Problems with sleep..

For as long as I can remember i've always had trouble sleeping, Over the years i've learnt a few tips which I find useful myself to help me achieve a couple more hours a night.

Firstly, Try and set yourself a regular bedtime, I found this hard at first, working in a restaurant I find it so difficult to switch off, especially after a busy night, so now I try and aim for a bedtime around half past 11 on a week night (Although this seems late to some people, I work weird shifts, so while your all finishing work between 5 and 6pm, I'm only then starting my shift!). A weekend is usually a little later, usually around 12 to half past  if i've had a late finish. The good thing about setting yourself a set time is that once you've been doing it for a few weeks your body starts to get used to it and you feel ready to go to bed at your set time.

secondly, Try not to nap in the daytime, this is a big thing for me, even though I finish later in the evening, I still try and aim to be up between 9 and half past (Otherwise I would never get anything done!), so if the evening before's shift has been busy I find myself feeling tired throughout the day. Thus making me want to nap, I try not to do so now, I have finally learnt over the years that a couple hours sleep in the day does not make it any easier to sleep at night, in fact in my case, incredibly hard. If I do really feel I need a nap I do so for no longer than 30-45 minutes.

Try and tire yourself out in the daytime. I rarely have time at the weekends to do any form of exercise (in between split shifts and uni work, and of course that sunday roast!!) So between monday to friday I try and do some, even if it is just a walk along the beach. I find the fresh air really does help you sleep that evening.

Don't use your phone for 30 minutes prior to going to bed. I never really believed this one to work, after countless searches on 'how to sleep better' or 'how to sleep for longer' so many articles suggested this. I tried it for a couple of weeks, at first it didn't make much difference, but now I swear by it. I think it is to do with the lights and various other things, but try this for a couple of weeks and you should see a difference.

A big part of not sleeping well is having to get up in the mornings, If I don't feel i've had enough sleep I used to always try and push it so I got that extra 5 minutes in bed, which actually only made you feel worse than better. But here is a few things I have learnt that has helped me get up in the morning.

The first one is not a surprise but don't have your alarm on your bedside table. If it's next to you you can easily hit the snooze button, but if it's on the authorised of the room you have to get out of bed to turn it off (even if you don't want too).

I find that one of the best things to keep me up in the morning is having a glass of cold water as soon as you wake up, as you sleep you don't have a chance to hydrate yourself throughout the night, a glass of cold water (even better with a slice of lemon) really wakes me up and makes me feel refreshed.

and finally...

Don't close your curtain's all the way. This honestly is the best thing I changed to help me get up in the morning. When the light shines through your curtain your body automatically knows it's time to get up, and it makes you feel a lot less tired too! 

Are there anyways that help you sleep? Let me know.


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