World Sleep Day

The majority of people need 7 to 10 hours of sleep a night. It is recommended that if you need to be up between 5am and 7am you need to going to sleep between 10pm and 11pm to get a full night’s sleep.

Why is sleep important?

Sleep is an essential and involuntary process, without which we can’t function effectively. It is as essential to our bodies as eating drinking and vital for maintaining good mental and physical health. Sleeping helps to repair and restore our brains not just our bodies.

What causes problems with sleep?

  • Stress and worries such as money, deadlines or your job
  • Not sleeping in a comfortable and quiet environment can affect the quality of sleep you get
  • Some medications can impact our sleep
  • Current or past trauma that is having an impact on your physical and/or mental health

How can I get better sleep?

  • Avoid late night snacking and drinking caffeine/alcohol
  • Make time to get outside and exercise even if it’s just a walk
  • Turn off electronics 2 hours before bed, the blue light from these devices causes the brain to stay active
  • Sleep in a dark room and keep the temperature in the room on the cooler side
  • Get a consistent bedtime routine go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, this routine is also important to keep up during half terms to stop yourself falling in to bad habits.
  • Speak to someone about what’s on your mind or write your thoughts down in a journal

Where can I go if I need support?

If you have tried the tips above and your sleep isn’t improving it might be a good idea to speak with your GP for them to investigate what else might be contributing to your lack of sleep. Here are some more places you can go for support: