Most people experience problems sleeping at some point in their life.
Nearly half of all people say that stress keeps them awake.
Why do we need sleep?
We spend a third of our life sleeping. Good sleep helps your body and mind to recover from the day. Just like food and water, sleep is vital. There are two main stages of sleep. One repairs the body; replacing energy and fighting illness. The other repairs the brain; improving memory, concentration, and performance.
What is the impact of poor sleep?
We all have a bad night’s sleep from time to time. Generally, you may feel tired and irritable after a poor night’s sleep, but it will not harm your health. However, ongoing sleep difficulties can cause further problems:
- ‘Brain fog’ – difficulty concentrating and making decisions.
- Depression – you may start to feel down and sleep during the day.
- Risk of injury – more likely to have an accident.
- A poor immune system – can reduce your overall health.
What is sleep hygiene?
Sleep hygiene means having good sleep habits. When you have sleeping problems, it may be difficult to maintain good sleep habits, however, there are some useful tips below you may find helpful, depending on the problem you are experiencing.
Environment:
- Block out light and keep your room dark.
- Turn off screens (e.g.TV/phone) 1-2 hours before bed. ‘Blue light’ emitted from these screens wakes up your brain.
- Keep your room quiet or block your ears safely with something.
- Keep your sleeping area tidy.
- Keep your room cool with warm blankets.
- Avoid watching the clock.
Lifestyle:
- Only lie in the bed when you want to sleep. This teaches your brain to sleep when you lie in bed.
- Avoid napping over 30 minutes as this can affect your sleep during the night.
- Avoid tea, coffee and fizzy drinks 6 hours before bed. These contain caffeine that wakes you up.
- Exercise helps you to feel better and makes you more tired when it comes to bedtime.
- Go to bed and wake up around the same time each day, this helps get your body in a routine.
Thoughts:
- Do something calm before bed (like reading) to tire your eyes and take your mind off other things.
- Write down any thoughts that keep you awake and go back to them in the morning.
- Try relaxation strategies such as deep breathing to take your mind off any stress and help you relax.
Create a sleep hygiene box:
It can be helpful to have a box or drawer dedicated to things you can do in your wind down/sleep routine. After you have thoughts about what you would like to do in the hours before sleeping, compile things to help you do this.
For example:
- A colouring book and pencils.
- The book you are reading.
- Horlick sachets.
- A note reminding you to only lie in bed when ready to sleep and to turn the TV off at a certain time.
- A pen and notepad to write down anything on your mind which is keeping you awake.
Have a go at some of these steps and remember to be patient. It is hard to break habits and things rarely change overnight. Be persistent with your new habits and routine if you want a lasting change.