How can I improve my sleep?

You can improve your sleep by sticking to the same sleep schedule, making your bedroom environment more suitable, addressing stress, and considering what or when you are eating, and how this could be affecting your sleep. Sleep remedies containing herbs such as valerian can also help to support better sleep.

Simple steps to help improve your sleep

Here I explore these themes in more detail as I compile my 6 simple tips for improving your sleep:

1. Stick to the same sleep schedule

Without having given it much thought, you could be experiencing a social hangover. This means, if you're going to bed later when you're off work, or sleeping in later on your days off, you could be upsetting your circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycle (1) and ultimately, affecting your ability to sleep when you need to – Sunday night insomnia anyone?

Without depriving yourself of the odd social event, ultimately, making more effort to stick to a set bedtime, and waking up at the same time most of the time, could help to cement some more hardy sleep habits.

This concept is also in line with the research that suggests that sleeping too much could also be detrimental (2), plus, some of the conflicting advice around naps. Generally, napping during the day could confuse your sleep-wake cycle once more. So generally, unless work doesn't allow for it, you should aim to sleep when it's dark, and be awake when it's light, plus, aim for approximately the same duration every night.

2. Look at what or when you are eating

On the mention of naps, I lead nicely into my next point, since diet could not only be directly affecting your ability to sleep at night, but also, separately, affecting how awake you feel throughout the day.

See, there are many elements of your diet that you might want to consider when it comes to your ability to sleep, plus your energy levels. So, I've split this into two lists.

Generally, some dietary elements you may want to include more of include:

Sources of magnesium. Magnesium is calming, both physically and mentally. So, stock up on fruit, veg, nuts and seeds where it can be found naturally, or, if you're taking a supplement for an extra dose, be sure to take it with your evening meal for an extra dose of relaxation.
Healthy fats and protein. Healthy fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, oily fish or extra virgin olive oil, plus protein found in lean meats, fish, dairy, wholegrains and pulses, all help to regulate your blood sugar levels when consumed as part of a healthy meal or snack.
Dietary fibre. Fibre is your protective carbohydrate element. So, not all carbs are off-limits, but if you stick to more wholegrain options such as brown varieties of rice or bread, plus, other fibre-rich options such as lentils, beans, quinoa, millet or buckwheat, again, your energy levels could be protected for longer.
Calming constituents such as L-theanine. Especially in the lead up to bedtime, it's all about promoting some calm. L-theanine is an amino acid, and like some others such as taurine or glycine, are precursors to some of our more calming neurotransmitters. Some food sources can include healthy sources of protein, mushrooms and green tea.

Then, some food and drinks elements, plus habits, you might want to consider limiting a little more, include:

Refined sugar. Refined sugar, mainly found in processed foods will cause your blood sugar to spike then quickly crash, which unsurprisingly can lead to energy dips. Also, if you consume sugar too close to bedtime that 'spike' could leave you feeling wired and tired rather than relaxed, therefore, impacting on your sleep.
Alcohol. Whilst you might assume alcohol improves your ability to nod off, in reality, alcohol can negatively impact your quality of sleep. This means you're more likely to wake up feeling unrefreshed the next.
Caffeine. Caffeine is another stimulant that generally doesn't mix too well with bedtime. Options like green tea are much gentler than coffee as they only have a tiny bit of caffeine in them, but this is nicely balanced out by more calming constituents. Remember, caffeine can also affect you for many hours so consuming any, post-lunchtime could still be having an effect come bedtime.
Eating too close to bedtime. It isn't just what you eat, but also when you eat that can affect sleep. If your digestive system is very active, physically, this can be disturbing, but chemically too. Digestion hormones can promote wakefulness as generally, this is an activity that takes place during waking hours.

3. Make your bedroom environment more comfortable to sleep in

Your bedroom environment is another important consideration if you're struggling to sleep as well as you'd like. Your room should be suitably comfortable in terms of pillows (not too high), mattress (not too hard or soft), plus cool enough. As much as we want to be cosy, your body needs to cool down sufficiently in order to sleep well (hence why we can struggle on warmer, summer days). So, ensure your central heating isn't up too high during the colder months.

Light is another important consideration as remember; your body instinctively wants to sleep when it's dark. So, ensure you have good blinds or curtains and no distracting lights (including too many blue-light emitting screens in the hour or two before bedtime).

Then, there are the calming elements that can be helpfully added to promote some extra calm and relaxation in the bedroom. My personal favourite is some essential oils including lavender or rose, or having a nice journal by your bedside. This way you can write any lingering thoughts down, clear them from your mind and float into relaxation mode ahead of sleep.

Finally, whilst we love them so, removing pets from your bedroom could also help support sounder sleep, so just another one to consider, if you hadn't considered it before.

4. Exercise regularly, but do gentler exercises in the evening

Including some physical activity in your routine is important as this could help support sounder sleep for a few reasons. One, your energy expenditure will be greater meaning your body really craves that rest, but secondly, exercise can help reduce stress which also goes hand in hand with more successful slumber.

Moving too much or too extremely is a pitfall not to fall into, as this can actually materialise as a form of stress on the body (not helpful), but also, not doing anything too adventurous in the hour or two before bed as this can be a little too stimulating. Instead, when it comes to evening time, I prefer the gentler, more relaxing options, such as stretching or Pilates. Usually, these options double up very nicely with the more relaxed vibes too.

5. Manage and minimise any stress

By now, we've already talked through some options which you may want to consider in order to naturally minimise stress, and/or increase your resistance; including tweaking your diet, moving more and making your sleeping environment more calming, so really my advice here is just to be more conscious of any sources of stress in your life, and how you could actively help minimise them.

Stress is sneaky and can often affect a number of systems, from your digestion to sleep processes, so often, identifying that stress is an issue for you can be half the battle.

6. Try a valerian supplement

For sleep issues and/or stress-related symptoms, the herb valerian could be a useful addition to your regime. Dormeasan Sleep contains a combination of the herbs valerian and hops, and can be taken half an hour before bed, as well as an additional dose upon waking during the night if need be, to help counter any additional unwanted bouts of wakefulness. Just be sure not to exceed 70 drops in a 24 hour period.

Please note, Dormeasan may not be suitable for those who are already on sleep medications from the doctor. Therefore, if you are already on medication that you don't feel is working sufficiently for you, a chat with your doctor for a medicine review would be recommended.