Tips to improve your sleep hygiene

Our expert team of clinicians often work with service users looking to improve their bedtime routine. Here, Melena John, Assistant Psychologist, shares tips on how to get good quality rest.

Are you tossing and turning at night? Is a lack of sleep leaving you exhausted and irritable during the day? Many people across the country struggle with getting to sleep at night. If counting sheep isn’t working for you, we have three tips that could help. 

Soothe your mind and senses

It’s difficult to sleep when your mind is racing from the stressful events of the day, so it’s important to try soothing your mind and body before attempting to get some shut eye. 

Luckily there are a whole host of activities you can do to relax before bed including meditation, reading, listening to gentle music, taking a bath, journaling and practicing mindfulness and breathing exercises. You can find out more about how to practice mindfulness on the myStrength app. 

Create a calm bedroom environment

Being surrounded by chaos in a space that is supposed to feel comforting can hinder your ability to relax and rest. 

Cleaning up where you can and opening a few windows during the day whilst opting for softer lighting and burning some candles at night can all help in creating a more relaxing bedroom (don’t forget to blow the candles out though!). 

Avoid technology before bed

Though scrolling through social media can feel like a good way to decompress at the end of the day, it might actually be keeping you up later than you want to be. 

If you’re part of the 87% of people who use their phones before bed the blue light could be keeping you up at night. Research shows that putting your phone down an hour before bedtime can drastically improve your sleep. 

Want to learn more about sleep and the effects of fatigue? Check out these recommendations from our Medical Director Dr David Griffiths in What is fatigue and how can we combat it? 

If you’re interested in exploring how our psychologists can support your member or employee wellbeing policy, click here for more details on our services.