Focusing on sleeping well can bring many positive benefits to our overall wellbeing. Good quality sleep is critical to both our physical and mental health and the effective functioning of our immune system. It also aids our emotional wellness and can have positive impacts on stress, depression, and anxiety.
You may have suffered from Insomnia before or had sleeping problems long-term, or perhaps you are experiencing difficulty with sleeping for the first time. The Sleep Foundation advises that the challenges which may cause an adverse effect to our sleep include:
- Disruption to our daily life and usual routines
- Anxiety and worry
- Depression and Isolation
- Family and Work stress
- Excess screen time
- Stress-related fatigue
Understanding sleep:
Sleep expert Dr Lindsay Browning explains that sleep is controlled by our circadian rhythm, which is our internal 24 hour clock. This helps us be alert during the day and sleepy at night. It is usually regulated by daily cues such as exposure to daylight, when we eat our meals, when we exercise and other things. When we stay indoors for a long period of time, we lose many of these cues. For example, if we do not go outside to get daylight, we risk making our circadian rhythm less robust. Also, if we are not as physically active during the day and eating our meals at different times, our circadian rhythm may not know the difference between day and night as clearly. In addition, when we experience depression, this can be associated with insomnia (not sleeping well) or hypersomnia (sleeping too much).
Good ways to wind down and relax before bed
- Reading – Reading can be a very relaxing activity. Reading for an hour before you go to sleep can help your mind to relax and clear of all the days’ worries which allows you to rest better when you finally get around to going to sleep. Try to find yourself a nice book that you can read and wind down with and give it a go to see how you get on.
- Lights – Try to dim or reduce the amount of lighting in your home prior to bedtime. It will help you adjust to the darkness and better prepare your body for bed time. Going from a bright environment to a dark and trying to sleep can often be a main cause for people struggling to get to sleep.
- No screens before bed – We all know this, but putting it into action is often easier said than done. If you find that you do struggle to get to sleep then try not using your phone or watching a screen for an hour before bed. Wind down with a book as previously mentioned instead. Screens are very powerful as they need to be bright enough for us to see in sunlight so speaking of dimming the lights before bed, phones/screens are the opposite which will keep you awake.
- Try writing down your thoughts – It can often be the case that your head is spinning and its filled with things you still need to do or your thought and/or ideas. Have a notepad next to your bed and write anything down that you need to do or thoughts you want to hold on to. This will allow your brain to rest better knowing that your note pad will be there to remind you of these thoughts in the morning.
- Your bedroom your relaxing place – Set new boundaries for relaxation in your bedroom. If you’re able to, apply the above tips as soon as you enter your room, no phones, read, dim lights etc. This way you will get into the routine of knowing when you’re in your bedroom it is time to wind down.
- APPs – There are so many apps that are designed specifically to help you rest and wind down in the evening either before bed or as you’re trying to get to sleep. They can range from soothing relaxing music, to meditation to just white noise. As well as the above tips, try experimenting with some of these apps and see which ones work for you. This may conflict with the no screens rule but you can make an exception for this. Have a look online for winding down/sleeping apps and see which ones you like the look of and give them a go.
If you are experiencing problems sleeping and feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.
Useful links for more tips and information:
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-guidelines-covid-19-isolation
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/how-to-get-to-sleep/
https://troublesleeping.co.uk/
More Information
If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Tips to help you get a good night’s sleep’ this is being delivered live on Wednesday 19th January 2022 at 12pm, please use the following link to register for this session –
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8850297166628772878
If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.
Please be aware that Care first is an external provider and the information in their webinars may not fully align with advice from the University on some subjects.