A few years ago, I wrote a book about the psychology of sleep called Night School.
In it, I described several tips and tricks for getting a perfect night’s sleep. If you have a significant sleep issue, then please seek professional advice. However, many people find it helpful to boost their sleep hygiene with the following 8 ideas…
1) It’s fine to take a nap during the day, but make sure that it doesn’t exceed 20 minutes. Any longer than that can disrupt your nighttime sleep.
2) In the two hours before you go to bed, avoid alcohol. It may help you to fall asleep quicker but disrupts deep sleep and dreaming.
3) As you fall asleep, you may find it helpful to listen to relaxing music. There is a long clip of a piece that we composed for better sleep here.
4) Banish your smartphone from the bedside table because otherwise you will be tempted to look at it during the night, and the light and content can be very stimulating.
5) If you’re struggling to fall asleep, try to keep your eyes open. Paradoxically, trying to stay awake is tiring and helps you to fall asleep.
6) Often, you will struggle to fall asleep because of your worries and concerns. You can push them out of your mind by counting backwards from 100 in 3s, or coming up with an animal for every letter of the alphabet.
7) If you wake up in the middle of the night, try a simple relaxation exercise like tensing and relaxing different parts of your body.
8) If you are awake for more than 15 minutes, carefully get out of bed and spend 10 minutes doing something relaxing like working on a simple jigsaw or a colouring-in book in low light.
Good luck! And here is a fun animation that the brilliant HairyHand and I made containing all of these ideas…..
