There can be any number of reasons why our sleep patterns can get disturbed at various points in our life, and why we might not be getting the amount of sleep we need. How much sleep you need to function well is an individual thing, but adults usually need around 7-8 hours a night. For children and young people, it is much more, around 8-12 hours depending on age. Our bodies develop and repair whilst we sleep so not getting enough on a regular basis can have the potential to impact both our physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing. Below are some suggestions that can help to build good sleep habits (or sleep hygiene as it is sometimes referred to). The counselling room can be a safe space to explore some of the concerns, stresses or anxiety that might be keeping you up at night, however I would encourage you to speak to your GP if issues with falling asleep or staying asleep continue.

• Stick to the same bedtime and wake up time as closely as possible every day, even at weekends. Try to resist the urge to nap during the day or to bring your bedtime forward by too much, even when you are really tired, as this can disrupt your body’s natural rhythms over time.
• No phone/tablet/laptop at least an hour before bedtime (for adults, ideally longer for children and young people) to allow time to switch off from the external world.
• You can get alarm clocks/lamps that mimic sunset and sunrise which many people have reported to have helped them. A brand to look at is Lumie although there are others available.
• Consider wearing blue filter glasses to watch TV or use screens in the evening. Blue light emitted by screens is similar to the natural blue light that occurs as the sun comes up so can potentially signal your body and mind to wake up, not go to sleep. There are many brands available at many different price points. A quick internet search will bring you up lots of options.
• Try not to have any technology left on standby in your bedroom and charge devices in another room if possible.
• Ideally you want the room as dark as possible with no light seeping in from outside or from devices in the room. However, complete darkness may not feel safe or comfortable for some for a variety of reasons. Do whatever makes you feel most relaxed.
• Our bedroom shouldn’t be too hot, the ideal temperature is roughly around 18 degrees C although this may vary slightly from person to person. Ideally have breathable/cotton bed clothes and bedding as synthetic materials can cause you to get too hot.
• Come up with a relaxing pre-bed ritual that you can do every evening. This signals to your body and mind you are winding down and after a while your body and mind will begin to recognise this signal. It could include things such as having a bath, doing your skincare routine, brushing your hair, taking some time to put hand cream on and giving your hands a little massage at the same time, cuddling up with a pet, reading a book or listening to some calming music.
• Certain essential oils are said to aid sleep and can be sprinkled on a tissue to inhale, dabbed on bedding or bed clothes or place in a diffuser. Some to look into are neroli, lavender, frankincense, chamomile, vetiver, ylang ylang, clary sage and marjoram. Each can help aid sleep in different ways so its best to look into each one first and see which one most fits your needs. nealsyardremedies.com is a good place for information.
• Ideally don’t exercise too close to bed-time as it can raise your cortisol and adrenaline levels which can disrupt sleep. However, there are some short, gentle stretching and yoga routines which can help aid sleep and relax your body and mind. You can search on Youtube to find something that appeals to you.
• Consider listening to a sleep soundscape, winding down meditation or switching off visualisation. You can access these on apps like Headspace or search for them on Spotify or Youtube.
• Writing can be a useful way of helping to empty your mind before sleep. This can take whatever form feels most useful to you. Some people like to write lists, some people like to write short bullet points, some people like to write longer pieces. For some, recording voices notes feels more comfortable. Keeping a note book and pen by the bed can also be helpful if you wake up in the middle of night with thoughts whirling, so you can write them down. You can then choose to review them in the morning if you wish. Maybe you can start to identify patterns of issues that are keeping you awake that you may want to explore either on your own or with a counsellor.
• Breathing exercises are known to calm the nervous system and relax the body and mind. They can be helpful any time you need to ground yourself. This is an easy one to try on your own. When you are lying on your back in bed getting ready for sleep, breath in through your nose for a count of 4-8, then breath out through your mouth for a longer count say 6-10. Work with a count that feels comfortable to you and you may find the counts in and out increase as you relax into the exercise. On the out count, the idea is to feel like you have completely emptied all the air out of you. You can also add in a short pause before you start the out breath each time and before you start the in breath. Start off doing this for 1 minute or whatever feels comfortable to you and build it up as you go.
• The two most important things are 1) find the things that work for you! Bedtime needs to be calm and relaxing so feeling pressurised into doing all these things will definitely not help. Aside from working to develop as regular sleep pattern as possible, and the points around technology, I would suggest just picking a couple of the relaxation techniques to start with. You can always add more or change them up at a later date. 2) Consistency is key. Disturbed sleep patterns can take some time to rectify.