Hitting Snooze... Again!
We all know by now that one of the best things we can do to keep our health on track is get your full 8 hours of sleep a night – but it’s not always that easy! That’s why the Festival of Sleep Day is perfect to catch up on your kip after a hectic festive season.
Billed as a ‘day of rest and relaxation’, it’s the ideal time to brush up on some of the facts and hacks around the one thing we can’t do without – our forty winks.
Did you know that apparently we used to have two sleeps during the night, instead of the one, long unbroken stretch of sleep that we aim for today? According to the history, people would use this time in the wee hours of the night to socialise and relax. That is, until the invention of artificial light put paid to that and so now we try to get all our sleep at once.
Getting a good night’s sleep is vital – it helps our mental health, our physical health, our skin, our emotional wellbeing… Just talk to any new parent and they’ll tell you how difficult it is to function on very little sleep!
So, how can we get the best night’s sleep for this year’s Festival of Sleep Day?
1.
Go to bed early!
It seems like a simple tip, but we have a tendency to self-sabotage and there’s even a name for it – Revenge Bedtime Procrastination. It’s when we know that we’ll feel bad the next day, but we want to take some control in our lives and so we stay up too late.
2.
Evening Walks
Don’t do it too close to bedtime though, as it might do the opposite and wake you up! Or you could do some yoga – perfect for unwinding at the end of the day.
3.
Keep the bed for bedtime activities
Sleep and sex! The more you do other things in your bed like answering the phone or watching TV, the harder it’ll be to drop off as you’ll associate your bedroom with being awake.
4.
Make sure your bedroom is comfortable
I like a cool, dark room for sleeping and so I’ve recently bought some black out curtains to help me sleep better – and they’re working!
5.
Night-time ritual
I like to have a hot chocolate about 9pm, then a bath and slipping into cosy jammies before reading in bed for half an hour.
6.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bed
once again, it seems like I’m teaching you to suck eggs, but these are stimulants that will disrupt your sleep.
7.
Avoid you phone
It keeps your mind engaged for longer, and the light from the screen can make you feel more awake, which is the exact opposite of what you want just before bed!
We’re all running the rat race at the moment, and life can be stressful. Getting a decent night’s sleep shouldn’t be one of those stressors because sleep is so important to our health. So, take the day off, draw yourself a hot bath and get an early night – it is the Festival of Sleep day after all!
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