If the chat in the “Friend” office is anything to go by, then it seems we’re all struggling with our sleep patterns at the moment.
So any tips are welcomed like a warm duvet on a cold day!
Holly Housby, sleep expert at Sealy UK, has just the thing. She promises these tips will help us all fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer (though not in the office, I hasten to add!).
And her help has come at just the right time, with the clocks recently going back an hour.
Here’s Holly’s advice:
Stick To Your Usual Sleep Schedule
It’s important to try keep to your sleeping pattern, so that you go to bed and wake up at the same times as usual.
Appreciate that extra hour in bed by using it as an opportunity to sleep for longer, or just relax.
It may take a couple of days for your body to adjust to this new schedule, but routine is the key when it comes to your body clock.
Take A Bath
Trying to sleep an hour earlier than usual can be difficult, especially as we may not feel tired enough yet.
One way to combat this is to take a bath.
A bath isn’t just relaxing — having one before bed can actually help to promote sleep and induce tiredness.
Your temperature naturally dips at night as your body prepares for rest, beginning about two hours before sleep.
When you soak in a hot bath, your temperature rises by a degree or two, and the rapid cool-down immediately after the bath imitates this natural decrease of your body temperature, which can help you to fall asleep faster.
Banish Technology
iStock.
According to a recent survey by Sealy UK, 47% of us are using our electronic devices each night while in bed. This can really impact upon our sleep quality.
As well as the disruptive notifications throughout the night from texts and e-mails, the blue light emitted by screens, TVs, devices and tablets has an impact on our melatonin levels, the sleep-inducing hormone.
This means that using technology in the run up to bed can prevent us from feeling tired, which is definitely not what we need when we’re also trying to sleep an hour earlier than normal!
To combat this, it’s worth creating a tech-free zone for 30 minutes before bed, to prevent technology having a negative impact on your sleep and ensure a better night’s rest.
Avoid A Nightcap Before Bed
One quarter of us admit to having alcohol within three hours of going to bed.
While a nice glass of wine might be an enjoyable way to de-stress at the end of a long and hectic day, alcohol can have a negative impact on our rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
While you may fall asleep faster after a couple of drinks, you’ll spend less time in your REM phase of sleep (which is often considered the most restorative stage of sleep). This means you’re more likely to wake up feeling unrested and drowsy.
If you still want to enjoy a nightcap in the evening, make sure you only have one, and have it as early in the evening as possible to minimise the effects.
Avoid Napping
The clock change can leave many of us struggling to sleep, and feeling tired for the following days.
It’s important, however, that those of us struggling to sleep avoid taking naps throughout the day.
It may sound strange, but people who struggle to get a good night’s rest are the ones who need to avoid naps the most.
If you’re regularly having problems sleeping, an afternoon siesta can disrupt your natural waking and sleeping patterns, and make adjusting to the new daylight hours even harder.
Unfortunately, the more you feel like you need to nap, the more you need to avoid it.
For more tips from Sealy, visit www.sealy.co.uk
For more health advice from “The People’s Friend”, click here.
Yvonne McKenzie I work on the Features team and admit to being nosy, so I love looking after the Between Friends letters and finding out all about our lovely readers. I also look after our health copy and enjoy writing about inspiring people that help make the articles in the magazine so interesting.
