Good night, but was it?

I’m a massive fan of sleep and I like talking about it because I think the importance of a good night sleep is underestimated. Research shows that every adult should get 7-8 hours of sleep per night for optimal health.

Of course, quantity is not the only important factor here, quality is too. So how do you make sure you get enough decent-quality night sleep?

There are a few tips that can be helpful here:

• Try to limit the amount of light and stimulation you get at night i.e. dim artificial lights, don’t spend time looking at screens just before bed and don’t do any strenuous exercise in the evening.
• Don’t eat or drink stimulants (e.g. alcohol) for at least 3 hours before bed. This ensures your body doesn’t have to go through digestion and other metabolic processes when it is trying to rest.
• Ensure your bedroom is not too warm and don’t wear clothes that are too heavy in bed. It is important to allow the body to naturally cool down to sleep well, so we want to avoid making it too difficult for the body to do just that.
• If you often go to bed and can’t fall asleep within 15-30 minutes, get out of the bedroom and do something else e.g. write down what’s bothering you or read on the sofa (a book, not your twitter feed!) until you feel sleepy. This ensures your brain doesn’t associate the struggle to fall asleep with your environment, making it less likely that this will continue to happen in future.
• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including at weekends if possible.
• Ensure you expose yourself to light as soon as you wake up. Natural light is best, if possible, but artificial light would do too, especially when the mornings are still dark. This helps your circadian rhythm regulate itself and understand it is morning.
• Don’t stress if you are going through a period of your life when you cannot get enough sleep. Many families with young children or people who are unwell struggle to sleep through the night and feeling anxious about it won’t help you get to sleep when you can. Just stay positive, as this too will change at some point.

I hope this helps and that your night sleep will get better and better!

Photo by Lauren Kay on Unsplash