You may have desperately resorted to counting sheep in the hope of stopping yourself from tossing and turning at night.
Or, while snuggled under the duvet trying to unwind, you might have switched on the TV, believing it would relax you and allow you to drift off peacefully.
But these hacks are merely myths and won’t help you fall asleep, according to one expert.
Sleep guru Dr Lindsay Browning, of the British Psychological Society, has said they are not the only lies we’ve been told for decades…
Getting too much sleep can be bad for your health and wellbeing
Counting sheep will help you fall asleep faster
Parents often tell their little ones to count sheep when they’re having a hard time settling down for the night.
While it may do the trick for your two-year-old by distracting them, it probably isn’t the miracle remedy for adults, according to Dr Browning, who is working with retailer And So To Bed.
There’s no harm in counting sheep, she insists, but you will have a much easier time if you set yourself something more taxing.
Dr Browning said: ‘Some better distraction techniques would be listing your top ten favourite movies, or counting backwards in 7s from 1000.’
Cheese before bed will give you nightmares
It’s perhaps everyone’s favourite snack.
But, for years, we’ve been told to stave off eating cheese before bed over warnings that it will cause nightmares.
In fact, it ‘may help your sleep’, according to Dr Browning.
She said that cheese contains tryptophan which our bodies use to make melatonin — our sleep hormone.
However, she claimed studies show that going to bed on a full stomach can result in longer periods of REM sleep, the stage where vivid dreams (and nightmares) can occur.
Yet ‘this would occur with any food, not just cheese’, Dr Browning said.
Consuming alcohol before bed will help you sleep better
Nightcaps aren’t the miracle sleep-inducing remedy, either.
That is according to Dr Browning, who said that, although booze can make us feel sleepy, it can actually disrupt our natural REM cycle.
She said: ‘As such, our bodies will wake us up throughout the night and make it more difficult to fall back to sleep.
‘This means that although you may fall asleep more quickly after alcohol, the quality of your sleep will be poorer.
‘To prevent insomnia, it’s of benefit to stop drinking alcohol at least four hours before going to bed so that the alcohol can clear your system.’
You can make up for a lack of sleep by napping
Naps may feel like the right idea when you’re feeling knackered in the afternoon.
Yet, hour-long kips won’t benefit you at all, Dr Browning claimed.
Only dozing for 10-20 minutes at a time will ‘leave you feeling refreshed’, she said.
She added: ‘Sleeping longer, for around an hour, isn’t as helpful… because you will wake from the deepest part of sleep, leaving you with sleep inertia and feeling sluggish.’
Sleep inertia is the temporary disorientation we all feel after waking up. Although harmless, it can have knock-on effects on our performance (especially at work).
Dr Browning, also a member of the British Sleep Society, said: ‘Napping should not become a replacement for regular night time sleep as it could perpetuate your poor sleep at night.
‘If you get too much sleep during the day, you may have problems sleeping at night due to being too awake.
‘Much like food, if you have a snack before your dinner, you won’t be hungry for your main meal — if you have a nap too near to bed time, you might find it especially hard to fall asleep at night as you won’t be as sleepy.’
There is no such thing as too much sleep
Having a lot of sleep may feel very relaxing.
But if you are regularly catching more than nine hours, it can lead to a variety of health issues such as obesity and strokes, studies show.
Dr Browning said: ‘Also, if someone is sleeping too much, it’s often an indication that their sleep quality is very poor.
‘That means that although they might be getting ten hours of sleep each night, it is not as restorative as, say, seven hours good quality sleep. Sleep apnoea is a prime example of this.’
Sleep apnoea, when your breathing stops and starts during the night, can cause loud snoring.
You can catch up on sleep with a lie-in
That Sunday morning lie-in may seem like a great idea at the time.
But, according to Dr Browning, ‘this is not the answer’.
She said: ‘Being sleep deprived and then relying on the weekend to recover may help in the short term, but in the long run extra rest may create a false sense of recovery.
‘Also, if you are struggling to fall asleep during the week, then a lie-in at the weekend may make this worse.’
Dr Browning added: ‘Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule ranging from around 7-9 hours, will be of most benefit to mental and physical health.
‘Try going to sleep and waking up at the same time on weekends as you do on weekdays in order to feel more refreshed and energised overall.’
Just stay in bed if you can’t fall asleep
Lying in bed for hours on end, staring at the ceiling, is not the tactic you need to help you drift off.
If you haven’t dozed off after 20 minutes, it will be more beneficial to get out of bed and take a break, according to Dr Browning.
She said: ‘If you stay in bed, trying to force sleep to happen, it will likely have the opposite effect as you will become more and more anxious and frustrated with your inability to fall asleep.
‘It’s much better to take a break from trying to force sleep and failing, before trying again after that break.’
Try listening to music, reading a book and disconnecting from electronic devices to help, she advises.
Watching TV before bed is a good way to relax
Turning to Netflix in the hope of falling asleep won’t help either.
Bright light emitted from new-era TVs can interfere with your brain’s production of melatonin, Dr Browning said.
As a result, it has the potential to interrupt the body’s internal clock — scientifically known as the circadian rhythm.
Dr Browning said: ‘If your brain is more stimulated (especially by something stressful or anxiety provoking), it’s likely sleep will be disrupted, which in the long run, could lead to depression and anxiety.’
Relaxing yoga or reading a book may help instead, she added.
You should sleep in a warm room for better sleep
Cold rooms will help. Warm ones won’t.
Dr Browning says the ideal temperature for a bedroom is 16-19C.
‘As we fall asleep, and through the night, our core body temperature drops,’ she said.
Other experts have described this natural process as the brain’s signal to ‘get cosy in our nest’.
Dr Browning added: ‘Therefore, the room needs to be cool enough to allow that to happen.
‘Try opening a window for a cool breeze and see if your sleep improves.’