How to get to sleep the night before an early call or big event

“The reality is that often the harder we try to relax and transition into sleep, the more we worry that we’re losing precious sleep time, making the elusive ‘good night’s sleep’ more difficult to obtain, ” he said via email.

If your sleep chronotype — the time your body is naturally programmed to want to sleep — is that of a night owl (late to bed, late to rise), those nights (and subsequent days) can be especially rough, experts say.

Here are some tried-and-true tips from experts on how to ease those “please-let-me-get-to-sleep” worries.

1. Don’t try for the impossible

First, unless you’re a morning lark, don’t try to fall asleep at 9 p.m., which may be much too early for your body clock. It only sets you up to fret.

Instead, “start dimming lights at 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.,” Zee advised, and aim for a 10 p.m. bedtime.

You also want to avoid blue light, which tricks your brain into “thinking it’s still daytime. This prevents the release of key hormones like melatonin, which help you sleep,” Dasgupta said.

“Blue light is emitted by electronic devices like smartphones and computers,” he said, so be sure to avoid those as well as bright lights during the two hours before bedtime.

2. Meditation, mindfulness and breathing

Being stressed about sleeping is “a huge barrier from getting refreshing sleep,” Dasgupta said, and can “worsen existing sleep issues such as insomnia.”

Fight back with mindfulness and meditation to promote calmness, he suggested. “(These practices) can help quiet the mind and body, making the transition into sleep easier and hopefully pleasant,” he said.

One of the best ways to help you fall asleep is to focus on breathing, experts say.

“One technique is the ‘4-7-8 breathing method,’ which has been shown to reduce stress,” Dasgupta said. “Take a deep breath for four seconds. Hold your breath for seven seconds, then slowly release your breath and exhale while counting from one to eight. Repeat these steps several times and then pause and notice if you feel more relaxed.”

3. Introduce daylight

When that all-too-early alarm goes off, immediately turn on bright lights, Zee said. That tells your brain it’s daylight and helps shut off melatonin production.

Then get into some sunlight as soon as you can, experts suggest.

“Natural sunlight during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy,” Dasgupta said. “This improves daytime energy as well as nighttime sleep quality.”

4. Plan a power nap

You might want to plan a 20- to 30-minute power nap in the early afternoon that day and then try your best to go to bed earlier that night as well, Zee said. Your “sleep drive” will be high, she said, due to being “sleep deprived the night before.”

It will be “easier to fall asleep around 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and get some catch-up sleep,” Zee said.

5. Avoid alcohol and sweets

Avoid consuming caffeine after lunch and avoid alcohol near bedtime, “as both can disrupt sleep,” Dasgupta said. “If hungry after dinner, keep snacks small, sugar free and easily digestible so as to not disrupt sleep.”

That middle-of-the-night call

What if you’ve done all this and happily dozed off, but you live in California and confused relatives call you at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. ET — which would be 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. PT?

Here are the rules for that scenario, according to Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky, professor of medicine and director of sleep research in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

So relax, don’t worry and sweet dreams!