down routine: Do the same relaxing things before bed in a calm, dim setting.
5. Ease into your days off: Try a short morning nap, then sleep earlier that night to reset your rhythm.
6. Use naps wisely: Short naps boost alertness and longer ones help catch up on sleep, but avoid them close to bedtime.
7. Be aware of post-nap grogginess: After waking, avoid risky tasks for 15–30 minutes while you fully wake up.
8. Make your sleep space quiet, dark, and cool: Use curtains, eye masks, earplugs, or calming noise to block light and sound.
9. Use your bed only for sleep and sex: Avoid screens or work in bed, and develop workarounds for pets or partners who disrupt sleep.
10. Limit bright light before bed: Wear sunglasses after night shifts and dim screens to help your body wind down.
11. Time your caffeine: It can help during shifts but may keep you up if taken too close to bedtime.
12. Limit nicotine and alcohol before sleep: Avoid these completely or at least cut back 6 hours before bed. Even small amounts can mess with sleep quality, despite feeling relaxing.
13. Pay attention to medication effects: Some meds can disrupt sleep. Use sleep aids short-term and ask a doctor if unsure.
14. Eat and drink smart before bed: Avoid heavy meals or lots of fluids, but don’t go to bed hungry or dehydrated.
15. Exercise regularly: Fit in workouts when you can, but not too close to bedtime—they help sleep and don’t usually hurt it, even at night.
16. Handle sleep issues early: If you can’t sleep, get up and do something relaxing until you’re sleepy. If it keeps happening, seek help.

2. Avoid Blue Light Near Bedtime

Though you may enjoy using screens to wind down in the evening, research suggests this isn’t a good practice for your sleep quality. According to a meta-analysis (a study of studies), exposure to light at night can suppress melatonin—the hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle—and disrupt your circadian rhythm 29.

A systematic (highly methodical) review found that all types of light—even at low intensity—can disrupt your circadian rhythm 30. In particular, blue light from phones, TVs, and computer monitors can suppress melatonin and make it harder to sleep 31.

To support healthy melatonin levels and deeper sleep, you can limit blue light exposure in the two hours before your normal bedtime. Instead, opt for low-light activities like reading, journaling, or gentle stretching.

If you can’t or don’t want to avoid screen use in the evening, you might try using blue-light blocking glasses, apps such as f.lux or Iris, or turning on your phone or computer’s night shift or night mode features. Unfortunately, it’s still not clear whether these types of technology consistently help with sleep quality 31 32 33.

3. Set Up Your Bedroom Environment

Creating a sleep-supportive zone in your bedroom sets the tone for a restful night of sleep. The following adjustments to your sleeping environment may help improve your sleep:

• Keep your bedroom cool—around 60℉ 34.
• Use earplugs or a soothing-noise generator to manage unwanted sounds 35. 
• Use blackout curtains or an eye mask to minimize outside light 29.
• Cover any glowing lights on appliances in your bedroom 29.
• Switch your phone to do-not-disturb at night so you don’t receive alerts at bedtime 35.

4. Address Nighttime Breathing Problems

If you have trouble breathing at night—commonly as a result of sleep apnea 12 36, sinus problems like allergies 37, or lung or heart problems—you may experience sleep issues, such as 38 39 40:

• Frequent waking
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Snoring
• Insomnia
• Elevated heart rate 

These can disrupt your sleep schedule and leave you feeling exhausted come morning. 

If you’re not sure if you have breathing problems while you sleep, an app like SnoreLab or a home sleep test like WatchPAT One may help you evaluate your nighttime breathing. At our clinic, we use WatchPat One with our clients and would be happy to discuss this with you if you need help. You might also consider seeing a sleep specialist for a more thorough evaluation.

Sleep apnea is typically treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine or mouth appliances 41. Other options that may improve sleep apnea include:

• Regular physical exercise 42
• Positional therapy 43
• Physical therapy of the mouth, such as myofunctional therapy 44
• Breathing exercises 45
• Playing wind instruments like the clarinet or didgeridoo 46

If allergies are affecting your breathing, probiotics may help reduce symptoms 47, which could improve your sleep.

5. Exercise for Better Sleep

Research shows that exercise—whether occasional, regular, or high-intensity—can positively affect sleep, though when and how intensely you exercise may matter. 

A meta-analysis found that both single sessions of exercise and regularly repeated exercise can modestly improve sleep—helping with total sleep time, how quickly you fall asleep, sleep efficiency, and various sleep stages 48. Regular exercise also showed moderate improvements in sleep quality. 

Another meta-analysis found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can lead to large improvements in how people rate their sleep quality 49. And a third meta-analysis found no evidence that exercising in the evening harms sleep, but it did find that very intense workouts that end within an hour of bedtime might reduce sleep quality 50.

Overall, exercise appears to support better sleep, but be aware that very intense workouts right before bed might backfire.

6. Supplements to Support Sleep

Although the behavioral changes I’ve just discussed are super important, several science-backed supplements may help you calm your system at bedtime and reset your sleep schedule. The following are supported by meta-analyses.

Melatonin

Melatonin may help you fall asleep faster and improve total sleep time and quality 51.

Tryptophan

Tryptophan supplements can help reduce nighttime waking, especially at doses above 1 gram taken before bed 52.

Saffron

A daily dose of 100 mg of saffron can safely improve sleep quality, ease insomnia, and promote more restorative sleep 53.

Valerian root 

Valerian root (450–1,410 mg/day) may safely improve sleep quality, especially when using the whole root instead of an extract 54.

Magnesium

Magnesium supplements can help older adults with insomnia fall asleep faster and sleep longer, with benefits seen from doses as low as 320 mg/day 55.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D supplements may improve sleep quality, but their effects on how long you sleep or on specific sleep disorders are still unclear and need more research 56.

Probiotics

Probiotics may help improve overall sleep quality, but more research is needed to confirm their effects on specific sleep issues 57.

7. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

It’s possible you’ve tried all of the above to fix your sleep schedule but still suffer from nightly insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is one of the most well-researched and effective treatments for chronic insomnia.

Several meta-analyses have shown that CBT-I significantly improves many aspects of sleep in adults, including how long it takes to fall asleep, total sleep time, sleep quality, and sleep efficiency (how much time in bed is actually spent sleeping) 58. Internet-based CBT-I works just as well as in-person therapy 59 60.

If poor sleep is still dragging you down, CBT-I is a proven, accessible option worth taking seriously.

Don’t Wait to Fix Your Sleep Schedule

Resetting your sleep schedule can take time, but with consistent habits, targeted strategies, and the right support, it’s absolutely possible to improve your sleep quality. 

From building consistent routines and creating a sleep-friendly environment to exploring supplements and CBT-I, small, evidence-based changes can make a big difference. Start with the basics, stick with it, and don’t be afraid to get help if you need it.

If you need help resetting your sleep schedule, consider working with us at the clinic for some support.

The Ruscio Institute has developed a range of high-quality formulations to help our clients and audience. If you’re interested in learning more about these products, please click here. Note that there are many other options available, and we encourage you to research which products may be right for you. The information on DrRuscio.com is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.