Improving your sleep is one of the most impactful things you can do for your health. Sleep can impact brain health, our emotional state and immunity, so getting enough every night is key for wellbeing.

A few bad nights can be all it takes to throw your sleep routine out of whack. And the result of those bad nights – such as taking naps during the day and craving lie-ins – can lead to disruptions in your circadian rhythm, which in turn can make it harder for you to fall asleep and wake up at your ‘usual’ times once you return to your regular rhythm.  

It typically takes time and dedication to a consistent sleep schedule to get your circadian rhythm back on track, but there are a few things you can do in the meantime to help your body get used to a routine once again – including the 10-3-2-1 method.

A simple, free method to improve your sleep quality and hygiene, the 10-3-2-1 outlines four rules you can follow to optimise your chances of a good night’s sleep. Here’s everything you need to know to start using the method to improve your sleep. 

The 10-3-2-1 method is all about avoiding activities that could mess with your sleep. The numbers in 10-3-2-1 refer to the number of hours before bedtime that you should stop doing something, with each of the numbers referring to a different activity

10 hours before bed: stop drinking caffeine

You don’t need to be a sleep expert to know that too much caffeine is a recipe for a bad night’s sleep, and that the stimulating effects can last long after your last cup.

Ten hours before bedtime might seem extreme, but if you’re sensitive to caffeine, having your last oat flat white 10 hours before you want to sleep will give your body plenty of time to process the caffeine so it doesn’t disrupt you from nodding off. Caffeine can also lead to reduced deep sleep, so avoiding it for 10 hours before bed can also increase sleep quality.

3 hours before bed: no more heavy meals 

If you’re someone who prefers to eat later in the day, then now might be the time to change that. Having a heavy meal close to dinner time can be disruptive to your sleep.

“Eating late can throw off your circadian rhythm,” says Hector Hughes, a wellness expert and founder of Unplugged. This occurs because your gut also follows a circadian rhythm, and eating late in the day forces your gut to be active outside of its activity windows.

“Food can also cause indigestion, reflux and bloating for some people, which makes it harder to fall and stay asleep,” Hughes adds. “Drinking alcohol with dinner can also impact sleep quality by reducing the amount of REM sleep and causing more frequent awakenings.”

2 hours before bed: avoid work or admin

As you get closer to bedtime, your focus should be on winding down – both in body and mind. Anything that can cause your stress levels to spike (such as work or admin) can lead to increased cortisol in your body, which can disrupt the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

An active mind can be difficult to overcome when you’re trying to get to sleep. Plus, as Hughes highlights: “If you get better sleep, you’ll be more productive in the daytime.” 

1 hour before bed: stay away from screens

While the jury’s still out on whether the blue light from our screens disrupts our sleep (recent studies suggest not really), using technology in the hour before bedtime can make it much harder to switch off and unwind – so it’s a good idea to avoid it.

If you do use a screen, try to do something relaxing and non-stressful on your device. That means no late-night doomscrolling on social media or news apps. 

To reap the full benefits of the 10-3-2-1 method, try to plan your day in advance to ensure you’ll have enough time to tick off the various steps. To make sure you remember, you can set alarms at the various times (so if you plan to go to bed at 10pm, set an alarm at midday to stop drinking caffeine) or complete the method with a friend and remind each other.

It can be helpful to put barriers in place to stop you from tripping up, such as packing away your laptop as soon as you finish work and switching off your phone before you get into bed.

Once your sleep is back in a good place, you can choose either to continue the 10-3-2-1 method, relax some of the time restraints or leave it behind altogether. However, good sleep hygiene is one of the best ways to increase your chances of good quality sleep, so it’s worthwhile keeping an eye on how you approach sleep and introducing changes where necessary.

Images: Getty