A warm shower or bath before bed helps you fall asleep fast — but timing is key, sleep expert reveals

A woman sits up in bed smiling with her arms spread, as if she's had a good night's sleep. In the bottom left corner is an insert of a woman taking a shower at night.

When it comes to sleep, your internal clock sometimes needs a nudge in the right direction — similar to an alarm clock, only instead of waking you up, it tells you it's time to drift off. Sam Sadighi, sleep expert at GetLaidBeds, has just the trick.

She describes it as "temperature pre-loading" but you probably know it best as a warm shower in the evening. Yes, it really is that simple as this habit shifts your internal clock into the 'sleep' part of the 'sleep-wake' cycle, essentially tricking your body into winding down.