Sleeping Well – Keeping Well

Everyone must’ve have heard the old adage about sleep, there’s many – but most sum up to how important it is to sleep enough. But is that enough?

When it comes to sleep, it’s not just the quantity that matters; it’s also the quality. How you feel during your waking hours centres on how well you sleep. Equally, the cure for daytime tiredness and sleep difficulties can often be found in your daily routine. Your sleep timetable, bedtime habits and day-to-day lifestyle choices, such as your food, activity and drink choices can make a massive difference to the quality of your nightly rest.

As Thomas Dekker, an English Elizabethan writer once put it “Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”

You could try these following tips to help you optimise your sleep so you can be as mentally sharp, emotionally balanced and full of energy as is possible.

Tips for good quality sleep:

1. Support your body’s natural circadian rhythm (sleep-wake-cycle)

2. Try to stick to regular bedtimes and wake up times

3. Avoid sleeping in too much on the weekends

4. Don’t over-enjoy napping

5. Be sure to fight the after-dinner sleepiness

6. Try to control your exposure to light

7. Expose yourself to bright light in the morning

8. Try to spend more time outside during daytime

9. Night time; avoid bright screens for 2 hours before bedtime

10. Say no thanks to late night TV and blue light emitting devices

11. When setting down to sleep mode, try to keep lights low for at least and hour before bedtime and make sure bedroom is as dark as possible

12. Exercise regularly

13. Try to squeeze in daily exercise, if it’s just 10min of walking outside, it’s still good for you and your sleep

14. Be sure to finish any moderate or vigorous workouts at least 3 hours before bedtime (you might have to move this forward if you’re still having trouble sleeping)

15. Try some relaxing yoga or stretching to calm down

16. Be smart about what and when you eat and drink

17. Cut down on caffeine – it can affect you for up to 12 hours

18. Steer clear of big meals late in the evening

19. Avoid alcohol before bedtime

20. Don’t drink too many liquids late in the evening

Why not give these tips and tricks a go and see what effect they can have on your overall feelings – they shouldn’t require huge adjustments but can have a big effect on your sleep = general wellbeing.

#sleep #happy #healthy #keepwell #quality #quantity #lifestyle