6 Simple Ways to Reset Your Sleep
"There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither."
—Alan Cohen
Resetting Your Sleep for Fall
Fall is the perfect time to reset your sleep. Since the equinox on September 22, sunsets come earlier and mornings stay darker, and your circadian rhythm (your body's 24-hour clock, cued mainly by light) feels it. A few simple habits can help you adjust.
Why Sleep Matters
Sleep is when your body and brain recover and prepare for the next day. Yet 30.5% of U.S. adults slept less than seven hours a night in 2024, and only 54.8% woke up feeling well rested most days from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cost reaches work too: RAND researchers estimated that insufficient sleep costs the U.S. economy up to $411 billion a year from RAND Corporation.
Sleep and Immunity
In a UCSF study, adults who slept under 6 hours a night were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold after exposure than those who slept 7+ hours from UCSF. Sleep predicted illness better than age, stress or smoking. Planning a flu shot this season? Pair it with a few good nights of rest.
Sleep and your heart
September 29 is World Heart Day. In 2022, the American Heart Association added sleep to Life's Essential 8, its heart-health checklist, and recommends 7 to 9 hours a night for adults. Both too little and too much sleep are linked to heart disease.
Sources: American Heart Association, "Sleep Joins Revamped List of Heart Health Essentials" (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "About Sleep" (2024). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, "Short Sleep Duration and Sleep Difficulties Among Adults: United States, 2024" (2026). Prather et al., "Behaviorally Assessed Sleep and Susceptibility to the Common Cold" (2015). RAND Corporation, "Why Sleep Matters: The Economic Costs of Insufficient Sleep" (2016).
6 Simple Ways to Reset Your Sleep
You don't need to change everything at once.
Start with one or two habits that feel realistic, then build from there.
1. Anchor Your Wake Time
Try to wake up around the same time every day, including weekends. A consistent wake time can help give your body clock a more predictable rhythm and make it easier to establish a regular sleep schedule.
2. Get Some Morning Light
Natural light in the morning is one of the signals that helps regulate your circadian rhythm. When you wake up, open the curtains, step outside, or take a short walk if you can.
Even a few minutes outside can be an easy way to start the day with some movement and daylight.
3. Create a Digital Sunset
Your brain doesn't always know that the workday is over just because you've closed your laptop.
Try giving yourself 30 to 60 minutes without work messages or unnecessary screen time before bed. Use that time to shower, read, stretch, talk with family, or simply slow down.
4. Make Your Bedroom a Place to Sleep
Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet when possible. Consider leaving your work laptop outside the bedroom so that your sleeping space doesn't become an extension of your workspace.
Creating a clear separation can make it easier to shift from work mode into rest mode.
5. Pay Attention to Evening Fuel
Late caffeine, alcohol, and large meals can interfere with sleep for some people. Pay attention to how your evening habits affect the way you sleep and how you feel the next morning.
You don't have to overhaul your entire diet. Sometimes a small adjustment is enough to notice a difference.
6. Move During the Day, Wind Down at Night
Regular physical activity supports better sleep, and it doesn't have to mean a long workout. A lunchtime walk or a few minutes of stretching counts. In the evening, a short meditation or breathing practice can signal that it's time to slow down. The CDC also recommends a consistent schedule, a quiet and cool bedroom, and turning off devices before bed.
A Note About the Clocks
Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when U.S. clocks move back one hour. Use the extra hour to adjust gradually: shift your bedtime slightly later beforehand and get bright morning light afterward. If you work across time zones, keep it in mind when scheduling with U.S. teams.
Your Fall Sleep Challenge
Don't try to fix your entire sleep routine overnight. Pick one habit and commit to it for the next 14 days. If you still have trouble falling or staying asleep, snore loudly, or feel exhausted during the day, talk with your healthcare provider.
Here's to a more rested fall.
Better Rest Starts With Better Rhythms
At Topia, our movement, meditation, and coaching sessions give your team simple ways to build employee sleep wellness and healthier routines.
Ready to help your team rest better this fall?
Experience Wholistic Well-being
by Exploring Decluttering the Mind
At Topia, we approach wellbeing through a wholistic lens, integrating mental, physical, emotional, and occupational health into the natural flow of work and everyday life.
At times the mind gets as full as the calendar. Making a little space can be the simplest way to reset your day.
This week, join us for Mindfulness Meditation with Luna: Decluttering the Mind, a guided session designed to help you sort through the noise, let unfinished thoughts settle, and come back to a steadier, quieter place.
Whether you're carrying a full inbox and an even fuller mind, noticing your thoughts race from one meeting to the next, or just want a few minutes to breathe and be still, this session offers a supportive, accessible way to practice, no meditation experience required.
That sense of clarity doesn't have to end when the session does. Carry it with you into whatever comes next.
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