10 Weird Sleep Hacks That Actually Work

Falling asleep isn’t always as easy as switching off the light. While many people have heard the standard advice—limit caffeine, stick to a sleep schedule, avoid screens before bed—there’s a world of lesser-known tricks out there that may help, especially when the conventional methods fall short.

Below are ten unusual but research-backed sleep hacks that might just give you the rest you’ve been searching for. Some sound bizarre, but each comes with a surprising amount of logic or even science behind it.

Stick Your Feet Out of the Covers

It may seem counterintuitive, but letting your feet hang out from under the duvet can help cool your body down and ease you into sleep. According to research published in Physiology & Behavior, thermoregulation plays a key role in sleep onset. Your body naturally begins to lower its core temperature as part of the wind-down process.

The soles of your feet are rich in blood vessels and have no hair, making them excellent for heat dissipation. Exposing them to cooler air helps reduce core temperature, encouraging your body to transition into sleep mode.

Use Reverse Psychology to Induce Sleep

Also known as paradoxical intention, this psychological trick involves telling yourself to stay awake instead of trying to fall asleep. While it may sound absurd, a study published in Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy found that people with insomnia who used this technique fell asleep faster than those who tried to force sleep.

The idea is that relieving the anxiety associated with trying to sleep can make the process happen more naturally. By giving up the pressure to fall asleep, the body often does just that.

Wear Socks to Bed (Sometimes)

While letting your feet cool down works for some, others may benefit from the opposite: wearing socks to warm them up. Warming the feet causes vasodilation, which promotes a drop in core temperature. A Swiss study published in Nature demonstrated that warm feet and hands were linked to faster sleep onset. Try experimenting with thin socks if you often find your feet are cold at bedtime. It’s all about promoting the right kind of temperature shift.

Or... you could always consider sleeping naked!

Sniff Lavender (or Your Partner's Scented Shirt)

Aromatherapy may feel like an old wives’ tale, but the science backs it up. Lavender, in particular, has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality. A 2015 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that participants who inhaled lavender before bed experienced better sleep than those who did not.

Interestingly, another study published in Psychological Science revealed that sleeping with a partner’s worn T-shirt can improve sleep efficiency due to the comfort associated with their scent. It may be less about the chemical composition and more about emotional regulation and security.

Sleep with Your Head Facing North

This tip is rooted in ancient traditions like feng shui and ayurveda, both of which advocate aligning the head towards the north or east during sleep. While the evidence is mostly anecdotal, some research in Medical Hypotheses has explored the idea that human beings are subtly affected by the Earth’s magnetic field. Though not definitively proven, some people report deeper sleep and fewer disturbances when they align their bed accordingly. At the very least, it costs nothing to try.

Try the Military Sleep Method

Originally developed to help soldiers fall asleep under stressful conditions, the military sleep method focuses on progressive muscle relaxation and visualisation. The technique involves relaxing the face, shoulders, arms, chest and legs sequentially, followed by imagining a calming scene.

A book titled Relax and Win: Championship Performance claims the method can work within two minutes with enough practice. While there’s limited peer-reviewed evidence directly tied to this method, it draws on well-established relaxation techniques used in cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i).

Hum Like a Bee Before Bed

In yoga, the Bhramari pranayama technique involves humming with the mouth closed and focusing on the vibration. This creates a calming effect on the nervous system. Research published in the International Journal of Yoga suggests that this technique can lower heart rate and reduce stress hormones, both of which contribute to improved sleep quality. The gentle vibration stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which governs the body’s rest and digest functions.

Eat a Teaspoon of Raw Honey

Having a small spoonful of raw honey before bed may support stable blood sugar levels overnight and aid melatonin production. The theory is that a small dose of glucose can stop your brain from triggering an alert response due to glycogen depletion. While clinical evidence is sparse, a publication in the Journal of Medicinal Food discussed honey’s potential to increase insulin slightly, which in turn helps tryptophan enter the brain and convert to serotonin, then melatonin.

Wear Amber-Tinted Glasses Before Bed

Amber-tinted glasses block out blue light, which is known to suppress melatonin. A 2017 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that people who wore blue-light blocking glasses for two hours before bedtime experienced significant improvements in sleep quality and mood.

Unlike the more extreme orange-tinted varieties, amber lenses provide a balance between screen usability and light filtration. For those who can’t avoid screens late at night, these glasses might be a surprisingly effective workaround.

Keep a Notebook Beside Your Bed

Writing down thoughts or tasks before bed can help ease the cognitive load that keeps many of us awake. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that people who wrote detailed to-do lists before bed fell asleep significantly faster than those who journalled about completed tasks or didn’t write at all. The act of externalising worry and planning appears to reduce mental rumination, which is a common trigger for insomnia.

Final Thoughts

Unconventional sleep hacks might sound odd at first, but there’s often a physiological or psychological rationale behind them. Whether you’re cooling your feet, tricking your brain with reverse psychology, or humming in the dark, each of these techniques taps into deeper mechanisms that influence sleep. If you’ve tried all the usual advice and still find yourself staring at the ceiling, consider giving one (or a few) of these a try. Sometimes the weirdest tricks end up being the most effective.

If you're interested in more evidence-backed sleep advice, explore our other articles like How Much Deep Sleep Do You Need?, Best Vitamins for Sleep, or Should You Try a Sleep Tracker?