Editorials

Advice: Sleeping Well

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24 February 2015

By Lauren H

Problems with sleeping are common, and they can occur for a variety of reasons. You might have too much on your mind, with school, work, family problems or anything else. Your diet could even have an effect on your sleeping pattern. A lack of sleep can often become a nuisance when it becomes too frequent, so here’s a few ideas of how you may be able to get those extra needed hours.

Try to sleep in the best possible environment. You need to be somewhere that you can feel relaxed in and isn’t too hot or too cold. A nice comfortable bed will always help. It is also best to relax for about an hour before you go to sleep so that your body can move into sleep mode, so if you have any work to do try to do it as early as you can. To help you do this, you may want to read a book or magazine, listen to calm music or take a warm bath.

You may also want to set a regular bedtime, so that your body will get into a habit. Try to sleep at a similar time every night, preferably when you are at your most tired so that you will fall asleep sooner. It could help to set an alarm at around the same time every morning so that, again, you get used to it. However, once you do get into this pattern, you should begin to wake up naturally every day and this will show that you are getting enough sleep.

As mentioned previously, a good diet and enough exercise is also very important. Try to eat well before you go to sleep, and don’t have large meals, as this will feel heavy and can keep you awake, due to the excess energy you have consumed. Regular exercise will help – even if it is only 20 minutes a day it will make a difference.

Although it may sound like a simple idea, switching your mobile phone off could be a great help. If you can’t sleep and it flashes on and off with notifications then you are likely to be tempted to get up and check it, and you could even end up staying on your phone for hours on end. Remember, you will regret it in the morning when you have had barely any sleep. Try to avoid watching TV or go on your computer right before you sleep too.

Give some of these changes a go and see if there’s any difference.

Good luck!

If you have a specific question you want answering, or a topic that you would like advice on, then don’t hesitate to contact B**P at lauren.h@nebeep.com– you can remain anonymous or we can publish your name, just let us know what you would prefer.

 

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