Sleep – How to do it better part 1

Sleep is one thing that we absolutely cannot live without. Many people try and take shortcuts but it inevitably comes round to bite them at some point.

The vast majority of people are at home at the moment, and we could be here for a few more weeks at the very least.  Some people have embraced this and are functioning well but some people have started to slip, things are getting harder and they don’t really know how to wrestle themselves back on track.  The lack of externally imposed routine has given some people too much freedom and they’re struggling unnecessarily.

Since everyone has to sleep at some point, we might as well give you some tips on how to sleep well and how to build some better habits around sleep so that you can either start to get back on track, or stay on track.

1. Get into a routine of going to bed and getting up at the same time each day – you’ve probably not got many reasons to vary this much with no early morning appointments to get to or commuting to do, so now is a great to get into a steady habit
2. Get some sunlight on your skin – getting your skin exposed to some sunshine, especially early in the day, can help set your body clock as well as signalling your body produce to Vitamin D.
3. Get active – if you spend all day sat down at home then it’s probably no surprise that you’re not that tired in the evening.  Make it an appointment that you need to keep with yourself and factor your other tasks around it.  Why not combine your activity with your sunshine exposure and get outside for a walk or do some bodyweight movements in your garden / on your balcony?
4. Make the room conducive to sleep – your body sleeps best in complete darkness and with a room around 17-20 degrees, so invest in some blackout curtains or blinds and open the windows to cool the room a bit if you live in a warm building.  Cotton bedding can help your body stay cool, and who doesn’t like the feeling of getting into a bed made up with clean sheets?!
5. Experiment with naps – when will there be a better time to see if naps help you? When you’re out of the house at work you probably can’t close your eyes for 30-60 minutes in the middle of the day, so why not factor a short nap into your schedule and organise your work around it?