The Habit Stacking Guide to Better Sleep

Summary 

Habit stacking is a simple way to build better sleep routines by pairing new bedtime behaviors with cues you already use each night. This guide explains how to use familiar signals like brushing your teeth or turning off the lights to help you unwind and make healthy sleep habits stick over time.

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Bedtime routines can be hard to keep up with, but they don’t fail because you’re doing something wrong. All those sleep hygiene behaviors you’ve heard about can be hard to remember when you’re already tired. Habit stacking offers a gentle-but-effective approach by building new sleep habits onto gentle self-care cues you already use every night. Instead of overhauling bedtime, you work with what’s already there (and get the rest you need to feel energized tomorrow). 

Learn more about how to build better sleep habits with habit stacking, and how Hatch Restore’s behavioral cues for sleep can help.

Table of contents

1. What is Habit Stacking for Sleep?
2. Common Bedtime Cues to Stack
3. How to Build Better Sleep Habits That Stick
4. Key Takeaways
5. FAQs
6. References 

What is Habit Stacking for Sleep?

Habits form by repetition. In habit stacking, you pair a new behavior with an existing one to increase the likelihood you’ll repeat it over time. Behavioral science research shows habit stacking to be effective because it leverages existing neural pathways and environmental cues, reducing the mental effort required to start a new habit and making follow-through more automatic.

Habit stacking for sleep works well because bedtime is already full of built-in anchor behaviors (brushing teeth, turning off the lights, and locking doors, for example). Pairing these things with sleep cues — like putting away your phone to reduce distractions or winding down with a relaxing podcast — can make it easier to form a consistent bedtime routine that supports healthy sleep over time. Instead of relying on motivation at the end of a long day, habit stacking allows your routine to unfold naturally, one familiar step at a time.

The key with any type of habit stacking is consistency. Even if you can’t do all your habit stacking behaviors, doing what you can each night trains your brain to expect the new behaviors. Over time, these small, repeated actions become linked in your brain, turning intentional effort into an automatic part of your bedtime routine.

Common Bedtime Cues to Stack 

The best behavioral cues for sleep are activities that help your mind and body unwind, so you can pivot from “go mode” to a calmer, sleepier state. While certain sleep hygiene behaviors work across the board — for example, it’s a good idea to dim the lights and put away your phone before bed to support your circadian rhythm — everyone is different. 

Not sure where to start? Think through your nightly routine and what you already do, and then stack those things with behaviors you want to incorporate. For example:

• After turning off the lights and locking the doors, put away your phone
• After brushing your teeth, dim the lights in your room
• After putting on pajamas, take a few deep breaths and write in your gratitude journal
• After your Hatch Restore reminds you it’s bedtime, do a gentle stretch in your room
• After getting into bed, listen to a calming podcast or audiobook on your Hatch Restore 

How to Build Better Sleep Habits That Stick

Building new habits takes time — but you can increase the likelihood of consistency with a few simple strategies. 

• Start with one cue and one small habit. Rather than overhauling your entire bedtime routine at once, start small with one existing cue and one small, new habit. Your brain loves the feeling of wins, and a slow start empowers you to be successful (and actually keep the habits you start).
• Keep habits short, simple, and repeatable. Don’t try to pair three activities with one bedtime cue. Instead, stack one new behavior onto an existing one. Remember: Less effort means more consistency. 
• Use the same order every night. Following your bedtime routine in the same order every night creates a sense of predictability, which helps form neural pathways that make the steps easier to follow over time.
• Use a consistent sleep cue, like Hatch Restore, as your anchor. Turning on the same light or sound each night can serve as a clear signal that bedtime is beginning, making it easier to stack other calming habits onto that moment.
• Give it time. Habits form through repetition, not intensity. The more you keep up with your new bedtime habits, the more automatic they’ll eventually feel.
  

Something to keep in mind: Your routines can evolve as your life does. On busy nights or when you’re sick, you may skip a few steps (or skip the routine altogether). That’s ok! A routine you can return to is more important than one you follow perfectly.

Key Takeaways

• Habit stacking, or pairing an existing habit with a new one, can make it easier to form healthy routines by making new behaviors feel automatic. 
• Your bedtime routine already includes so many sleep cues, making it a great opportunity to stack on new behaviors that support deeper rest.
• Hatch Restore makes it easy to form healthy sleep habits with Cue to Unwind, Unwind Routines, and soothing lights and sounds that help you drift off and wake up energized.

Learn how Hatch Restore can help you create bedtime cues that support healthy sleep habits, one night at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does habit stacking take to improve sleep?

It varies, but many people notice bedtime feeling easier within a few days of consistent practice. The goal isn’t instant sleep, but creating reliable cues that help your body wind down more smoothly over time.

What if my bedtime routine changes from night to night?

That’s ok! Habit stacking works best when you anchor habits to cues that happen most nights, even if the exact timing changes. Consistency in order matters more than consistency in schedule.

Can habit stacking work if I already struggle with insomnia?

Habit stacking isn’t a cure for insomnia, but it can support better sleep by reducing friction at bedtime and helping your body recognize familiar wind-down signals. If sleep issues persist, it may be helpful to combine routines with additional support.

References

1. Buabang, E. K., Donegan, K. R., Rafei, P., & Gillan, C. M. (2025). Leveraging cognitive neuroscience for making and breaking real-world habits. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(1), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.10.006
2. Gardner, B., Lally, P., & Wardle, J. (2012). Making health habitual: the psychology of 'habit-formation' and general practice. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 62(605), 664–666. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp12X659466
3. Singh, B., Murphy, A., Maher, C., & Smith, A. E. (2024). Time to Form a Habit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health Behaviour Habit Formation and Its Determinants. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 12(23), 2488. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12232488