10 Tips For Better Sleep

1)      Make sure your room is at a good temperature. Too hot and you will be waking up sweating, too cold and you will wake up all stiff or aching and not want to leave your bed. A good room temperature will ensure that you find it more comfortable to sleep with ease.

2)      Ban caffeine/stimulants/alcohol late in the evening. I find it really helps if you try to have your caffeine fix in the morning as caffeine can take a long time to leave the body, which will result in tossing and turning and being too alert to head into a deep, uninterrupted sleep if you have too much in the evening.

3)      Invest in comfortable bedding such as decent pillows, duvets, blankets, cushions, memory foam mattress - whatever takes your fancy.

4)      Blackout blinds can really help to shut out unwanted light from the outside and will help if you go to sleep at different times of the day or night regularly. If you cannot afford blackout blinds you could try an eye mask to block out the unwanted light.

5)      Have a bedtime routine that suits you as an individual, think back to when you were getting a good amount of sleep and what made it easy for you to drift off. This could be reading before bed or getting your morning tasks done the night before so that you are more relaxed and will have less on your mind. A busy mind causes too much over-thinking when you should be at your most switched off state.

6)      If you go to bed early when you are not already tired you could be sat there for hours. Sometimes it is easier to go to sleep when you are really sleepy as you are more likely to fall asleep quicker. Think about doing some extra exercise in the daytime if you do not feel tired at all around your bed time or do consider making your bed time a little later as an experiment.

7)      If you are in bed and you have been sat there for a while unable to sleep, it can be a good idea to get up, make sure you go to the toilet if you need to, get a small glass of water if your throat is dry or do something relaxing like reading for a bit before you get back into bed. This usually works by breaking the “I can’t sleep” voices whirring around in your head and then your mind is a lot more cleared of negative thoughts.

8)      Keep a notepad by your bed, write down anything that is on your mind that you think may trouble you or that you need to do then leave the notepad alone. You can then look at this first thing in the morning when you have had a good night’s sleep and feel refreshed and alert.

9)      Try not to do anything too energetic late in the evening. If phones, the internet and TV etc keep you awake for hours then try to limit the usage and the time that you use these electronic devices.

10)   Make sure you plan ahead way before you go to bed. Do get that pile of washing that you need to get done hung up and ready to dry, do make that sandwich ready for work the next day, do finish that essay that is due in for college. You will feel loads better if you are on top of things and have less to worry about during the night.