Building Healthy Sleep Habits for Life

Why Sleep Matters

Sleep affects everything — from mood and memory to energy and emotional resilience. Poor sleep can leave us feeling foggy, flat, and disconnected. But many of us struggle to get enough of it, whether it’s trouble falling asleep or waking in the night. 

But better sleep starts long before bedtime. How we manage stress, move through our day, and wind down at night all shape the quality of our rest.

With the right tools and a little practice, we can create healthier sleep habits and make simple changes to feel more energised, focused, and ready to take on the day, explore our Sleep Hygiene Tips to get started. 

When Sleep Is Hard

One in three Australians struggle with sleep¹ — and for many, it’s an ongoing challenge. From racing thoughts, supporting restless kids, poor sleep can impact the whole family. The good news? With curiosity and gentle tools, we can shift unhelpful patterns and bring some ease back to bedtime.

When sleep isn’t easy, it can leave us feeling frustrated, tired, or sometimes leads to getting anxious about bedtime itself. But exploring what’s going on beneath the surface — like stress, habits, or overstimulation — can help us to take small, effective steps forward.

Try this calming Fade into Sleep meditation when you’re struggling to fall or stay asleep, it is designed to settle the body, soften tension, and meet restless thoughts with calm curiosity.

¹Sleep Health Foundation. Reawakening Australia: The economic cost of sleep disorders in Australia. 2011. https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/special-sleep-reports/reawakening-australia-full-report

Support for Families

Sleep can be especially tough for parents and kids — and pressure to ‘fix’ it fast can make things harder. A non-striving approach and consistent routines can reduce stress and support more natural sleep.

Sometimes the more we focus on sleep, the harder it can be to get it. A non-striving mindset — focusing more on the process of resting rather than chasing the goal of sleep — can ease tension and support more natural sleep for both kids and adults.

Bedtime can be when worries surface and for many children going to sleep can seem scary. Consistent routines, connection and gentle practices can help children and parents build the skills to promote a sense of calm and safety in the lead up to sleep.  

Help kids wind down by doing our Worry Box earlier in the day — it is a simple way to explore concerns before bedtime, making worries less likely to pop up as we’re easing into rest.

Building Better Bedtime Routines for Kids

Creating a healthy bedtime routine helps children feel safe, calm and secure — supporting emotional regulation and building resilience over time. One simple way to begin is by helping kids understand why sleep matters. 

Learning about what happens in our brains when we sleep — like how memories are stored and emotions are processed — can help make bedtime feel more meaningful and even a little magical.

Introducing gentle, consistent practices in the lead up to bed can support a smoother transition to sleep, learn more from Smiling Mind’s  Sleep Checklist for Kids. Explore Golden Glow, a calming meditation designed to support young minds to relax and ease into sleep. 

Sleep better, feel better: Tools to help

Quick fixes like late-night workouts, a glass of wine, or weekend sleep-ins might seem helpful—but they often disrupt your natural sleep cycle. Instead, try proven habits: exercise earlier, stay hydrated, wind down with a calming tea, and keep a regular sleep schedule.

Mindfulness—the practice of being present—meditations like Soothing Sleep can help calm the mind and body, making it easier to fall and stay asleep. Letting go of stress and unhelpful thoughts supports your body’s natural ability to rest.

Daily mindfulness reduces stress before it impacts sleep, trying practices like Thought Catcher can help you relax and reset your nervous system. There is content to help you learn more about sleep, create healthy routines and support yourself and your loved ones to get the rest you need.

Explore More Sleep Tools in the Smiling Mind App

Looking for more support to wind down, reset or create better bedtime habits? The free Smiling Mind App is packed with sleep tools for every age and stage — including guided meditations, calming music, soundscapes, sleep programs and routines to help you wind down and rest well.

Whether you’re building a new bedtime routine, supporting a restless child, or simply trying to fall asleep faster, you’ll find trusted, expert-led content to help make better sleep a lasting habit.

Download the Smiling Mind App for free