Sleep Awareness Week is a good time to consider whether you are getting the quality sleep you deserve. Before I share my sleep tips with you, ask yourself how well do you sleep? Do you have:
- Difficulty falling asleep?
- Problems staying asleep?
- Difficulty getting back to sleep if you wake?
- A hard timey waking up?
- Sleep like the dead but don’t wake up feeling refreshed?
All of these can have different causes from an over-active brain, to blood sugar problems, sleep hygeine issues, side effects of medication and much, much more.
Side Effects of Insomnia
The effects of insomnia can also vary from person to person:
Poor concentration
Fatigue throughout the day
Low mood
Anxiety
Headaches
Irritability
Making more errors than usual
Whether your problem is transient (a lot of people are suffering from insomnia right now) or chronic (having experienced it for a long time), it can be distressing and make an already stressful life situation much worse.
So, for Sleep Awareness Week, I want to share with you 10 tips to help you enjoy better sleep. This comes from my much more comprehensive Sleep Well program where I work with individuals 1:1 to find out the emotional, biological and lifestyle factors which may be affecting them. But, here is a very good start:
10 Sleep Tips
- Get into a regular sleep/wake cycle. It is better to get to sleep at around 10-1030 so that your liver can do it’s detoxing effectively, otherwise you can feel very sluggish in the morning.
- Have a wind-down routine: no TV (too stimulating), tidy things away, make your tomorrow to-do list so it is out of mind (it is better that your tomorrow work todo list is done during working hours though), a nice soothing nighttime drink, gentle music as you prepare for bed, a short meditation or self-hypnosis, having an epsom salt bath and reading a calming book are all good.
- Count backwards from 300 saying “sleepier and sleeper” between each number. If you get lost in your counting, simply start again in a nice, easy, lazy way.
- Make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleep: no electronic equipment (too stimulating); Use a conventional alarm clock; It needs to be tidy with no work-things around you. Think sanctuary – safe, warm and inviting.
- Have the mindset of allowing yourself to drift into sleep rather than trying to. The more you try to sleep the harder it is. When you have the mindset of allowing, you relax into rest much more easily.
- Boost your melatonin naturally (the sleep enhancing hormone) by eating bananas, almonds, walnuts or milk. Tart cherries are also well known to boost melatonin.
- Have plenty of daylight during the day and make sure you lock out the light at night (try blackout curtains).
- Use EFT for any worries you might have, including worries about sleeping.
- Avoid stimulants after 5 (caffeinated drinks, alcohol (sorry!), cigarettes). A note on alcohol: although it may help you get to sleep, the sugar content stimulates your blood sugar so causing you to wake in the night. If you are very sensitive, avoid stimulants after lunch.
- Listen to my Sleep-Well MP3 to help you drift into sleep.
Need More Help?
I do hope these tips help you enjoy a deep and restorative sleep. If not, please call me to find out how I can help you. Sleep is so important for mental health, stress-management and life-enjoyment. This is not something to compromisse on. I can be reached on 0345 130 0854 for a no-obligation chat or get in touch via my website. Anyone booking during Sleep Awareness Week (2-9th March 2021) will get a free Sleep-Well MP3.
(C) Tricia Woolfrey
PS If you haven’t already signed up for my newsletter, full of tips to help you live a better life, sign up here and you will also get a free Key to Unlock Your Future.
PPS If you prefer to work 1:1, find out how I can help you with your sleep here.
