Dim the lights one hour before bed

Free everyday life tip: Dim the lights one hour before bed (step 3 of 11 from "Sleep Better Tonight Without Supplements").

At 9:30 PM (or one hour before your bedtime), switch off overhead lights and use only a dim, warm-toned lamp. Blue and bright white light suppresses melatonin production — the hormone that tells your brain it is night. You do not need expensive smart bulbs; a $5 amber-toned bulb in a bedside lamp does the same job. The goal is lighting dim enough that you could not comfortably read small print.

This means the bathroom trip to brush your teeth should be quick — the bright bathroom light is a melatonin-suppressing blast right before bed. If possible, dim the bathroom light or brush your teeth earlier in the wind-down window. Some people use a battery-operated puck light in the bathroom to avoid the overhead entirely. It sounds fussy, but bright light at 10:15 PM genuinely delays sleep onset by 15–30 minutes.