Sleep Better, Feel Better
SLEEP! This has to be something that the majority of us find incredibly hard to master.
These tips may seem like common sense, but you'll be surprised how many of us find these so hard!
1. Don't go to bed hungry- Going to bed hungry or going to bed too full can make it hard to have a quality sleep. Try and eat your evening meal 2 hours before sleep, so you feel satisfied.
2. Avoid watching TV in bed- Try to remove all distractions like TVS, computers and mobile phones. This will make a noticeable difference to your quality of sleep as you won't be fixated on whats going on around you and more likely to fall straight to sleep. The screens are too much stimulation for your mind before bed.
3. Try go to bed around the same time each night- Your body clock works if you have a regular sleep routine. By ignoring the sleep signals and staying up you are missing the window of opportunity for a good night sleep.
4. Stop drinking coffee or eating too much chocolate before you go to bed- Having too much caffeine especially before you go to bed is going to keep you awake and you may find it hard to fall asleep. This includes any liquid drink that has caffeine in it such as coke.
5. Avoid drinking alcohol at least four hours before bed- You may think alcohol might help you get to sleep, but it will actually lead to a restless sleep, broken sleep and can lead to problems like snoring and sleep apnoea.
6. Stop the bad bedtime habits- Do things that are going to relax you and wind down your mind at least an hour before you go to bed. Try taking a relaxing warm bath, read a book, or even meditation. Don't go to bed with too much on your mind like what emails you have to reply to tomorrow morning.
7. Don't have the time visible- Cover your alarm clocks or clocks so you can't see what time it is. If you constantly look at the time it'll make it hard for you to fall asleep!!
8. STOP SMOKING- Try and start the non smoking journey! Your health not only suffers from smoking but it will impact on your sleep as nicotine is a stimulant.
Set yourself a SLEEP GOAL. Try and see if you can do 1 or 2 of these tips to ensure you have a better night sleep. Start by having roughly the same bedtime at least 5 times a week and build that up to 7 (excluding your fun nights out of course).
Renee xx