11 Ways to Support your Sleep Naturally 

 Guest post from Nutritionist and Hormone Expert Sarah Gale

We all know the feeling, a restless night leads to a day of brain fog, sugar cravings, and running on caffeine. But poor sleep affects more than just energy levels. It can disrupt hormones like cortisol (your stress hormone), melatonin (your sleep hormone), and progesterone, which plays a key role in relaxation and cycle balance. Over time, this can impact mood, metabolism, digestion, and even fertility.

The good news? Better sleep doesn’t have to be complicated. Small changes like adjusting light exposure, eating the right nutrients, and supporting your circadian rhythm can make a real difference. 

Hormone expert Sarah Gale shares how to naturally improve sleep quality so you wake up feeling refreshed, balanced, and ready to take on the day.

 

 

1. Get Morning Sunlight to Set Your Body Clock.

One of the simplest ways to improve sleep is to get natural light exposure early in the day. Sunlight helps regulate your circadian rhythm, the internal clock that controls when you feel awake and when your body prepares for sleep. Light exposure in the morning triggers the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that later converts into melatonin, the hormone responsible for making you feel sleepy at night.

Spending 10 to 30 minutes outside within the first hour of waking up can support better sleep later in the day. Try having your morning coffee outside, taking a short walk, or simply sitting by a bright window to maximise natural light exposure.

 

2. Reduce Light Exposure at Night to Support Melatonin Production.

Just as bright light in the morning helps wake you up, exposure to artificial light in the evening, particularly the blue light from screens, can interfere with your body’s ability to produce melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep.

Dimming the lights in your home an hour before bed and switching to warm, soft lighting can help signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. If screen use is unavoidable, consider using blue-light blocking glasses or enabling night mode on your devices to reduce the impact on sleep.

 

3.  Increase Magnesium for Deeper Relaxation.

Magnesium is a key mineral for sleep because it helps relax muscles, calm the nervous system, and regulate melatonin production. Low magnesium levels have been linked to poor sleep quality, making it essential to get enough through diet or supplementation.

Foods rich in magnesium include leafy greens, nuts, seeds, legumes, and dark chocolate. If you struggle with sleep, having a warm bath with Epsom salts or magnesium flakes in the evening may also help promote relaxation and ease nighttime restlessness.

 

 

4.  Eat Enough Carbohydrates in the Evening to Support Sleep Hormones.

Carbohydrates play an important role in sleep regulation by increasing the availability of tryptophan, an amino acid that helps the body produce serotonin and melatonin. If you regularly wake up in the night or struggle to fall asleep, not eating enough carbohydrates in the evening may be a contributing factor.

Including slow-digesting carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, or oats at dinner can help stabilise blood sugar levels and support a more restful sleep. For a light evening snack, a banana with almond butter provides a natural source of tryptophan to encourage melatonin production.

 

5.  Balance Blood Sugar to Prevent Nighttime Wake-Ups.

Blood sugar fluctuations throughout the day can impact sleep stability, leading to restlessness or waking up in the middle of the night. Ensuring that meals are well balanced with protein, fibre, and healthy fats can help maintain stable blood sugar levels and promote more restorative sleep.

Aim to include lean proteins such as chicken, fish, tofu, or eggs, along with fibre rich vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats like avocado or nuts in your daily meals. This balance helps prevent spikes and crashes in blood sugar that can interfere with sleep.

 

6. Try Tart Cherry Juice for a Natural Melatonin Boost.

Tart cherries are one of the few foods that naturally contain melatonin, making them a great addition to a sleep supportive routine. Research suggests that drinking unsweetened tart cherry juice in the evening can help improve sleep duration and quality. A small glass of tart cherry juice about an hour before bed may help increase melatonin levels naturally.

 

7.  Sip Herbal Tea to Promote Relaxation.

Certain herbal teas contain natural compounds that help support relaxation and sleep. Chamomile, valerian root, lemon balm, and passionflower are well known for their calming properties and can help reduce stress and tension before bedtime. Drinking a warm cup of caffeine free herbal tea in the evening can become part of a soothing nighttime routine, helping to prepare your body for restful sleep.

 

 

8.  Reduce Caffeine in the Afternoon to Prevent Sleep Disruptions.

Caffeine has a long half life, meaning that even a midday coffee can linger in your system and affect sleep hours later. While caffeine sensitivity varies from person to person, it’s generally best to avoid caffeine after 2pm to allow the body enough time to metabolise it before bedtime. If you find that caffeine impacts your sleep, consider switching to decaffeinated coffee, herbal teas, or matcha, which has a more gradual caffeine release.

 

9.  Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule.

Your body thrives on routine, and having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time (even on weekends) can help regulate your circadian rhythm for better sleep quality. Irregular sleep schedules can disrupt melatonin production and lead to difficulty falling asleep or waking up feeling groggy. Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, allowing your body to establish a predictable sleep pattern that aligns with its natural rhythm.

 

10. Keep Your Bedroom Cool and Dark for Optimal Sleep.

Temperature and light exposure can significantly affect sleep quality. The body naturally cools down as it prepares for sleep, and a room that is too warm can lead to restlessness and frequent waking. Setting the room temperature to around 18°C, using breathable bedding, and ensuring the room is dark, either with blackout curtains or a sleep mask, can create the ideal sleep environment for uninterrupted rest.

 

11. Address Underlying Hormone Imbalances.

If you’ve tried everything, reducing screen time, eating the right foods, winding down properly and you’re still struggling with sleep, your hormones might be playing a bigger role than you think.

Fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone can directly impact sleep quality, making some phases of your cycle feel more restless than others. Low progesterone, a hormone that naturally promotes relaxation can leave you feeling wired but tired at night, while high oestrogen can contribute to night sweats or increased anxiety (not just in the menopause years!), keeping you awake. Stress hormones like cortisol can also interfere with melatonin production, throwing your body’s natural rhythm off track.

Learning to listen to your body and support your hormones through nutrition can make all the difference. If sleep is a struggle and you suspect an underlying imbalance, working with a hormone specialist (like me!) can help you uncover the root cause and create a tailored plan to restore balance so you can finally get the deep, restful sleep your body needs.

 

Meet Sarah...

 

 

Sarah Gale is a Registered Nutritional Therapist, Clinical Nutritionist DipION mBANT and hormone expert and helps women who just can’t lose weight break free of the diet cycle, rebalance their hormones and feel confident in their own skin again.

After a lifetime a hating her body and chronic yo-yo dieting, Sarah realised that yo-yo diets didn’t have the answers and by balancing her hormones, fixing her metabolism and working on her mindset she could finally lose the weight and get her self-confidence back.

You can find out more about Sarah and the services she offers over at Sarah Gale Nutrition.