Women's Health November 1, 2025 0 Comments

Unlock the Secret to Deep, Restorative Sleep That Experts Swear By—And Why Less Is More When It Comes to Your Zzz’s

Ever had one of those nights where you swear you got three hours less sleep than you desperately needed, and suddenly, the world feels like it’s conspiring against your ability to ever rest again? Yeah, I’ve been there—staring at the ceiling, wondering if my pillow suddenly morphed into a block of concrete. But here’s a little secret: it’s not always about the hours you clock in bed, but the quality of those zzz’s that really counts. Sleep quality is a slippery beast to pin down — one person’s restful sleep could feel totally different from someone else’s. Yet, when you wake up feeling genuinely restored and ready to tackle the day, you’re onto something good. The magic of quality sleep? It fuels your focus, sparks creativity, sharpens decision-making, and even keeps those pesky hunger hormones in check. So, before you spiral into despair over lost sleep, maybe it’s time to rethink your sleep game — not just how long, but how well you’re catching those precious hours. Ready to find out how to score better shut-eye and finally feel like your brilliant self in the morning? LEARN MORE

If you’ve ever suffered a night of poor sleep—like, you got about three hours less than you wanted—you may have found yourself in a doom spiral, thinking that you’ll never sleep well again (been there!). Fortunately, while getting less sleep than you wanted is common, it may actually be more important to focus on the quality of your sleep, rather than the quantity.

Sleep quality is a bit “elusive” to define, says Beth Malow, MD, professor of neurology and pediatrics and the Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Everyone’s body is different, making their experience of quality sleep totally unique to them. Still, quality sleep can be determined by a sense of waking up feeling rested and restored, adds Jenie George, MD, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine (Sleep Medicine) at Penn Medicine.

Meet the experts: Beth Malow, MD, is a professor of neurology and pediatrics and the Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Jenie George, MD, is an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine (Sleep Medicine) at Penn Medicine. Angela Holliday-Bell, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and certified clinical sleep specialist in Chicago.

The quality of your sleep is important to focus on because it “improves concentration, learning, and memory consolidation,” says Dr. George. “It also supports creativity and decision-making.” Plus, it can help regulate your mood and stress levels, as well as hunger hormones, supporting healthy eating habits, she adds.

But, if you’ve been living off caffeine and adrenaline for *a while*, it can be difficult to know where to turn and how to break old habits that might be wreaking havoc on your sleep quality. Below, find out why quality matters—and whether you can become better at getting it, per experts.

Which is better, sleep quantity or quality?

“Sleep quality is how restorative and restful your sleep feels, not just the number of hours you’re in bed,” explains Angela Holliday-Bell, MD, board-certified pediatrician and certified clinical sleep specialist in Chicago. While the CDC recommends that adults aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night to help bolster your focus and immune systems, quality reigns supreme when it comes to your shuteye.

“Quality includes getting restorative sleep stages [REM and deep sleep] which are needed for physical recovery, emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and immune function,” Dr. George says. “Poor quality sleep (even with enough hours of sleep) also impacts long-term health outcomes such as increasing risk for heart disease, depression, obesity, and cognitive decline.”

Unfortunately, there’s no one specific metric, number, or other way to discern the overall quality of your sleep any single night. Rather, it’s a cluster of factors best represented by reflecting on how you feel when you wake up: If you’re kicking off the day ready to take on the world, chances are, you benefitted from quality sleep. On the other hand, if you wake up feeling like you were hit by a truck, you probably didn’t sleep great.

Wearables can also come in handy here because they may offer a few metrics that contribute to sleep quality (and those numbers can be improved using the strategies that come later on!), according to Dr. George:

Latency, or how long it takes to fall asleep. An optimal sleep latency duration is on the shorter side, within 15 to 20 minutes.
Awakenings, or how much you wake up during the night. These should ideally be as minimal as possible, but each person is different, so look for a reduction in your personal numbers, Dr. George says.
Wake after sleep onset (WASO), or the collective amount of time you’ve spent awake after you first fell asleep. For most people, Dr. George says this should be around 15 minutes.
Efficiency, or the ratio of time asleep to time in bed. This score should hit around 80 percent, Dr. George says.

