Whether it's staring at your ceiling for hours on end, or skipping bedtime for 'just one more episode', falling asleep is no small feat. It can take years to master the habits, routine and environment (also known as sleep hygiene) that make passing out simple; spoiler alert, it takes much more than a chic pillow mist and a high thread count.

A recent survey by The Sleep Charity found that 1 in 5 adults sleep poorly regularly, with another study suggesting that minority ethnic groups and those living in deprived areas of the UK are most severely impacted by it. And the consequences aren't just dark circles and a few poorly timed yawns. From being more likely to feel anxious to increased blood pressure and hormone issues, not getting the right amount of sleep can effect just about everything.

Getting 'too much' sleep has also been a topic of great debate lately. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, actor Dakota Johnson revealed she boasts a routine of up to 14 hours per day.

'I don’t have a regular [wake-up] time. It depends on what’s happening in my life,' Johnson said. 'If I’m not working, if I have a day off on a Monday, then I will sleep as long as I can. Sleep is my number one priority in life. I’m not functional if I get less than 10. I can easily go 14 hours.'

But do these additional hours make all the difference and what really makes up good sleep hygiene? This is everything you need to know about falling asleep, with the expert tips on securing those all important Z's.

How much sleep do we actually need?

‘Working age adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep every night,' says Dr Lindsay Browning, chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and author of Navigating Sleeplessness. 'And it's a continuum; there are people who need seven and there are people who need nine. Eight is not the magic number. If you’re sleeping through the night with eight hours sleep but you’re waking up tired, you might actually need nine. However, if you're wildly outside that, it's likely there's something wrong.’

The general rule is that if you’re falling asleep within 20 minutes, without more than a 20 minutes disruption, and you aren’t waking up more than 20 minutes before your alarm, you’re probably hitting around the right amount of sleep. Put simply, you should wake up feeling refreshed and that should last throughout the day; you shouldn’t feel chronically tired.

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How to perfect your sleep routine

Be consistent

The modern hybrid job structure has thrown everything we know about the working day out of the window. Instead of waking up at an early hour to get your morning en-route coffee, a WFH day might mean you replace your typical commute with some extra Z’s.

‘It's really not what anyone wants to hear, but the time we go to bed and get up does make a difference. We are much healthier when we go to sleep at a similar time every night and wake up at a similar time every morning, seven days a week,’ she adds.

So, while Johnson's 14 hours of sleep might not be harmful, it's the inconsistent routine that raises red flags.

Can you make up for lost sleep on the weekends?

Sort of. Dr Browning compares catching up on sleep to the way we eat; if you take a feast and famine approach, eating poorly during the weekdays and extremely well on the weekend, you end up with an unbalanced diet. It's the same with sleep.

‘Research shows that if we change our sleep hours wildly, especially with hybrid working or having huge lie ins at the weekends, that difference can be associated with negative health outcomes,' Dr Browning says. 'A recent study suggested that a difference of just 90 minutes can have a significant impact on your gut bacteria.’

Another study also suggested, on average, participants woke up 36 min later on weekends than weekdays.

But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to give up your Sunday morning snooze entirely. ‘If you're not able to get enough sleep during the week, then having a weekend lie in to get some extra sleep is better than nothing. However, it's much better to get the right amount of sleep seven days a week.’

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Address your stress

In The Sleep Charity's recent survey 43% of those struggling to fall asleep cited stress as the main cause.

‘When we're stressed, our anxiety, our cortisol, our fight or flight mode, is elevated. As part of that, our body is almost deliberately wanting us to not sleep because if there was a problem, we should be awake to deal with it,' explains Dr Browning. 'Then you start to worry about sleep itself and your lack of sleep becomes the stress, which becomes perpetuating.’

And it doesn’t just boil down to stress; a positively busy mind can keep you up at night too. Whether it's a meditative walk or seeking professional support, addressing your stress can be the first step to sleeping soundly.

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Detox digitally

Your circadian rhythm takes some of its cues from sunlight, which is why getting enough 'bright light' in the day is so essential; so how does the bright light from our late night phone scrolls compare?

'Checking your devices often leads to 'just scrolling through a message, an email or social media’ which then sets the brain in gear,' says Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity. 'The blue light emitted from screens can suppress melatonin (the sleep hormone) which tells your body it’s time to be alert and not sleepy.'

29% of adults admitted that they would rather tune into the TV to help them drift off than seek professional advice. However, Artis says creating a sleep-friendly environment by removing your devices from your room entirely and keeping your space cool, quiet and dark is the key to sleeping sounder.

Relax… or don’t

Winding down isn't a one size fits all, so it's important to customise your bedtime routine to you. Beyond typical good sleep hygiene (think cutting out caffeine 8 hours before bed, sleeping at consistent times and restricting your late night screen time), there are a plethora of mists, skincare and tool you can trial to relax - but many of these aren't proven to actually help you sleep.

‘For some people, a pillow spray, a nice bath, reading a book or doing some yoga will be relaxing and that can help you to sleep,' Dr Browning adds. 'However, if you hate the smell of lavender, or if you hate yoga, doing those things is not going to help.’

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She adds that while supplementing can be great for harmonising your body's balance, deficiencies in melatonin and magnesium aren't as common as you might think so it's important to check with your GP before investing in oral sleep aids.

If you've been lying in bed for a while and no amount of floral aromas, dreamy thoughts or deep breaths are aiding your drift, the best thing to do is just get up, walk around and start again.

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Speak to your GP

If you've looked at your lifestyle and you're doing all the right things, it might be time to speak to your GP. From sleep apnea to hormone conditions, how you snooze isn’t always within your control and there’s plenty of professional avenues to explore beyond mists and milky drinks.

‘The gold standard, scientifically validated treatment for sleeping issues is CBTI (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia),' concludes Dr Browning. 'It helps you to relearn how to sleep, fix negative behaviours and addresses the stress about sleep itself.’