5 Things We Can Do to Improve our Sleep

1. Routine

Without being rigid or obsessive about it, attempting to get up at about the same time each day, and to go to bed at about the same time is helpful. We are creatures of habit and respond well to the structure of routine. We can go back to basics and give ourselves a nice wind down routine to try and que ourselves in to a sleepier mode. Maybe a bath, some meditation, or the same herbal tea every night. Trying to stay off screens for an hour before bed can help too.

2. Make bed a worry free zone

Left on our own with thoughts; worry can run wild at night. This is difficult because we’re not likely to action anything in the early hours, so the adrenaline and cortisol produced by worry have nowhere to go. When we’re feeling under threat we are not designed to sleep; it’s primal. Consider writing worries down and coming back to them in the morning. Dropping the attention into the body and doing a gentle body scan or progressive muscle relaxation exercise instead. Plenty of time for thinking tomorrow.

3. Minimise distractions

Consider getting an alarm clock and banishing your phone. The screen light replicates day light and is confusing at night time. Phones are also quite addictive, stimulating and hard to resist when we can’t sleep. Make the bedroom cozy, get some blackout blinds and find ourselves some gentle bedtime reading. I recommend the Poetry Pharmacy series for gentle wind down reading.

4. Lifestyle choices

Taking some exercise and spending some time outside for vitamin D, avoiding afternoon caffeine and trying to promote a gentle wind down routine can make a big different.

If none of this helps my fifth point might be the most useful:

5. Take the pressure off

There are times in life when sleep is hard. Pregnancy and life with a newborn both come under this category. Can we tell ourselves that lying down and resting is nearly as good as a sleep? At least it’s cozy and dark and no one is asking me to do anything? This is a more restful alternative to worrying about how we will cope without sleep. The time is most constructively used for rest even if we’re not sleeping. If we can find a way to do this calmly, maybe using meditation techniques, time spent lying down awake will have deep rest qualities. If we’re worrying at night we might as well be at work.