Are you struggling to sleep at night? You might have got into a bad habit of having late nights and need to get back to a regular routine and get enough sleep. Here’s our top tips to get a better nights sleep.
1. Stick to a regular bedtime
If you try to set yourself a daily routine of getting up and going to bed at the same time every day then your body will get used to this and it will be easier to go to sleep at a reasonable time that you’ve set for yourself.
2. Cut down on caffeine
Cut down on the energy drinks, coke, tea and coffee, especially at night. Caffeine stimulates your brain which makes you feel less tired – not good if you’re trying to sleep! Try not to drink any caffeine four to six hours before you want to sleep.
3. Exercise
Exercising during the day will burn energy making you feel more tired at bedtime. If you’re exercising at night keep it light and keep away from heavy cardio sessions. Exercise releases endorphins into the body which can keep you awake.
4. Relax
Find ways to relax before bedtime. Run yourself a relaxing bath with some nice oils or bubbles, light some candles, meditate, listen to calming music, read a book. Taking deep breaths and relaxing your muscles is a great way to relax before bedtime. It helps rid your mind of things that could be keeping you awake too. Check out this beditation class video that’s been shared by the NHS.
5. Don’t overstimulate your brain
Staring at a screen just before bed is not great to put you in a relaxed state of mind ready for sleep. It over stimulates your mind. You should switch off your screen about an hour before you want to go to sleep. Ideally you shouldn’t keep your phone in your room either, having notifications pinging will disturb your sleep. If you have to have it in your room, go into settings on your phone and set it to automatically go on ‘do not disturb’ at the same time every night- you can set up exceptions so that you’ll still get notifications from specified people – like family in an emergency for example.
Prepare yourself for sleep by reducing the lights (switch on a lamp instead of the big light) and reduce noises (don’t have a rave in your bedroom!).
6. Empty your mind
When you’re lying in bed trying to sleep all those things that you’re worried about, or you need to remember to do, come flooding into your mind stopping you from getting off to sleep. If you write down your worries in a diary, talk to someone about it before you go to bed, or make a to do list of things you need to do, then it doesn’t need to occupy your mind anymore.
Ever heard the saying “a problem shared is a problem halved”? If there’s something bothering you and you can’t get it out of your mind then talking to someone about it may help. If you don’t have anyone you feel you can talk to then the Meic helpline can help. Our friendly advisers are here for you between 8am and midnight every single day with confidential advice and information.
