According to The Sleep Charity, over 40% of adults and children suffer from sleep issues in the UK.
Apart from draining us of energy, a lack of sleep will ultimately have a detrimental effect on our mental and physical health. Poor sleep can also contribute to a wide range of health conditions, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes and fertility.
Are you one of the growing population of people struggling with your sleep pattern? If so, you’re probably already aware that improving your sleep quality is easier said than done.
Here are our top 15 tips to help you drift off and get a better night’s sleep.
1. Think about your bedroom
The best place to start when it comes to improving the quality of your sleep is your bedroom. Ensuring that it’s clutter-free, clean and tidy is one of the best ways to evoke a sense of calm when it’s time to slip into bed. Think about the furniture in your room. Exercise equipment and TVs should be removed to avoid distracting activities before bed. You could even go a step further and think about your bedroom décor to improve your sleep with shades of green or blue to help promote relaxation.
2. Invest in a good mattress and bedding
If you regularly wake during the night feeling uncomfortable or suffer from stiffness in the morning, it could be time you think about investing in a new mattress. Look to Which? for helpful consumer advice on choosing the right mattress for a great night’s sleep. But, don’t forget it’s not just your mattress that helps you wake up feeling bright each morning. Your duvet, pillow and bed linen also play a vital role, and we’re not just talking about their quality! Promote good sleep hygiene when you wash your sheets at least once per week.
3. Eliminate electronic devices
We’ve already suggested removing TVs from your bedroom, but we’re going to say it again. In fact, you should stop using phones, laptops, tablets and all electronic devices right before your go to sleep. You’ve probably heard the reasoning behind this a hundred times before, but these devices all emit blue light that discourages sleep, not to mention the over-stimulating content we watch and read on them that are not doing us any favours at a time when we should be allowing our brains to wind down.
4. Minimise light exposure
It’s not just blue light that can negatively affect our sleep pattern. Internal lighting, streetlights, even the moon, and early morning light can lead be the cause of a disruptive night’s sleep. If you find that you’re easily disturbed at night from light exposure, make sure that you sleep in a darkened room and consider investing in an eye mask or some effective blackout curtains to limit your nighttime light.
5. Keep your room cool
It’s a common misconception that we need to keep our homes warm and toasty to enjoy a good night’s sleep. According to The Sleep Charity, the ideal bedroom temperature to promote sleep is 16-18°C (60-65°F). If you’re unsure of your bedroom temperature, order yourself a thermometer and remember to adjust your bedding dependent on the season. During the warmer months, it’s also essential to promote air circulation in your bedroom and invest in a fan if you find this helpful.
6. Sleep at set times
Dedicating a set time to sleep rather than just sleeping when you feel like it is one of the best ways to promote a healthy sleep routine for every day of the week. On average most of us need between 7-8 hours of sleep per day, and the more we force our bodies to sleep for roughly this amount of time each day, the more we’re helping to set ourselves up for sleep success.
7. Create a nighttime routine
Have you ever got into bed straight after watching an action film or a night out and can’t fall asleep? It’s essential that before we try to go to sleep, we start preparing our bodies to wind down. This is best achieved with a nighttime routine that includes self-care like brushing our teeth, enjoying a calming herbal tea, meditating and reading a book to help us nod off.
8. Soothe yourself to sleep
Factors such as stress and worry can have a detrimental effect on our sleep, and sometimes we might find that we need to dive into our sleep-promoting toolkit to promote a feeling of calm before bed. Lighting is key to helping us relax, which is why it’s always good to dim the lights or switch on a soothing Himalayan salt lamp whilst we’re getting ready for bed. Using an aromatherapy diffuser can also be highly beneficial, utilising calming oils such as lavender or patchouli. You may even find that relaxing music or white noise will help you drift off quicker.
9. Stop hitting snooze
Did you know that hitting the snooze button repeatedly could harm your health? This is because, in those 5-10 minutes before your alarm goes off again, your body doesn’t have enough time to fall into a deep sleep. Thus, we disrupt our restorative sleep state, known as REM, which can increase our heartbeat and blood pressure. When we stop hitting the snooze button, not only are we promoting better sleep hygiene, we are actively encouraging our bodies to rise earlier.
10. Get regular exercise
We all need to ensure we exercise daily, not just for a healthy night’s sleep but for our general health and wellbeing. A morning run, workout session at the gym or an afternoon stroll, even if it’s for as little as ten minutes, can all help us promote a feeling of tiredness at the end of the day and improve the quality of our sleep too.
11. Avoid daytime naps
There are occasions when a short power nap of 15 – 30 minutes provide us with the perk we need to get through a busy day. In fact, many people find power-napping extremely beneficial for their overall wellbeing. However, although we all need to ensure we get enough sleep, it’s also vital that we don’t end up oversleeping during the day, meaning we can’t nod off at night. If you do need a nap, try not to allow yourself to sleep for over 30 minutes and avoid naps after 3pm or too close to your bedtime.
12. Say no to pets on the bed
It may seem like a lovely idea to allow your pets to sleep on your bed but in reality, sharing a bed with a pet is more likely to lead to a disrupted night’s sleep. For those who suffer from allergies, sharing your bed with a pet could cause you difficulties breathing at night or skin reactions. If you and your pet cannot bear the thought of being separated at night but you’d rather they didn’t, you wake up consistently by sitting on your head, encourage them to sleep in their bed on the floor or invest in a crate for a mutually beneficial sleeping arrangement.
13. Eat and drink sleep-friendly foods
It’s pretty obvious to assume that what we consume will impact the quality of our sleep, which is why we should avoid caffeine in the evenings and the over-consumption of alcohol if we want to drop off quickly. Instead, some of the best foods and drinks we can choose to enjoy before bed include herbal teas, nuts and kiwis that are associated with the sleep-promoting chemical serotonin.
14. Limit noise pollution
Like light pollution, noise pollution can have just as, if not more of an impact on the quality of our sleep. Unfortunately, noise usually is one of those annoying external factors we can’t control when it comes to our bedtime. If you find you are being kept awake by noisy neighbours or outside traffic, try playing some relaxing background music to drown out unwanted noise whilst you focus on falling asleep. Earplugs are another alternative if you’re a light sleeper and are easily woken during the night.
15. Keep a sleep diary
If you’re having trouble sleeping, a sleep diary can help you better understand your current routine and help highlight key triggers that might be keeping you awake at night. If you’re also concerned that you might be suffering from conditions including insomnia or sleep apnea, keeping a sleep diary regularly will help your GP help diagnose you correctly.
One of the most important takeaways when it comes to improving the quality of your sleep is to build a better routine, which is why it’s important to allow yourself time to adjust as you begin to incorporate these tips into your daily rituals.
If you find that your lack of sleep is beginning to affect your day-to-day life negatively, you must speak to your GP. You can also find helpful information about sleep and tiredness on the NHS website.
Further resources to help you get a better night’s sleep:
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