A lack of sleep can lead to some serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. If we don’t get enough sleep it can affect our immune system, and it can also lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
If you have trouble sleeping here are some top tips to help you get a good night’s sleep every night, to boost your health and your mental wellbeing…
Keep to a regular routine
Studies show that you’re more likely to get a good night’s sleep when your body is used to going to sleep at the same time each day. So try to keep to a sleep schedule. Set yourself a reasonable bedtime and stick to it.
Try to get up at the same time each day too, even on the weekends. When we change our routine on the weekend by staying up late, then having a long lie in the next day, it can really throw our body clock off balance.
Have a soothing bedtime routine
Think about what you’re doing before bed and make sure it’s something that calms and relaxes you. Soaking in a warm bath, or reading a chapter of a good book can all help to soothe the mind and body and prepare it for sleep.
Don’t use mobile devices in bed
It can be very tempting to use our phones or tablets when we’re in bed, but there are several reasons why this is not a good idea.
Simply checking out Facebook or the latest news headlines can increase our heartbeat and make us feel far more awake and alert. In addition, mobile devices give out blue light which our brains interpret as daylight and so our bodies release hormones telling us to get up and ready for the day.
This certainly isn’t what you want when you’re trying to get to sleep, so leave your phone out of the bedroom if you feel you’re going to be tempted to look at it in bed.
Ensure the room is at the right temperature
If you are too hot or too cold, you won’t sleep well. Leave a window open a little if it’s hot, make sure your bed sheets are suitable for the season.
Many people who find themselves overheating and waking up sweaty use cooling bed sheets. Cooling sheets and bamboo sheets have a natural ability to help you stay cool and circulate air.
As big a bed mattress as possible
Space is so important for sleeping, so you can move as you wish and spread out. Your bed should be the most important piece of furniture in the room and as much space as possible should be dedicated to it.
Before you decide on the best mattress for your room, do some research about mattress dimensions. Knowing how much space you have to work with is important for making the right choice.
The bigger the bed mattress you can fit in the room the better, so why not see if you can rearrange the furniture and upgrade your bed? Just going up one mattress size can really make a difference, particularly if you share your bed with your partner.
Make the room dark
Our brains associate darkness with sleep, and the light with being awake, so if your bedroom happens to have a street light outside it, your mind is going to find it hard to shut down.
Installing thick curtains and a blackout blind can work wonders for making your bedroom pitch black and perfect for sleeping, even on a summer night when it stays light until late at night.
Watch what you eat or drink before bed
It’s advisable not to eat for at least a couple of hours before you go to bed and you should certainly avoid caffeine in the evenings as this will keep you awake.
Some people believe that a comforting caffeine-free hot drink can help you to unwind before you sleep, but you need to bear in mind that you may then wake up during the night needing to visit the toilet.
So if you’re someone who struggles to get back to sleep when they have woken up in the night, it may be better to avoid the bedtime drinks.
Put aside your worries
Worrying can certainly keep us awake at night. When we’re lying in bed with nothing to distract us, our minds can easily wander and dwell on all sorts of problems.
It can help to write your worries down, along with any ‘to do’ lists for the next day, and put it all aside. Get all those thoughts out of your head and onto the paper to deal with later.