Keep waking up at 3 a.m.? A board-certified sleep doctor explains how making this simple switch in your nighttime routine can help manage insomnia

A young brunette woman relaxes against her bed while listening to a podcast through headphones. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Have you vowed to create the perfect nighttime routine, filled with relaxing activities like yoga and journaling, only to find yourself doom-scrolling and binge-watching instead? It's happened to the best of us but it could be the reason why you can't fall asleep or keep waking up at 3 a.m.

Revenge bedtime procrastination makes productive activities like reading or meditating seem like a chore, while mindlessly scrolling has lazy appeal. And as you spent the whole day running errands, you want your evenings to be full of fun.

The simple nighttime routine swap you should make...

Woman with headphones on listening to music — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Instead of scrolling or binge-watching Netflix, Dr. Wu suggests that another form of entertainment should fill your nighttime routine.

"Switch from visual to audio," the board-certified sleep doctor tells me while discussing how to the manage a sleep schedule. "Replace TV or scrolling with a podcast, audiobook, or music on a sleep timer to reduce stimulation and light exposure."

Luckily, there's plenty of music for sleep, and vast libraries of sleep sounds you can also listen to. This could be Sleep Whispers or guided sleep meditations (where someone guides you through mediation so you don't have to figure it out on your own).

There's even bedtime stories for adults that can lull you to sleep.

Why does screentime make it harder to fall and stay asleep?

Young woman scrolls through her phone at night — (Image credit: Getty Images)

According to Dr. Wu, screentime can have an adverse affect on sleep. While blue light suppression of melatonin had been challenged by recent research, there is still evidence that some people with specific mental health conditions and sensory processing issues can be more susceptible to its effects.

Plus, the act of scrolling and binge-watching can keep the brain awake and alert, making it harder prepare yourself to fall or stay asleep.

"Tech can be a major disruptor," warns Dr. Wu. "Screens throw off your body’s internal clock and stimulate the brain. A 30-minute screen-free wind-down is a simple way to reset."

Dr Wu's advice for enjoying screentime without it ruining your sleep

A dark-haired young woman wearing glasses and sipping a mug of tea watches TV on a grey sofa in a dimly-lit living room. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

If you like to chill out with a show or scroll through Pinterest before bed, Dr. Wu says it helps to be mindful about such a stimulating activity.

"Set a firm cut-off time for screens and use timers or app limits so devices turn off automatically," she tells me. "Try to keep screens out of bed. Watch TV or scroll elsewhere so your brain continues to associate your bed with sleep, not stimulation."

The sleep advisor also recommends trying other relaxing activities besides consuming audio or visual media.

"Build a consistent wind-down ritual that helps you get out of your head and into your body," she suggests. "Activities like a hot shower or bath, journaling, stretching, cuddling, or reading help signal that bedtime is approaching and make stopping screens easier."

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Frances Daniels is a PPA-accredited journalist and Sleep Staff Writer at Tom's Guide with an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University. Her role includes covering mattress and sleep news and writing sleep product reviews and buyer's guides, including our Best Hybrid Mattress 2025 guide. She is interested in the relationship between sleep and health, interviewing an array of experts to create in-depth articles about topics such as nutrition, sleep disorders, sleep hygiene, and mattress care. She is also our specialist on mattress toppers — producing bed topper reviews and taking care of our Best Mattress Toppers 2025 guide — and leads content relating to fiberglass-free beds for a non-toxic sleep. Outside of Tom's Guide, she has written for Ideal Home and Marie Claire.

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