Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 May 2024 at 11:01
Today marks World Sleep Day 2023. This year’s theme is Sleep is Essential for Health. Just like eating well and exercising, quality sleep is crucial for our physical, mental, and social well-being. Sleep is essential for the body to function properly.
To feel our best, we need to sleep well. If we skimp on sleep, we probably won’t remember how it feels to wake up fully rested. Unfortunately, there’s no magical solution to ensure that happens but there are some simple steps we can take to improve our sleep – unwinding to creating the right environment and ways to de-stress will help us to drift off to sleep more easily.
Tips to improve sleep
Get some Headspace. Headspace, the mindfulness and meditation app, is available for employees across EEAST to download free of charge. Just a few minutes of simple meditation and mindfulness techniques could change how you feel. Sleep by Headspace provides various resources to help de-stress and fall asleep at any time of the day try meditation in the evening. Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, it is about learning to be more at ease with your thoughts and more compassionate with yourself and others. In this way, mindful meditation can reduce stress, and help improve our sleep.
Music can soothe us. Calm musical sounds have been found to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Music that you enjoy can create calmness and can help to lift your mood. If you’re looking for some sounds that are specifically designed to soothe, check out Headspace’s sleep music and sleepcasts.
Dim the lights when you’re home. Maybe use lamps, a dimmer switch, or candles to create a calmer setting. Indirect light is less disruptive to the body’s natural circadian rhythms.
Consider limiting caffeine and alcohol before going to sleep. Part of the winding down process begins before we go to sleep. It includes exercising early, limiting caffeine, avoiding foods that might upset your stomach, and, avoiding alcohol before going to sleep as alcohol can diminish sleep quality.
Expose yourself to natural light (outdoors, if possible) in the morning or earlier in the day. Getting enough natural light during the day will also keep your body clock on a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
Try some gentle yoga poses before sleep. These 7 restorative yoga poses before bed have been shown to increase relaxation and relieve tension.
Start a gratitude list each day. Practicing gratitude can have many positive effects on our lives including lowering blood pressure, reducing risks of depression and anxiety, and setting the right conditions for better sleep. Consider keeping a gratitude journal, writing down a few things you’re thankful for a few times per week. There’s no right or wrong way to do this!
Bathe before sleep. Taking a warm bath or shower an hour or two before bed has been shown to relax both the body and mind. Heat relaxes tense, tired muscles, can help regulate heart rate and helps to de-stress.
Read before going to sleep. Reading is a great way to relax. Try reading a book, try listening to an audio book or one of the sleepcasts from Headspace. Choose from a series of descriptive narrations, where soothing voices guide you through relaxing, dreamy landscapes — allowing you to unwind and power down gently.
Declutter your bedroom. What your eyes see when you walk into a room can influence whether or not you’ll have an easy time falling asleep.
The ideal room for sleep if possible is cool and dark.
“White noise” or an ambient sound can help. Try one of the many soothing sleepcasts or some sleep music from the Sleep experience in the Headspace app. Sleepcasts run about 45 minutes and can help create a relaxing, peaceful environment for sleep.
Published 17th March 2023