Too Tired? What Could You Be Missing?
75% of all 2000 respondents to the recent Nuffield Health and Fitness Report said that they regularly had too little energy at the end of the day to be intimate with their partner. Why is there such a lack of energy and rewarding sleep in society today? And what can we do to address it?
Well perhaps it’s not such a modern phenomenon as indicated by Charles Caleb Colton in the early 1800s
“The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late.” ~Charles Caleb Colton (1780 -1832)
While many of us can relate to that sentiment from so long ago, never before has our time been at such a premium. We work long hours, we consume ever more information, our ‘free-time’ is more and more precious and seem less and less inclined to give it over to sleeping…
Even among those who long for a good night’s sleep, many also secretly wish they had more hours in the day and in this way can subconsciously sabotage their best efforts at achieving good night’s sleep.
Number 1 tip – Recognise sleep as the beneficial activity that it is. Sleep helps you get the most out of the hours that you are awake. It helps your mind process the events of the day and helps repair and maintain your body. The best thing you can do is recognise that setting aside time and effort to achieve sleep (through good sleep hygiene). Treat Sleep as a primary necessity not a luxury.
Ok so what is Sleep Hygiene? (Hint: It’s not (just) about washing before bed)
Sleep hygiene is basically all the behavioural and environmental factors that precede and / or may interfere with sleep
Steps you can take to improve it are:
- Establish a bed time routine – this could involve taking a relaxing bath or reading a light book
- Keep the bedroom dark, uncluttered, quiet and at a comfortable temperature
- It is best not to read or watch television in your bedroom
- Take regular exercise (consult your Doctor before embarking on any new exercise routine)
- Reduce or abstain from stimulants like caffeine
- Avoid over-stimulating the mind prior to going to bed (i.e. no video games, intense studying or over involved TV programmes / films.
- Avoid heavy meals or give the body plenty of time to digest them prior to turning in. (2 hours)
These steps will significantly help your mind and body to achieve a good night’s sleep. Look out in our next edition about further tips to help tackle anxiety based insomnia…
