You know the nights when you lay awake in bed thinking about last week or that time back in Year 7 when you tripped in front of everyone on your first day (yeah, that happened!), and you just can’t get to sleep. Or the ones where your mind is racing, full of anxiety for tomorrow, or general insomnia. We all experience nights like these now and again, and for some, getting a good night’s sleep can be much harder. Here are some of my tips to help get off to sleep:
1. Routine – Get into a routine of going to bed at the same time every night, and waking at the same time every morning. This helps to get your body clock into a rhythm and getting to sleep will feel easier and more natural to you at those times.
2. Downtime – Allow your body to know that it’s time to sleep by finding a bedtime routine that works for you. For example, about an hour before I go to bed, I would put on my soft comfy pyjamas, have a hot drink and read a good book to relax the mind outside of social media and television. You could also take a relaxing bath or do a little yoga or meditation to help you wind down before you sleep.
3. Comfort – Get comfy in high quality soft pyjamas, a comfortable mattress and your favourite duvet set with plenty of pillows. Allow your bed to be perfect for snuggling down for the night to let your body know that it’s time for sleep.
4. Bedroom – Look around your room to work out what’s best for your preferred sleeping environment. Maybe you’d like a dimmer lamp, closed windows to keep out noise or a quiet fan to keep your room cool.
5. Avoid caffeine and alcohol – These will only make you feel awake for longer, stay away from these at least an hour before bed.
6. Don’t nap during the day – This will affect your sleep cycle, so try to hold off napping until it’s time for bed (and it’ll make you more tired for when you do sleep!).
7. Worrying? – If you stay awake at night due to anxiety or stress, try to hold it off (I know, easier said than done!) until the morning. For me, I often set a specific ‘Worry Time’ to begin working out an action plan to reduce anxiety for the day to make sure that it’s resolved.
8. Speak to a doctor – If you’re still having trouble, reach out to a medical professional for advice and support.
Hopefully these tips will be useful to you! I hope you enjoyed this week’s post, and that you all have a wonderful week ahead of you.
Take care, Sophie x
As always, please bear in mind that I am not a mental health professional or any other type of professional, this is a hobby for me and is for informational purposes only and shouldn’t be seen as any kind of advice. I am not liable for any consequences as a result of this information and if readers rely on any of the information on my blog, it is at their own risk. I cannot confirm that all information is correct, accurate or reliable. The information is true to the best of my knowledge, yet there may be omissions, errors or mistakes. This information isn’t intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have, or believe to have, a mental illness, please contact a mental health professional.
Note: This picture belongs to Wix.
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