I'm a lifestyle research doctor and these are the strategies that actually work to improve sleep 

It's common to have the odd sleepless night but persistent insomniacs suffer chronic fatigue, reduced brain function and demotivation. In the short term this can lead to relationship and work issues and demotivation to exercise and undertake healthy living programmes. In the longer term, it increases the risk of  dementia, obesity, high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease. 

Multiple physical, environmental and psychological factors conspire to disrupt regular sleep patterns but before resorting to sleeping tablets or OTC pills, here are some practical lifestyle strategies which have been shown to help.

Adopt sensible sleep hygiene habits, such as getting to bed at a regular time and avoiding stimulating films or electronic gadgets late in the evening. Although it may be difficult to avoid noisy neighbours or traffic earplugs could help. Investing in a comfortable bed and black out curtains can also reap enormous benefits.

Increase bright (blue) light exposure during the day and avoid it in the evening. One of the best ways to set your circadian clock is to be exposed to bright light, ideally sunlight, during the day by keeping curtains open and facing a window as much as possible. Conversely, it's just as important to avoiding blue light and increase red and yellow wavelengths in the evenings with dimmer switches or by turning on fewer lights.

Once you go to bed, sleep in a completely dark room, cover up any LED lights and other gadgets. If you need to use the loo at night, either learn to navigate in the dark or use as little light as possible. A good bio-hack is to wear amber-tinted glasses for the last 2-3 hours of your day.

Increase your morning exercise as insomniacs given moderate to strenuous exercise programs had better sleep duration and quality. Exercise helps regulate the circadian rhythm, but for the best effect, for most people, it is better to exercise in the morning, outside in the sunlight (even if cloudy), rather than very late in the evening.

Manage stress as turning over stressful scenarios prevents us getting off the sleep and having a low mood or being depressed will wake us up in the early hours fixated on negative thoughts. It is clearly not always difficult to reduce stress, but measures you can take include making changes to the structure of your work and social life, making time for regular exercise, taking up meditation or yoga, or simply making time for relaxing activities such as listening to music or taking a bath.

Steer clear of heavy, fatty or fried dishes and carbonated drinks late in the evening, which can trigger indigestion and heartburn. Obviously, omit coffee or caffeinated drinks, preferably from mid-afternoon. Chocolate has a little caffeine but also contains other stimulants such as theobromine. Processed sugar in the evening is particularly bad for sleep as studies have shown it causes peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels, Processed sugar is also bad for gut health. Prevent spikes in blood sugar levels by avoiding high glycaemic foods and instead concentrating on complex carbohydrates and healthy fats, both of which will help you avoid hunger pangs overnight.

Improve gut health as bloating and wind can make you feel uncomfortable at night. On top of this, there is now convincing data to show that that poor gut health can lead to sleep disorders, via a gut brain pathway. It is really important, for general and sleep health, to adopt lifestyle and dietary strategies to improve gut health, throughout the day. As well as quitting smoking, lowering alcohol and proceeded sugar intake this includes eating healthy pro-bacteria bacteria rich foods such as kimchi, kefir and sauerkraut and well as pre-biotics in beans, mushrooms, herbs and vegetables. 

The effectiveness of acupuncture was recently highlighted in a review of 46 trials, including 3,811 patients with insomnia. The authors concluded that showed that acupuncture significantly improved sleep quality and duration when compared to no treatments or standard medications. Treating insomnia with a conventional method of treatment and acupuncture was also found to be more effective than the individual treatment without acupuncture.

Weighted blankets are one of the most popular sleep hacks on social media. They are supposed to work using a technique called 'pressure therapy' that relaxes the nervous system by mimicking being held or hugged. There are no reputable scientific studies to back up these claims for most healthy adults, but there is evidence for a benefit in children with anxiety, depressive and bipolar disorders, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD).

Melatonin-Enhancing Foods have also been shown to help. Melatonin is made from serotonin, tryptophan and natural precursor chemicals in plants known as phytomelatonins. Morello cherries, pomegranates, and other citrus fruits and seafoods are rich in both phytomelatonins and tryptophan.

In conclusion, sleep deprivation in the longer term causes multiple short and long term health issues. Surprisingly, medical interventions have considerable shortcomings but fortunately we can do a lot to help ourselves with the correct resources, advice determination and persistence.