As we all know, getting a good night’s sleep is a foundation of feeling good the following day – if you get off to a bad start with less than the ideal 7-8 hours, it’s typically a bit of an uphill struggle! Did you know that there are studies that suggest people working night shifts for long periods of time have worse health and shorter life spans? Terrifying stuff when you think of how important sleep is and how little attention we pay to trying to ensure we’re giving ourselves the best chance of good quality sleep!
See below for my top 15 tips on a good rest that you’re likely to feel refreshed from rather than frazzled..
SCHEDULE:
The body likes us to have a schedule when it comes to falling asleep and waking up – try your best to do these at the same times each day. Unfortunately, this also includes weekends BUT let’s be realistic on that one because who doesn’t love a mini lie in, every now and then so just try on average to aim for similar times.
BEDTIME ROUTINE:
The funny thing is that we treat babies and kids like they need a routine and then act as if we don’t when we are full grown ass adults – unfortunately not! We are mere big babies and having a ‘night time routine’ of doing similar things each evening to wind down and prepare our minds and body for a good sleep has huge benefits. These could include a herbal tea, reading and quick freshen up in the bathroom.
SETTING: lighting/temperature
Stating the obvious but a room too cold or too hot isn’t going to bode well to drift off in – same for too bright. Personally, I don’t like blackout curtains but I know some people swear by them! I wake up better to natural sunlight and would probably sleep for 3 days straight if I had total darkness of a morning. This is worth considering for yourself if you have blackout curtains and really struggle waking up – our body creates the hormone ‘melatonin’ in darkness and the lower the levels of it, the more awake and alert we feel.
AVOID STIMULANTS: caffeine, alcohol etc
Again, caffeine is an obvious one but have you considered how many hours before bed it is best to avoid it? People have different tolerances to caffeine/coffee but it’s best avoided at least 6 hours before bedtime – i.e. 4pm for a 10pm switch off. However, some say it’s actually more like 12 hours because of how long it can stay within your system. Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks the effects of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel tired. When you consume caffeine, the receptors in your brain are blocked = feeling more awake >>>, therefore, a bad recipe for falling asleep peacefully!
Alcohol + sleep = another terrible combination. Alcohol ruins our sleep cycle and although we may conk out quicker, the quality of sleep is awful and that is why we feel so sleepy the next day.
GET MORE EXERCISE:
What a surprise – another health-related blog telling you to exercise more – who’d have guessed it? Exercise helps all sorts in life and your quality of sleep is another one. If you aren’t a gym bunny, try and start slow by getting more steps in and driving a bit less if you can. Any progress is still progress – don’t be too hard on yourself!
DON’T NAP: OR AT LEAST NOT OVER 20-30 MINUTES
There is a short cut-off point due to our sleep cycles. A brief nap can leave us feeling better when we wake up – if you go beyond a certain point, you’ll wake up not knowing what day or year it is and struggle to go asleep that night. Not fun!
COMFORTABLE BEDDING:
Take a moment to assess whether your bed is actually comfortable or not. Sometimes we don’t realise until we think about it or buy something new i.e. new pillows/sheets etc and it’s a whole new world! Mattresses are another factor to consider – how long have you had yours? Is it suitable for your personal preferences? Everyone is different!
DAYLIGHT AND SUNSHINE:
As mentioned above, darkness = melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone to help with your circadian rhythms and regulate your sleep cycles. So, by getting sunshine 1. Early in the morning as quickly as possible enables us to wake up properly and 2. Throughout the day to help regulate your circadian rhythm and can make it easier to fall asleep at night.
DONT EAT RUBBISH – to put it bluntly
Almost as inevitable of a mention as exercise. Reasons why junk food can impact your sleep include:
- Disruption to circadian rhythm (body’s natural sleep-wake cycle) due to high sugar + processed carbs = blood sugar level spikes + crashes.
- Often high in caffeine/stimulants
- often high in fat + calories causing you to feel uncomfortable throughout the night and more likely to have a disturbed sleep
- often low in nutrients/ can increase thirst = reducing the quality of sleep
AVOID EXCESS STRESS: lol easier said than done
If I’m going through a stressful period with things on my mind, I try my best not to think of them as I turn the light off and try to go asleep. This is very obviously easier said than done but instead of ‘general thoughts’ I try to focus on a distraction – see below.
BREATHWORK:
Following on from the point above, personally, I find it too distracting to count numbers as it requires more concentration. However, if I slowly repeat 1, 2, 1, 2, with a deep breath on each number then it creates a peaceful sort of meditative state. I also visualise which I’ll continue in the point below..
MEDITATION/VISUALISATION:
Everyone has their own personal little peace of zen! I do the above technique whilst imagining walking along a beautiful beach and listening to the waves. Honestly – I know how ridiculous this may sound to some people but the point is, distracting your mind is all you need to do.
You don’t want to be actively thinking of your stressful day, your huge to-do list the following day, how many few hours sleep you’ll end up getting because you can’t sleep now – it’s a vicious cycle and doesn’t help anything at all!
Try and pick a thought that is peaceful to you and focus on that. Meditation is actually very difficult to do when you first start because your mind has a tendency to wander off thinking ‘oh god what about my meeting tomorrow at work’ etc. You have to be strict with yourself and just bring your thoughts back. This is a mental strength that needs to be worked on over time and is an incredibly useful tool day to day, helping with overwhelming situations as well as sleep of a night time. I find it difficult because my mind is manic but it genuinely is such a helpful tool that people often overlook because it sounds too simple to be effective!
MIX IT UP:
It is said that if you have tried to fall asleep for 20-30 minutes and you can’t then perhaps it’s best to get out of bed and do ‘something’ for litle while rather than building up a frustration. Reading a book for a while in a dimly lit room elsewhere would be a good solution – just don’t sit browsing your phone!
AVOID BLUE LIGHT:
As the previous point states, browsing your phone does not help! Try to wind down from your phone for a while before bed. Smartphones, tablets + computers etc all emit a ‘blue light’ which suppresses the production of melatonin – which you need to help your sleep cycle (mentioned this a few times now, haven’t I – it’s because it is so important!)
GO TO A GP IF IT BECOMES A REAL ISSUE:
It goes without saying, not being able to sleep properly can have such a detrimental impact on our day-to-day life and health. If you have tried various techniques and it still isn’t working, seek advice from a GP.
I’m going to add a disclaimer that these points are to be incorporated into your life in an ideal world. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. We have ‘things’ that get in the way of trying to have a good sleep like children, jobs, pets and just general life. Perhaps you cannot do everything on this list or perhaps you can’t do it every single night. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself as it takes time. Just try your best to include some into your routine and see how you get on!
What sleep tips do you have? What is your ideal nighttime routine? I hope you liked this blog – let me know what you think!
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