I teach people to sleep for a living – here's how I ensure I always rest well
6.30am: I wake up (without an alarm)
Having spent my whole career researching circadian rhythm and how light affects our body clock, I know the power it has to regulate our sleep-wake patterns, body temperature and hormones.
Morning light really is the best way to wake up your body clock. Humans are seasonal and we have a body clock in our brain which needs sunlight to know it's day time. That's why I don't have an alarm and let the natural light wake me up between 6.15 and 6.30am.
In an ideal world, we'd all wake up naturally when our bodies are done with sleeping but that just doesn't work with 9am office start times. A sunrise alarm clock (where the light gets brighter over time) is a good investment if that's you.
If you do need sound to wake you up, find a pleasant one, not a harsh one. Then when you get up, open the curtains as soon as possible and have something to look forward to: your favourite music, a coffee or a hot shower.
Personally, I don't need to hit the snooze button because I wake up feeling alert most days, but research shows that late chronotypes (night owls) benefit from doing it, as it helps them wake up by reducing their sleep inertia – the groggy feeling you can get when you wake up.
8am: an early breakfast is crucial
I get up and eat muesli with fruit and seeds for breakfast before going for a walk. Then, when I get back, I'll have a coffee. On a normal day I only drink two cups of coffee but I'll have three if I need to boost alertness.
9am: at my desk (but remembering to stretch) for work
Working from home, the biggest challenge is remembering to take regular breaks from my desk to stretch my legs and give my mind a rest.
It's tricky to remember to get up and move around every hour. When I'm really focussed on something, it can be so difficult to get up and stretch. Right now I'm experimenting with a kitchen timer to help remind me to get up at regular times.
Sitting still all day is associated with poor sleep and exercise tires the body ready for rest. So I try to break my time up by going on the indoor bike, rowing machine, having a cup of tea with my husband or relaxing with my two affectionate cats.
When you have a break, you're teaching your brain to learn to take a step back and give the mind time to process information. If you're constantly processing throughout the day without any breaks, then your brain will be in overdrive in the evening, leading to restlessness, which is not helpful when you want to be sleeping.
1pm: lunch time (for at least half an hour)
I'll take 30 minutes or more for a break and have a sandwich or a salad usually, depending on where my client and business calls fall. To give myself a rest from reading, I put the radio on or take my lunch outside and give my friends or family a call.
Then I'll get back to work. On any given day, I could be in calls, sessions with clients or reading. Reading is a big part of my job at the moment because the field of sleep study and circadian rhythm is growing and we are getting a better understanding of the science behind it.
I also could be writing a new blog post for my website, or might be running a webinar. On occasion, I could be preparing to deliver a talk on sleep – at the recent Live Well Festival I spoke about building resilience and thriving through change, which required preparation on the subject.
2pm: stop drinking coffee
There have been studies discussing the effects of caffeine on sleep and for me as someone who does drink coffee, it's all about the timing of when the caffeine gets into your system.
Some people can get jitters and hyperactivity after just one sip, but for others, like myself, that doesn't happen. The half-life of coffee is five to six hours so it's important to be aware of when you're drinking it, the effects it can have and how long these effects last.
Ideally, we should stop drinking coffee by 2pm to really allow most of that caffeine to get out of your system by the time you go to bed at 11pm. Drinking coffee late in the afternoon can delay sleepiness or can disrupt sleep and make you more restless. How sensitive you are to caffeine varies between people, though.
6pm: start winding down
I want to make sure I have time to wind down during the evening and allow my mind and body to step away and focus on something else.
For me, that's doing some meditation, breath work, an evening walk, listening to a podcast or watching something on TV. It is better to watch something on a TV, rather than a laptop or phone because the screen's further away.
7pm: dinner time (and be mindful of lighting)
I eat quite healthily and aim to have a plateful of mostly pulses and vegetables. After dinner I try not to turn on the lights. It's easier right now because it's summer, but still in the winter I prefer to keep the lights dim to minimise any alerting signal so I'm ready for sleep.
In winter, I think we need to be mindful of electric lighting as a primary source. Be mindful of how bright that light is in the evening and then consider a sunlight alarm clock to wake yourself up in the morning.
The key is to engage in non-stimulating activity to allow the mind and brain time to process. If I work right until I go to bed, my mind would be full and it would be hard to sleep because my mind would be full of what I just experienced.
10pm: read in bed
I'll get into bed and read for about 10 minutes, and turn the light off at 10.15pm.
If I can't fall asleep I reflect on why that might be – is my mind busy? Are my thoughts just going round and round? I try to shift my attention to my breath if I can.
I've worked with a lot of women in midlife to improve their sleep and the one thing they struggle with most is waking up in the middle of the night. Hormonal fluctuations, hot flushes and worry can all play a part in disrupted sleep.
Worry is a big one – this might be about falling back asleep, the lack of sleep or performance. All of this can have a negative impact on the quality of sleep we get.
If I wake up in the middle of the night, the first thing I do is ask myself what's going on. Am I too hot? Has a thought grabbed my attention? Is this thought going to be helpful to me right now at three in the morning? Is there anything I can do about this thought right now? In most instances, I can't.
I definitely have days where I don't sleep well and feel tired the next day. If I have three big glasses of wine, I'll often wake up in the night and struggle to get back to sleep.
The next day, it's important to give yourself grace after a poor night's sleep. Remind yourself why your sleep might have been affected the night before.
You can say to yourself, yes, I was at an occasion and I had more alcohol than usual – it's not what I usually do, but tonight I'll go to bed a bit earlier.
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