Thursday, 11 June 2015

How to improve your sleep hygiene

Participants at our Sleep Well webinar yesterday evening received lots of information from psychologist, Jaclyne Di Croce about sleep, sleep problems and sleep disorders and ways we can improve our sleep quality. 

In particular Jaclyne introduced the concept of 'sleep hygiene' and ways to improve yours. Sleep hygiene can not only help you if you already have a sleep problem, but it can also prevent any future sleep problems.

Here are some of Jaclyne's tips for achieving good sleep hygiene

Keep it regular

Try to maintain a regular sleeping and waking routine - this includes weekends and holidays too! Your body will get used to this and start winding down automatically as you near your regular sleep time.

Keep your bed for sleeping

Aim to spend an appropriate amount of time in bed and don't work or do other tasks such as sending emails etc from your laptop or phone in bed or watching tv as you can start to associate your bed with work or entertainment, not sleep.

Avoid stimulants before bed

Try to avoid stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol and nicotine before bed as these can perk you up when you need to calm down.

Exercise

Take regular exercise to work your muscles and rid your body of pent up tension.

Watch your food

Avoid heavy meals just before bed as they can be disruptive to your sleep as your body works to digest them.

Get outside

Aim to get out side during the day to expose your body to natural daylight. This helps promote a healthy sleep/wake cycle.

Prepare your room

Make sure your bedroom is warm, pleasant and relaxing. Dim the lights and remove or turn off all distractions such as phones and tablets.

If you missed this webinar, keep your eye on our Autumn programme of wellbeing events, coming soon!

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