Tossing and turning every night? Counting the hours you’d have to sleep if you feel asleep at that point? As a nation, we are sleep deprived and it often leaves us feeling grouchy and run down, but a healthy night time routine could make all the difference to our sleeping patterns.
Making a few small changes to your evening and night time routines could make all the difference to your sleeping patterns.
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Cut down on phone use
New research suggests that those who are practically 'joined at the hip' by smartphones and tablets are reducing the quality of their sleep.
It's important that we not only cut our use in the evening, but how much we use the technology during the day too.
The blue light that comes from these devices disrupts how the body produces melatonin, which is a hormone that makes you feel sleepy.
Put your phone on the other side of the room when you go to bed, it'll not only stop you from mindless scrolling but it'll encourage you to avoid the snooze button in the morning too.
Eat, drink and move mindfully
If you're having problems sleeping it might be time to look at your diet, are you consuming too much caffeine through the day. Although it isn't necessarily bad for you, it is a stimulant so cutting back could make a difference.
Look at the times you're eating too, if you are eating really heavy meals too close to bed time this could impact your sleep.
Exercise is always going to be a good thing for your body, but if you're training intensely in the evening your likely to get an energy surge that makes it harder to switch off. Try mixing up your training and try something a little less intense like yoga or Pilates in the evening.
Tidy Up
Do the dirty dishes, piles of clean clothes or unnecessary clutter make you feel anxious? Taking just ten minutes to tidy up in the evening could make you feel more relaxed about getting into bed.
It can be hard to stop once you start, so make sure it’s just five minutes before you plan on getting into bed.
Create the right environment for sleep
How much is going on in your room? To ensure you're ready for some good, quality sleep you want to ensure that your room is dark and quiet, and the air is flowing so it doesn't feel stuffy.
Try and avoid using your room too much for other things than getting dressed and sleeping, and associate it with relaxing things.
Choose to work in other rooms, as opposed to checking emails in bed. You want to associate your bedroom as being a place of rest.
Establish a calm environment from the way you decorate it, the things you keep in their and the activities you do.
Take a bath
Baths are great for unwinding and relaxing. They're great for creating a night time routine, as well as soothing sore muscles and helping to reduce colds.
If you want to make sure your bath is that little bit more luxurious you could try some Olverum Bath Oil or other essential oils or Epsom salts.
Avoid the snooze button
The snooze button might seem like your best friend, but in reality you're prolonging the routine of waking up. Plus, if you start a new sleep cycle, it's not likely you'll have enough time to finish it so you'll feel worse.
Take a supplement
Magnesium might be something you're lacking in, so eat foods like leafy green vegetables, fish and sunflower seeds, or maybe try a supplement.
If you’re looking to boost weight loss try Slim-Nite, a unique supplement from Power Health which offers an alternative and fuss- free approach to successful weight loss. Its high potency formulation contains three essential amino acids which aid weight loss whilst you sleep.
Ornithine and Arginine, key amino acids in weight loss stimulate a surge in the release of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which helps cells to break down stored fat, as well as preventing future fat storage that occurs overnight. Slim-Nite also features Carnitine, which speeds up the transformation of fat into cells, where it can be more efficiently used as fuel. www.powerhealth.co.uk