Sleep Hygiene -the tips from science research
Sleep Hygiene -the tips from science research
Getting a good nights sleep activates your own internal therapist; it relieves stress, helps improve creativity, helps us cope better and overcome trauma. Of course there are a wealth of physical benefits too.
As a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist, I work regularly to help people who are suffering from years of insomnia, and when I do I often recommend they read this list. It worth knowing what the most recent science is telling us about we can do in the day to promote good nights sleep.
If these things are not helping you break the vicious cycle of insomnia, you don’t need to suffer any more; there’s a lot that psychotherapy or hypnosis can do to improve your sleep for good. With the understanding of the psychology behind sleep habits, and other tools you can learn, many people will be sleeping well again after one, two or very few sessions. Please contact me to organise a session, or a free 15 minute chat if you would like us to work together.
- Get sunlight before lunchtime. This is one of the most helpful actions you can take; ideally 30 minutes within 90 minutes of waking up. Although evidence shows that even 20 minutes of being outdoors (not light through a window) before midday will help set your sleep cycle for that night.
- Avoid caffeine in the afternoon. Caffeine will reset one of your in built clocks (that tells your body when it’s bedtime). Avoid it 8-10 hours before you hope to sleep to stop your body thinking it’s the morning again!
- Go to bed when you first feel sleepy. Pushing through can activate our overdrive adrenalin systems and this will make it harder to sleep when the next wave of tiredness comes. Also, it’s normal to feel very alert an hour before bedtime. This peak in attention has been reported by sleep scientists, and doesn’t affect how well you sleep when you do go to bed.
- Keep your room cool. So that your body can drop 1-3degrees overnight. This natural drop in temperature would have happened to our ancestors and triggers the sleep response.
- Go to sleep at the same time as ever day. If you’ve had a bad nights sleep/late night out, don’t change anything about your next nights sleep. Give yourself an hour from the screen/daily life stress, to relax and get ready for bed.
- Wake at the same time. every morning (even your days off!)
- Practice self hypnosis (for example using Tiff’s sleep audio). Relaxing quickly and deeply is a skill we can all learn.
- Naps? Naps can really help us reset emotionally (reducing stress chemicals that can keep us awake). However don’t overdo it -try just 20 minutes, and no more than 90 minutes a day. Research suggests that the best nap time is exactly in the middle of your day (between your wake and sleep time)
- Be ok with changing sleep patterns. As we go through life, our sleep needs change, for example we may need less sleep as we age. Be flexible with this change.
- Be ok with waking a night. It’s ok and normal to wake up at night. Don’t look at the clock or use bright lights. Learn self hypnosis, yoga nidra, or breathing techniques to help you relax back to sleep again.
