By Lucy Neville Wellness 18.03.2026

I Asked My Followers What Actually Helps Them Sleep – Here’s What They Swear By

Real routines, real people – content creator and agony aunt Lucy Neville gathered her followers’ go-to sleep hacks, and the responses might change how you wind down.

A few sacred hours before bedtime: that’s all most of us have between the end of work and the start of rest. In a perfect world we’d begin winding down as soon as we shut our laptops, setting our sights on the eight hours of uninterrupted sleep ahead of us. Imagine that.

When work admin stops, life admin begins. Reply to Sam’s text. Transfer Maddie for the group gift. Start boiling a pot of water on the stove for pasta. Make the appointment for your dog’s annual vaccinations. FaceTime your parents. While you’re on FaceTime, you should fold the washing that has taken up residence on the armchair. The water on the stove bubbled over, microwave rice it is. Scroll on social media while half-watching a TV show. Brush teeth. Double cleanse. Get into bed. Panic about the state of the world. Fall asleep?

The average nighttime routine is not conducive to winding down, but we’re constantly told how important quality sleep is. So I asked my followers about the rituals that actually help them fall asleep, because we need all the practical advice we can get.

Pillow mists

Pillow Mists came highly recommended and I have to agree. There's something about a spritz on my pillow that signals to my brain that it’s time to lock in for the night. I was gifted the anatomē Somali Frankincense Pillow Spray for my birthday and it has quickly become a pre-Zzz ritual. The kit: Good Night Pillow Mist is another fan favourite.

Playlists

Some people need silence to fall asleep, for others, silence can inspire thoughts to run wild. I fall somewhere in between but when I can’t sleep, I press play on an atmospheric playlist. My favourite is the Binaural Beats: Deeper Sleep playlist on Spotify, one of my followers suggested this Nightstorms playlist, another swears by Rain Sounds, or perhaps you’re more of a Sounds Of The Ocean person.

A tip for iPhone users: in the clock app, set a timer for however long you think you’ll need to fall asleep and then scroll down through the alarm sounds. At the very bottom you’ll see ‘stop playing’, select that option. That way you won’t wake up to a random Ed Sheeran song when the playlist inevitably comes to an end.

Eye masks

If light is keeping you up at night, you need to block it out. That could be with curtains, or for a more renter-friendly and portable option: eye masks. I would look for one with pockets for my eyes as someone who gets her lashes lifted and would like to avoid putting pressure on them (this is beauty sleep after all).

Linen sheets

While you might think this inclusion is due to the fact that I’m writing this article for a brand famous for its linen sheets, this was a real submission. It’s also one that I wholeheartedly endorse. There is truly no better feeling than getting into a freshly-made bed, and linen sheets just get softer over time. They keep me cooler in summer, and are somehow snuggly in winter; the difference that great bedding makes should not be overlooked.

Meditation

My favourite submission in this category was, and I quote, “journal writing with a meditation chaser”. Meditation is one of those things that can find itself in the ‘too-hard basket’, but it really is for everyone. You don’t need to be ‘good’ at meditation, there isn’t a right or wrong way to do it, I personally find the Calm app helpful as someone with a busy mind. Especially their Sleep Stories – yes, bedtime stories for grown-ups - narrated by familiar voices like Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba and Jennifer Garner. I usually get about three minutes in before I drift off, so I guess I’ll never know the ending to Dream with Me, narrated by Harry Styles. Or perhaps try this alternative from one of my followers: “my therapist recommended the Balance app for sleep meditation; game changer”.

Candlelit shower

This is a practice I’ve been sharing with my community for years now, and I was delighted to see it amongst the submissions. It’s as simple as it sounds: light a candle, and get in the shower. There’s something about being in the dark as warm water runs over you that instantly relaxes the mind. And for an extra moment of self-care, use a beautiful shower oil like this one from L’Occitane.

Limiting screen time

One follower Bricks their phone before bed, another charges hers downstairs overnight, and plenty of submissions credited their good night’s sleep to a “no screens in bed” rule. My screen time is genuinely alarming and expecting my brain to switch off as soon as I put my phone down for the night is not only unrealistic; it’s impossible. We’re constantly stimulated by the glowing screens in our hands, dopamine hit after dopamine hit, so it wasn’t surprising to see an overwhelming amount of submissions recommending a no-phone policy.

Reading

Tied for the number one recommendation is closing out the day with a good book. This is another ritual I can personally vouch for. When I swap scrolling for page turning, I feel my eyes gradually get heavier and heavier, priming me for sleep. Some of my favourite recent reads include The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Wedding People by Alison Espach, and my favourite book of all time Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton.

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to sleep. For some it’s lavender oil and Sudoku, for others it’s lying on a spiky mat before crawling under a weighted blanket. Whether you count backwards or count sheep, I hope some of these rituals can help you count on a good night’s sleep.