5 Tips for Healthy Sleep

‘Cos it turns out sleep hygiene is a thing; a thing with the potential to make us smarter, happier, healthier and - just for good measure - better looking.

I’ve always been a night owl, and I’m in good company - with 25-30% of the population, in fact. A similar amount of people are early birds, and the rest of ‘em sit somewhere in the middle.

It’s super normal for us humans to have different sleep schedules - biologically, it’s how we evolved. This made sense when we were cave peeps and could take turns on sentry duty rather than all go to sleep at sunset and be eaten by prehistoric predators, but these days, regardless of which category you fall into, chances are you’re not getting enough sleep.

‘Cos between life, work, play and all the nuances of human existence - who can afford a full 8 hours!? 

Well, turns out it’s more who can afford *not* to get a full 8 hours, ‘cos once you know why we sleep - the plethora of things that happen each time we jet off to the land of nod - you really can’t un-know it.

I listened to a fascinating podcast episode that in turn sent me to an even more fascinating, in-depth book called Why We Sleep by Dr Matthew Walker, and in this book he suggests that the bigger question is - why do we wake?

Turns out, sleep really is THAT important. 

Who woulda thunk it!? 

Certainly not me all those nights I got dragged into a midnight scrolling-hole or said ‘just one more episode’ knowing full well it would not, in fact, be the last episode. 

Anyway, I’ll leave it up to the Doc to tell you why we should all be prioritising a good night’s sleep every night (highly recommend his book!) but I’ll leave you here with five simple tips on improving your quality and quantity of sleep (should you be interested in enriching basically every aspect of your life).

1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day 

It’s worth mentioning that this is, according to sleep scientists, the single most important piece of sleep advice, and goes back to the fact that we human beings looove us some habits, and we find it hard to adjust to changes in sleep patterns.

2. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening

I know, it pains me to say it. But I had no idea that coffee had such a long half life - it can take up to 8 hours for the effects of caffeine to fully subside. Considering that it blocks sleep-promoting receptors in the brain, it clearly qualifies for this list.

3. Switch off and wind down before bed

All those nights you’ve laid in bed scrolling through Instagram with the bedroom lights on haven’t done you any favours, friend. I would know; I’m a serial offender of this one. But something less stimulating like reading a book or doing a body scan meditation with some lavender essential oil will go a lot further in setting you up for a better next day.

4. Be mindful with booze

I feel like the absolute fun police here, but look - I’m just passing the message along. Alcohol (even a little bit) impairs our ability to have REM (dream) sleep, and as you’ll discover in the book, REM sleep is so important for many different reasons. Also, (and I’m sure most of us know this first-hand) a night of drinking usually doesn’t equal waking up frrrrresh and well-rested.

5. Daily sunlight exposure

The key here is in the timing. Light is key in regulating our circadian rhythm, which responds to light as a cue to be awake and darkness as a cue to fall asleep. Morning sunlight exposure helps us feel alert and regulates our internal clock, whereas light exposure later in the day skews us toward a later sleeptime.

And there we have it - a few ways we can channel our inner Sleeping Beauty (minus the whole ‘wicked witch’ part).

Sweet dreams, folks!

I’d also like to give you a little somethin’ somethin’ as a way of thanking you for being here - a guide to 5 x body-based anxiety hacks.