Do you drop off the moment your head hits the pillow, or do you toss and turn for ages? Good quality sleep is crucial to our health and wellbeing so here are a few tips for getting a good night’s sleep:
Daylight early in the day
Exposing your body to daylight in the morning helps our body clock and promotes good sleep at night, so get outside every day for at least a few minutes.
Get a workout
Do something physical like gardening or a brisk walk to get your blood moving. It will clear out the adrenalin from your system and you’ll sleep better.
Avoid stimulants
If consumed late in the day, caffeine, chocolate and large meals can disrupt your sleep even if you fall asleep easily.
Routine
Sleep thrives on routine, so try to go to bed and wake at the same time seven days a week, and if you have a late night, avoid sleeping in for more than an hour or two.
Clear your mind
Making a mental to-do list can keep you awake for hours. Instead, keep a notepad by your bedside, jot it down and let it go. Likewise, if worrying keeps you awake then spending a few minutes before bed writing concerns down will help your mind process the things that are bothering you.
Ban technology from the bedroom
Keep TVs, laptops, iPad and phones away from the bedroom! If you are using your phone as an alarm, switch it to flight mode at night, dim the screen brightness and set it into Night Shift mode.
Darkness
Get blackout curtains for your bedroom window or attach blackout linings on the underside of your existing curtains – this low cost investment can have a big impact.
Silence
If noise keeps you awake try earplugs. They muffle sound and this may be just enough to help you reach deep sleep sooner and spend more time in deep sleep, leading to a more refreshed you in the morning.
If it’s snoring that shatters your night’s silence, then earplugs won’t be much help. Snoring can be eased by reducing alcohol consumption, losing weight or, where snoring is caused by blocked nasal passages due to allergies or dry air, nasal sprays, air humidifiers and air purifiers can be an easy solution.
Changing the sleeping position may help too, and one way this can be achieved is by sewing a tennis ball into the back of the pyjama top (seriously!). This stops the snorer from rolling onto their back, which is the most common position when snoring occurs. Unfortunately, there are no statistics available yet on the success rate of this technique, or its relation to divorce rates!