Putting debates about human biology aside, I’ve never believed that the concept of “morning person” or “night owl” limits your ability to utilize sleep to its fullest. To me, getting the most out of sleep means two things: first, getting an appropriate amount of sleep in order to properly rest and recover; and second, sleeping (and waking up) at a time that both suits your schedule and serves your goals.

For me personally, I get 8 to 8-and-a-half hours of sleep each weeknight. I go to bed around 8 pm and wake up at 4:30 am. I’ve set this sleep schedule for myself so that I can wake up early and go to the gym before school starts, and also because I find that I’m significantly less productive after 7 pm in the evening.

Here are some techniques I’ve used every day over the last three years that, together, allow me to fall asleep consistently within 10-15 minutes, no matter if it’s midnight or 8 pm:

1. Develop a wind-down routine.

I’m a big proponent of routines of any kind – morning routines, warm up routines, night routines. Here, the purpose of the nighttime wind-down routine is that it signals to your brain and body that it’s nearing time for sleep. My wind-down routine starts around 7 to 7:15 pm most nights, and it generally involves four steps: 1) I brush my teeth and take a warm shower. 2) I climb in bed. 3) I browse text-based media on my phone while in bed with my earbuds in. 4) I turn out the lights and listen to 3 slow songs with my eyes closed. At the end of this routine, I take out my earbuds and go to sleep. This happens the same way each night, so that by the end of the process, I’m fully ready to go to sleep.

2. Ensure proper conditions for sleep.

Three conditions that have helped me sleep are white noise, cool temperatures, and keeping water by my bed. Experiment with these and other conditions to find a combination that works for you.

3. Stick to your schedule.

A big part of consistent sleep is, well, being consistent with when you sleep. The mindset I like to use here is being firm yet flexible. If you’ve planned out that you need to go to bed by 9 pm in order to have enough time the next morning to accomplish your goals, then be firm with yourself when 9 pm comes. At the same time, be open to changing your set bedtime, and shift it around to best fit your needs. Once you’ve set it for a particular night, though, don’t compromise on your sleep – make sure to follow through.

4. Use 1 gentle alarm.

I’m not a big fan of snoozing alarms. Personally, I think it gives you too much mental leeway – you can just ignore the first ring and simply snooze for another 5 minutes. I would suggest having one single gentle alarm: when it rings, you get up, otherwise you know that you could accidentally fall asleep again. There’s no ability to rely on a second snooze alarm to wake you back up, so you’re compelled to get up immediately. Doing this has helped me save time in the mornings too, since I no longer spend an extra 5-10 minutes lying in bed after my alarm goes off.