If you’re feeling off, reviewing your day-to-day and week-to-week metrics can help point to a new trend in how you’re faring overnight. You can see what’s working (and what may need changing) in the future; but use it with a grain of salt, advises Dr. Malow.

“While I encourage patients to use their wearables to heighten their awareness of good sleep, I’m also cautious to let them know that these devices tend to underestimate sleep, Dr. Malow says. “For example, when we move around in our sleep, it’s picked up as being awake when we may still be asleep.” (By the way, we’re mainly talking about having a night or two of bad sleep quality once in a while—if it’s more than that, you may have a chronic condition, which needs to be diagnosed by a medical provider.)

Here’s Exactly How To Score Higher-Quality Sleep

Good news: Just because you have a history of getting poor-quality sleep in the past doesn’t mean you’re doomed to keep doing it forever—it’s possible to improve your sleep quality, says Dr. Malow.

But first, you’ll want to rule out any medical conditions that could be impacting your ability to score some solid zzz’s, like sleep apnea, insomnia, or even anxiety, Dr. Malow adds. To find out if this might be part of your situation, you’ll need to connect with a licensed medical professional, like your general practitioner.

If your doc has ruled out medical conditions, try these techniques to improve your sleep quality:

Build a routine.

Fine tuning the timing of your bedtime wind-down routine—and what it consists of—can make all the difference. “Training your body for better sleep starts with consistency. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day helps regulate your internal clock,” says Dr. Holliday-Bell. This includes weekends, Dr. George adds.

This is critical to maintain your circadian rhythm, your body’s clock that tells you when it’s time to hunker down and wake up. With a consistent routine, your circadian rhythm remains uninterrupted, which can be a big contributor in scoring quality sleep, says a report in a 2024 review in Cureus of articles about the role of circadian rhythms in sleep and recovery. (Direct morning light also has a link to your circadian rhythm and signals to your body when the onset of day or night is approaching.)

Make sure to start winding down for the night 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime with fun, relaxing activities that don’t require staring at a screen, says Dr. George. “The blue-light spectrum from our screens can disrupt melatonin production,” she adds. Melatonin not only helps you fall asleep, it likely helps you stay asleep as well, which can raise your sleep quality. Instead, reach for a book off your TBR stack (we all have one), meditate, take a warm bath, or listen to relaxing music, says Dr. Malow.

Cut the caffeine.

Look, we all love an afternoon pick-me-up. But, if you’re finding that you’re waking up drowsy and wonky, you might want to consider how much caffeine you’re consuming, especially after 1 p.m., says Dr. George. If you want to improve your sleep quality, try to finish up your last caffeinated drink before then, she recommends. This allows plenty of time for your body to digest the caffeine before bedtime, while helping to avoid messing with your melatonin production and balance, says Dr. Holliday-Bell.

A 2021 study in the Journal of Biological Rhythms analyzed how regular caffeine intake affected sleep quality in 20 healthy men between 18 and 35 years old. It found that caffeine consumed within five hours of sleep impacted participants’ ability to reach their REM cycle; they also reported feeling more tired the next day and had a harder time waking up.

Sharpen your sleep hygiene.

While sleep hygiene isn’t as connected with quality as it is with quantity, it’s still good to take a look at. Try creating a haven for sleep and “maintain cool temperatures, keep the room dark with blackout curtains or a sleep mask, and reduce increased noises,” with a white noise machine or ear plugs to create a sleep sanctuary that encourages “deep, uninterrupted sleep,” says Dr. Holliday-Bell.

Remember, you can turn your nights of bad sleep around and start getting some quality zzz’s. With these simple tactics, kick counting sheep to the curb and drift off peacefully, setting you up to conquer the next day.

Liz Doupnik is a freelance culture and lifestyle journalist based in Nashville, TN who writes about books, fashion, and wellness. With nearly 20 years of experience, Liz cut her teeth working as a full-time editor at WWD, StyleCaster, and Seventeen, and has led editorial teams at SHAPE and Nike. A lifelong athlete, Liz has also worked as a certified personal trainer and obtained her Master Training certification from Focus Personal Training Institute. As a freelancer, her work has appeared in W, Marie Claire, Dwell, Teen Vogue, Well & Good, The Zoe Report, and many others. When she’s not busy at work, you can find her logging a long run on one of Nashville’s many trails, perusing the shelves at her favorite local bookstore, or searching for her future rescue pup.