Sleep
Sleep is not just 'time out' from our busy routine. Most of us need to sleep well to help our bodies recover from the day and to allow healing to take place.
You can watch our webinar on Sleep from Dr Katherina Lederle.
Lack of sleep can make us feel physically unwell as well as stressed and anxious.
Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, affecting an estimated 20% of people.
Typical symptoms are:
- problems falling asleep
- problems staying asleep (so that you wake up several times each night)
- waking up too early
- daytime sleepiness, anxiety, impaired concentration and memory and irritability
Chronic insomnia, lasting for a month or longer, often results from a combination of factors that sometimes include underlying physical or mental health problems. It can also be due to behavioural factors such as too much caffeine or alcohol or a long-term disruption to your routine such as shift work.
Short-term insomnia, lasting for a few nights or a few weeks, generally affects people who are temporarily experiencing one or more of the following:
- stress
- change in environmental noise levels
- extreme change in temperature
- a different routine, perhaps due to jet lag
- side effects from medicines
Helping yourself
Top tips to help yourself sleep well:
- Exercise regularly, but at least three hours before bedtime.
- Avoid tea and coffee and don't drink a lot of alcohol before bed.
- Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.
- Your bed should be associated with sleep.
- Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine that lets you unwind and sends a signal to your brain that it's time to sleep.
- If you can't sleep, don't worry about it. Get up and do something relaxing like listening to music or reading until you feel sleepy.
Treating sleep disorders
If sleep problems don't respond to the tips suggested above, you need to see your doctor. It may be worth keeping a sleep diary for the 10 days before your visit so you can explain the problem. Doctors will generally look for any underlying medical or psychological reason for the problem and may suggest further changes to your routine or lifestyle to help improve your sleep.
More tools and resources to help with sleep
-
Document
- OneYou Sleep pages - causes and help for sleep problems
- NHS Sleep self assessment - short test identifies your issues and offers practical help
- Moodzone sleep podcast - talk focusing on sleeping better
- Pzizz - aims to help you stop your mind racing, get to sleep, stay asleep and wake up refreshed. Download from the Appstore / Get it on Google Play
