To try and help keep cortisol levels down when you’re trying to sleep, build in your wind down hour, try some yoga, relaxation exercises or meditation and consider apps that might help, for example Smiling Mind. Unfortunately, sometimes this can create a cycle as we get more stressed if we can’t sleep which produces more cortisol. If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, this can increase the amount of cortisol in your body, this is the hormone that keeps us awake throughout the day. You might also want to try relaxation techniques or mindfulness. Create a wind down hour before you’re planning on going to sleep – for example, read a physical book, draw or listen to music. Tools like Night Shift, f.lux and other apps can be helpful (not just at night, but in general) because they take away some of the blue light and reduce eye strain, but it’s better to avoid your devices altogether. It can be tempting to relax by browsing social media and other apps before bed, but the blue light from screens can stop your body from producing melatonin. Try and have this at least an hour before bed, though. Avoid coffee after around 2 pm (or drink decaf) and, if you want a snack in the evening, toast or a banana and a glass of milk is a great alternative. Keep on eye on your food and drink tooĪvoid caffeine and sugary snacks late in the day – did you know that caffeine can stay in your body for up to 10 hours? Caffeine and sugar are stimulants which will keep you up if you consume them too late in the day. Having a routine and doing these things can help improve your sleep and keep your body clock in rhythm. Try to get outside for at least 30 minutes during the day so you access some natural light, you should also try to have your meals around a similar time each day and do some exercise. Pay attention to what you do during the day So if you need to get up at 7am, make sure you go the bed at 10pm to get enough sleep. Calculate how much sleep you needįor example, if you think you need 9 hours sleep a night, work out what time you need to get up in the morning and work backwards.

Here are some top tips for a good night’s sleep. Basically, you want to increase your levels of melatonin before you go to sleep. Melatonin promotes sleep, whereas cortisol is a stress hormone, which wakes us up in the morning and makes us more alert. How well you sleep is largely controlled by two hormones: melatonin and cortisol. To improve how well you sleep, it’s important to understand the factors which play a part. This means you’re going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day (including weekends!), as well as promoting a good night’s sleep through your evening routine. You’ll know yourself how much sleep you need, and the most important thing is that you have a regular and healthy sleeping habit. Those aged 18-25 typically need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.Those aged 14-17 typically need between 8 and 10 hours of sleep.Those aged 11-13 typically need between 9 and 11 hours of sleep.Humans are the only animals which deliberately manage the amount they sleep, and our sleep habits are getting worse because of our ‘always on’ culture. The important thing is to avoid forcing it. Some people may require much less sleep than others, and this will likely change as you get older. How Much Sleep Do I Need?Įveryone is different. This is also when memory consolidation happens. REM sleep is a less deep phase of sleep when our minds are most active, so this is when most dreams occur. Most of our time asleep is spent the in non-REM, when our body carries out maintenance such as tissue repair and growth, with periods of REM sleep increasing in length and frequency through the night. These are REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM sleep. It even helps us to keep a healthy weight! Types of Sleep Sleeping is essential to our well-being it increases our immunity to viruses and infections, improves our physical and mental health and promotes growth and healing. If we don’t get enough sleep, we become tired and less alert. We don’t switch off completely during sleep, and our brains are still very active. Sleep is a state of reduced awareness during which our body carries out a number of routine tasks it needs to complete to keep us healthy, such as releasing hormones, repairing or renewing tissue and consolidating memories (moving our memories from short-term to long-term).

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