If you are yet to hear of the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep trend, keeping you from getting the perfect night’s sleep, then let us explain.

First thing’s first, a lot of us aren’t getting our recommended eight hours of sleep every night, are we?

I don’t know about you, but the calls of doom scrolling on Instagram and TikTok are way too strong to be ignored for a lot of people to get a decent night sleep.

Either that, or you’re up all night trying to settle your mind from the chaos life throws at us, and by the time you quiet all the noise, it’s time to chow down your overnight oats and catch your train to work.

You aren’t alone in it either, as according to Aviva, 51 percent of adults in the UK don’t get the right amount of sleep.

What happens if you don’t get enough sleep?

If you’re getting less than 8 hours a night, this might be worth a try(Oscar Wong / Getty Images)

It’s not just the case of waking up late or feeling a little groggy on the morning commute, not getting enough sleep has been linked to a series of health issues, including type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, heart disease, poor immunity and changes in mood, which can lead to depression and anxiety.

Suddenly, getting a good night’s sleep just shot to number one on all our to do lists, didn’t it?

Medical experts have raised the importance of better sleep health and have said it’s fundamental for our health and wellness. It’s recommended that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, and to achieve this the body and mind needs a routine to help wind itself down.

Enter the 10-3-2-1-0 method.

What is the 10-3-2-1-0 method and how does it work?

The 10-3-2-1-0 method is a pre-sleep routine that helps the body wind down hours before bedtime. In order to do this, there are a number of steps a person needs to take to achieve that deep, undisturbed sleep we’re all crying out for. Each number represents how many hours before sleep each step in the routine must be carried out.

Caffeine can be found in coffee, coke, energy drinks and is best to be avoided 10 hours before sleep, according to the method (Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography)

10 hours before sleep: no caffeine

Most of us the drink coffee to kick start the day and help us stay alert, awake. So it’s kind of a given that if you want to have a good night’s sleep, caffeinated drinks like coffee and coke before bed would have the opposite effect.

Caffeine is absorbed into our system within minutes and can take up to 10 hours to leave our systems. This is why the method advises you forgo caffeine based drinks 10 hours before you plan on hitting the hay.

3 hours before sleep: no alcohol or food

According to the method, food and alcohol should not be consumed three hours before bedtime. Even though sometimes when you drink alcohol you can feel drowsy, the quality of sleep you’re actually getting is subpar and refraining from drinking improves your sleep quality. When it comes to eating this close to bed time, certain foods can cause stomach discomfort, heartburn, gas – all things that can disturb your peaceful night and stop you from settling.

Certain foods can cause stomach discomfort making it hard to sleep (Jonathan Knowles / Getty Images)

2 hours before sleep: stop working

No one should be working through the night as it is and the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep method encourages people to stop all work related activities at least two hours before bed. Not that you should need more convincing but this helps create a healthy mental divide between working and sleeping. Wind down, take a deep breath, tell the voices in your head to pipe down and relax – all of which will help prepare you not only fall asleep, but stay as asleep too.

1 hour before sleep: no devices

We’ve all heard by now how bad it is to have our devices on when we’re trying to wind down for bed. Although easier said than done, the method advises no screen time one hour before bed. But why? Well, our devices emit a blue light which mimics the sunlight and hinders our body’s production of melatonin – also known as the sleep hormone.

Research shows this causes sleep delays in our bodies which is even more apparent when we’re doom scrolling.

0 hour before sleep: don’t you press that snooze button

I know, I know, it’s practically part of our morning routines to hit that button and enjoy those extra delicious ten minutes of sleep before we face the day. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but this is kind of bad for us.

According to a study published in Sleep, alarm snoozers actually sleep less, experience more broken sleep and drank more caffeinated drinks than those who don’t snooze.

Apparently those little extra minutes we get are low quality, cause brain fog and anxiety and contribute to fatigue. In other words, it’s just not worth it.

So, will you be trying the 10-3-2-1-0 tonight?