Adults need about seven to nine hours sleep a night, but getting expectations to sync up with reality can often be hard. Lack of sleep can damage your
You might have forgotten this, but sleep is important.
Here are some awesome things that sleep does for you:
- Helps you to feel recharged and refreshed (fairly obvious one to start with..)
- Looks after your brain so it can stay sharp and concentrate on things, including memories
- Supports your body’s immune system to fight off bugs and viruses
Adults need about seven to nine hours sleep a night, but getting expectations to sync up with reality can often be hard. Lack of sleep can damage your attention, your reactions and make you super moody. If you fall into an unhealthy sleep cycle, it can even cause problems like diabeties, high blood pressure and affect your mental health.
We want to avoid all of these, so here are my tips for getting a good night’s sleep:
Brightness control
A human’s internal body clock is controlled by light. Our distant ancestors didn’t have Playstations or iPads. They got up when it was light and they went to bed when it was dark, simple. We’re kept awake by our devices, which are constantly fighting for our attention.
Tip 1
Set a time you’re going to go to bed and switch off your notifications at least half an hour before this time. Comments and likes will still be there in the morning.
I was just thinking..
Turning your mind off is often more difficult than your body and when thoughts are racing around your head, it’s easy to get caught up in these worries and distractions. The trick is to keep your mind from wandering by letting it focus on the here and now.
Tip 2
You can focus your mind by listening to music (be appropriate here, nobody got sleepy listening to Pendulum), audio books, or a guided mindfulness meditation.
Jo’s side note: Meditation isn’t as cheesy as it sounds. There’s actually loads of sleep meditations on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Google and you can access them for free. I thoroughly recommend activities like body scan and mindful breathing. Sometimes I don’t even get halfway through these podcasts, so be sure to set your sleep timer so your phone doesn’t keep going all night!
Any excuse for a list
Not knowing what is happening next can cause lots of stress and anxiety. If you’re able to get your thoughts down on paper, so you can come back to them the next day, it means they’re out of your mind.
Tip 3
Write a to-do list before you relax for the night, so you know your day is planned. Now you don’t have to work things out instead of sleeping :)
Remember, sleep is your friend and will help you out more than you realise. Keeping to a healthy sleep routine will boost your wellness, give you more energy and keep your A-game strong!