7 Surprising Ways to Get More Sleep

Think outside the box to reclaim your night-time rest.

- Lisa Fields

AN INSOMNIAC FRIEND UNWITTINGLY HIJACKED MY sleep recently. i’d never had trouble staying asleep before, but my friend started texting at 2 a.m. to pass the time. i keep my mobile phone on my nightstand, so his texts disturbed me, even with the phone on vibrate—the buzz, accompanied by a lit screen, jolted me awake. eventually, i activated a do-not-disturb setting: my phone remained blissfully silent and dark when i received unwanted texts between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., and my sleep returned to normal.

Mobile phone alerts, bathroom trips or other interruptions spoil many people’s nightly rest. International guidelines suggest that adults should sleep between seven and nine hours every night, but a 2016 University of Mumbai study found that 61 per cent of Indians sleep for less than seven hours.

Chronic sleep deprivation isn’t just making us groggy; it can harm our health: Research shows that adults who don’t sleep enough are more likely to be sedentary and obese, and are at greater risk of diabetes, heart disease, depression and common illnesses like cold.

“Sleep is so important to physical and mental health,” says Neil Stanley, a sleep researcher in Farnborough, England. “Anything that causes poor sleep on an every-night basis can have associations with risk factors for diabetes, obesity, depression and other problems. You have to look at things that you potentially can do to improve the situation.”

Fortunately, you don’t have to swear off coffee, rely on sleeping pills or buy a fancy mattress to get a good night’s rest. These offbeat tips may help improve the quality of your slumber:

Ditch your smartphone