'You do not need eight hours': Sleep expert The Sleep Geek shares top tips for getting better kip

My relationship with sleep has always been complicated – borderline toxic. For as long as I can remember, falling asleep and staying asleep felt like a nightly battle I kept losing. Like millions of people across the UK, I had no idea what to do about it. I dragged myself through days feeling shattered, foggy, emotional and a bit broken. 

And I lived in a strange paradox. I’m the third generation in my family to work in the bed and mattress industry. Imagine selling mattresses when you sleep terribly yourself. It carried more shame than I liked to admit. Who would buy a mattress from someone who can’t even sleep? 

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That contradiction nudged me onto the path I’m on now. Years ago, we brought a sleep expert into the business. They were pompous, patronising and full of rigid, prescriptive rules that helped absolutely no one. 

It lit a fire under me. Surely sleep didn’t need to be this complicated? Surely people deserved better advice? That experience set me on a mission to help people sleep better. 

Nearly 20 years later, I’ve been lucky enough to teach hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, how to improve their sleep. I’ve coached hundreds of poor sleepers one-to-one and worked with world-class athletes and organisations.  

And if I had to distil everything that I’ve learned into one truth, it’s this: when we take the stress out of sleep, sleep gets better. 

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It’s not easy, but it is simple. What worries me now is that as a nation we’re more aware of sleep than ever, yet we’re sleeping worse. Why? Because too many influencers, podcasters and self-
declared experts are scaring people into believing sleep is something they must control perfectly. 

They boldly claim: eight hours or you’ll fall apart. No caffeine ever. Never look at a screen. Biohack yourself into oblivion. 

And when you inevitably can’t meet these unrealistic standards? You feel like the problem. They tell you that you are the problem. You can’t even get the ‘world-class basics’ right.

But you are not the problem. Sleep isn’t a formula. It isn’t a competition. It isn’t something you can force. When you understand your sleep type, lifestyle, stressors and environment, it becomes simple again. Sleep is complex, yes, but when we stop fighting that complexity, sleeping well becomes much easier. 

Here are my no-nonsense tips for getting better sleep without the stress 

Forget the numbers. Focus on how you feel

You do not need eight hours. You need enough sleep to feel alert, steady, and capable the next day. That’s it. Check in with yourself around 10 or 11am. If you feel broadly OK, your sleep was probably fine. 

Some people thrive on six-and-a-half hours; others need nine. What matters is quality and consistency, not hitting a magic number on your tracker. 

Know your sleep type and use it 

Are you a lark (early type) or an owl (late type)? Most of us sit somewhere in the middle with a lean one way or the other. Work with your natural tendency. 

Create a 90-minute window for bedtime and waking. This reduces pressure and kills the toxic ‘I must be in bed by 10’ mindset. Only go to bed when you’re genuinely sleepy. Going to bed when you’re not sleepy is the fastest route to lying awake for hours wondering what’s wrong with you. 

Solve the actual problem 

When sleep declines, most people sprint towards solutions-shopping: supplements, blue-light glasses, mouth tape (sleep’s biggest fad), weighted blankets, more supplements. 

But few stop to ask the most important question: what’s actually triggering my poor sleep? 

Is it kids waking you? A partner who snores? Alcohol, caffeine or nicotine timing? A bedtime that doesn’t suit your body clock? A mattress, pillow, or duvet that isn’t right for you? Work stress? Or could it be sleep stress – the worry about not sleeping? 

Once you know the real trigger, you can finally do something that will work. 

Consistency matters, but not the way you’ve been told 

You’ve probably heard, “Go to bed at the same time every night.” It’s one of the most damaging pieces of sleep advice out there. You can’t control when you fall asleep. 

But you can control when you wake up. A consistent wake-up time builds healthy sleep appetite throughout the day, which naturally stabilises your sleep time. Add daylight exposure, and your body clock will thank you. 

If you sleep badly, don’t panic. You’re better at being tired than you think 

Every poor sleeper I’ve coached has one superpower: they are brilliant at being tired. You’ve survived every tired day you’ve ever had. You’ll survive the next one too. 

So, if you’re lying awake in the small hours, don’t add fear to fatigue. It only makes sleep harder. Sleep isn’t about perfection. It’s about understanding yourself, reducing pressure and giving your body the space to do what it already knows how to do. 

No fads. No fear. No nonsense. Just better kip. 

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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