I’ve been using this gold standard sleep method for years and according to my sleep tracker, it works — here’s how to do it

A woman lies in bed in the middle of the night, staring at the clock. In the top left corner, an image of a woman sitting up and reading a book during the night

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Like most people I'm afflicted by the occasional late night wake-up. It's 3am and I've gone from dozing happily to wide awake, frustrated that sleep remains tantalizingly out of reach. In the past I used to power on through, hoping sleep would return if I lay there long enough.

Is your bed keeping you awake?

This image shows our subjective motion isolation test, conducted in our sleep studio. The Siena Memory Foam Mattress sits on a bed frame in the middle of a decorated room. Frances Daniels, a member of our sleep team, lies on the right side of the mattress in a side sleeping position. On the left of the bed, Nicola Appleton is climbing on the mattress using high force movement. Despite Nicola's movements, Frances looks undisturbed. — (Image credit: Future)

Our guide to the best mattresses we've tested has a bed for every sleep need. While even the ideal mattress won't guarantee no bad nights, a supportive base helps you drift off quicker and sleep sounder.

Known as the 15 minute rule, it's aimed at anyone struggling to drift off, whether it's the start of the night or you want to squeeze in more hours before your alarm goes off. The act of getting up disrupts negative thought associations (so you stop thinking bed = stressed and awake) and allows sleep pressure to return, for a quicker drop off when you get back into bed.

And according to my sleep tracker, it works. When I check my data after a bad night I can pinpoint when I woke up, when I started getting annoyed, when I got out of bed, and how quickly I fell asleep and stayed asleep after following this gold standard method.

What is the 15 minute sleep rule?

The 15 minute sleep rule is a way to combat late night wake-ups and increased sleep latency by encouraging you to get out of bed when you've been lying awake for roughly a quarter of an hour.

Lying in bed when you can't sleep teaches your brain negative associations. You'll begin to link the bed with wakefulness, stress and frustration — the antithesis of good sleep.

A woman stands in front of her bed at night, stretching her arms as she practices yoga and meditation for sleep — (Image credit: Alamy)

Getting up breaks that association and disrupts negative thought patterns, so you maintain the mental connection between your bed and sleep. It's the same sentiment that warns people away from bed rotting: the more time you spend in bed not sleeping, the harder it is to sleep when you're actually in bed (I now do my weekend doomscrolling at my desk, which is halfway to a healthy habit.)

Why 15 minutes?

It’s called the 15 minute rule but this is a guideline rather than a hard and fast timing. You don't want to be watching the clock at night (my eye mask makes this an easily achievable goal) so rather than counting down 15 minutes, go with your gut.

I tend to wait until I'm getting frustrated. When I start to think my pillow is conspiring against me, I know it's time to get up.

A red alarm clock placed on a light gray/green bed. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

A little reading, a little tidying, and straight back to sleep

Once I'm out of bed, the first thing I do is neaten up the sheets. When I can't sleep I toss and turn, resulting in bedding all over the place. Taking a few minutes to straighten the sheets and fluff my pillow means when I return to bed, it feels like a fresh start.

Then I leave the room.

For the next few minutes, I'll take up a relaxing hobby. Reading is my preference but sometimes I'll engage in light stretches for sleep, or enjoy low-effort sketching. The lights are dim, the room is warm and pretty soon I feel ready to drop off.

Woman sits up in bed reading with a light on her bed stand next to her. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

When sleep pressure (that's the biological drive to go to sleep) has risen to the point my eyelids are drooping, I return to bed. Most times, I've dropped off in minutes.

Sometimes it doesn't work straight away. On rare occasions, typically when I'm too stressed to sleep, I'll get into bed and lie awake for another 15 minutes. Then I get up and do the whole thing again. If nothing, getting up to read is a nice break from the racing thoughts that won't let me sleep.

Instead of lying and ruminating on your wakefulness, the 15 minute rule encourages you take a step back and remember that your bed isn't the enemy.

5 other methods to fall asleep fast

The 15 minute sleep rule works for me, but here's other tried and tested methods from our team to help you fall asleep fast:

Military sleep method: A favorite of our editor (and Certified Sleep Coach) Claire Davies, the military sleep method pairs visualizations with deep breathing for full-body calm.
4-7-8 breathing: Breathe in for four, hold for seven, and exhale for eight, to place you in a relaxed state.
Cognitive shuffling: Visualizing random objects to distract from anxious thoughts, Sleep Features Editor Lauren Jeffries uses cognitive shuffling to help her fall asleep in minutes when she's anxious.
Progressive muscle relaxation: Working from head to toe, progressive muscle relaxation practices letting go of stress in the body.
Constructive worry method: The constructive worry method helps those, like Sleep Editor Nicola Appleton, who wake up with busy thoughts. It encourages setting aside a few minutes in the early evening to write down what's bothering you.

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Ruth is an experienced Senior Staff writer at Tom’s Guide, covering all things sleep and mattresses. She writes to help people sleep better, from how-tos to the latest deals to mattress reviews, and has interviewed an array of experts who share her passion. She is also our specialist on memory foam — she’s flown around the world to see memory foam being made — and leads our hotel mattress content. She has a deep interest in the link between sleep and health, and has tried enough mattresses, from Helix to Nectar to Simba, to know the right bed really can make a difference to your wellbeing. Before joining the team at Tom’s Guide, Ruth worked as a sleep and mattress writer for our sister website, TechRadar.

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