That’s okay! Be mindful that not all tips suit every lifestyle. Pick the ones that are easy for you to follow. You can also try another tool in the toolbox or check out our resources page. 

I’m still not sure

A sleep cycle generally consists of four stages of sleep:

Before sleep, a drowsy stage when you begin to feel tired.

Light sleep, which is a stage where you’re dozing off, and your body is slowing down and preparing for a deep sleep

Deep sleep, when our bodies experience rest and restoration. Deep sleep is said to be essential to a restful sleep. You may find it hard to be woken up when you are in a deep sleep

REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. During this stage, your brain is active even while you experience rest. This is often associated with vivid dreams.

Good quality sleep — which includes deep sleep — is restorative and important to your wellbeing. There are things you can do that help you experience good quality sleep more often.


Your sleep cycle can be affected by age, daily routines, activity levels, or mental distress. While there are tips you can follow that lead to better sleep, things may not improve. In this case, consult a health professional.

A sleep cycle generally consists of four stages of sleep:

Before sleep, a drowsy stage when you begin to feel tired.

ight sleep, which is a stage where you’re dozing off, and your body is slowing down and preparing for a deep sleep

Deep sleep, when our bodies experience rest and restoration. Deep sleep is said to be essential to a restful sleep. You may find it hard to be woken up when you are in a deep sleep

REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. During this stage, your brain is active even while you experience rest. This is often associated with vivid dreams.

Good quality sleep — which includes deep sleep — is restorative and important to your wellbeing. There are things you can do that help you experience good quality sleep more often.

 What is a sleep cycle?

What if I’m still not getting a good sleep?

Learn more about the little things you can do to sleep better.

Improving Sleep

How to use Improving Sleep

Sleep has effects on our overall health and wellbeing. When we sleep, our bodies go through the processes of healing and repairing. Sleeping well leads to waking up energised and refreshed to tackle your day.

Sometimes, we toss and turn at night, or don’t sleep deeply even if we try. This is common, and can be caused by — or result in — stress or anxiety. There are, however, some small steps you can take that may help you get the rest you need.


Why it’s important to get a good sleep

Try Improving Sleep now

The advice provided by Improving Sleep is not meant to be a perfect fit for everyone. Not every suggestion works for all living situations, so if you're struggling to follow some, pick a different tip. 

If you feel that stress or anxiety is getting in the way of having a good rest, you may want to try other Small Step tools with Improving Sleep.

Struggling to do the exercise?

Improving Sleep is a quick quiz that gets you started on identifying possible problem areas in your sleep cycle. You’ll see some recommended healthy sleep tips and can try the ones that suit your lifestyle.

How does Improving Sleep help?

These tools have been developed to help with feelings of anxiety, stress, or low mood. Each tool only takes a few minutes. Health and wellbeing is an ongoing journey, so try them out and see what works for you.

Small Steps Toolbox

This tool can give you insight into how what you’re doing affects your mood, and recommends activities that can improve how you’re feeling.

Balancing Mood

Loneliness is a common feeling we all get from time to time. The tool asks you when you feel lonely and gives insights on why or what you can do about it.

Understanding Loneliness

During this mindfulness exercise, you’ll be guided by relaxing audio to calmly notice different visual aspects of images and apply this to your surroundings.

Mindful Watching

This tool can help to identify unhelpful patterns in your thoughts and beliefs and reframe them over time to help you feel better and make decisions that support your overall sense of wellbeing.

Reframing Thoughts

During this exercise, you’ll be guided to identify sensations in your body that you often experience when feeling upset. You can use these as signals to react differently, use a tool, or engage in self-care.

Identifying Signals

Supporting Others gives you tips on what you can say or do when you’re helping someone who’s going through a hard time.

Supporting Others

Learn to appreciate the small things in life through practising gratitude. Doing this regularly can help lift your mood and make you feel happier. 

Gratitude Practice

Teach your body how to relax better through muscle relaxation. The key is learning to apply this skill in everyday life to the entire body so that you’re not tensing muscles when you don’t need to.

Muscle Relaxation

This reflective technique involves slowly breathing in and out to help you feel calmer and more relaxed. This tool is guided by an animated image that inflates and deflates.

Deep Breathing

This skill involves fully focusing on what a person is saying, rather than selectively hearing. In this exercise, you’ll practice listening and develop an awareness of when you’re not paying attention.

Active Listening

This tool helps you on your journey to gain self-worth. Go through the Building Self-Worth card deck for energetic, reflective, or inspirational activities. 

Building Self-Worth

Sleeping well is essential to our mental and physical wellbeing. Improving Sleep is a quick quiz that helps you get started on your journey to achieve this. The quiz involves you answering a few questions before getting tips on what you can do before, during, and after sleep.

What is Improving Sleep?

Keep the tips in mind and continue to explore different ways to involve healthy sleep habits in your life.

Improving Sleep

How to use Improving Sleep

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Struggling to do the exercise?

What is Improving Sleep?

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