Real Talk 23rd April 2015 by Victoria Stokes

Life Hacks: 5 Essential Tricks For Getting A Deadly Night’s Sleep

Sick of waking up all groggy in the morning? Here are five things you should, and, um, shouldn't be doing to get your best night's sleep ever.

girl sleeping

You’re rocking some serious under-eye bags, you’ve got a major grump on and you’re finding it really hard not to sprawl across your desk and con out. #Zzz. Research has shown that anything from your tech habits to stress can affect your sleeping pattern, so here are five essential dos and don’ts to make sure you get an amaze-o night’s kip tonight, and wake up fresh tomorrow AM.

Don’t overindulge

There’s nothing better than a glass or two of red to send you into a restful night’s sleep, right? Um, no actually. Glugging wine before bed can seriously wreak havoc with your sleeping pattern, as can too much caffeine or a heavy dinner. Keep evening meals light and steer clear of any naughty indulgences at bedtime. You’ll have a much clearer head in the morning.

Dim the lights

Melatonin, the hormone that tells your body it’s time for bed, kicks in when it gets dark so dim the lights about two hours before you plan to head to bed. The low lighting will trigger your body to release more of the sleep-inducing hormone, meaning you’ll feel naturally sleepy, and ready to hit the pillow.

Have a digi-detox

We know you wanna check your Facebook, Twitter and Insta, but playing with your phone when you’re supposed to be snoozin’ has been proven to screw up your sleep pattern. The blue light from your screen messes with your sleep hormones, meaning you’ll have bother nodding off. The fix? Switch all your digital gadgets off an hour before bed. #NoExceptions.

Have a bed time ritual

Your bod needs to feel relaxed to fall asleep so switch off the telly and go read a book, take a bath or do some stretches to properly unwind. Having a relaxing regime before bed every night will tell your brain that it’s almost sleep time. That means less time lying in bed wondering why you can’t nod off.

Forget stress

Worry keeping you awake? If you’re feeling a bit stressy, try some visualisation techniques to send you off. So if you’re stressing about a big presentation you’ve got in the morning, picture yourself totally acing it. It’ll calm you down and send you off stress-free. Ah.

Now, has anyone seen our fluffy bed socks?

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