6 Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep plays an important role in your physical health and your wellbeing. Sleep allows your body and mind to recharge, so you feel refreshed and alert when you wake up in the morning.

Here are our top tips for getting a good night’s sleep.

1. Regular Bedtime
   Going to bed at around the same time each night gets your mind and body into a routine.
   
   
2. Duration
   Adults need on average 7-8 hours sleep each night. Make sure you are getting enough sleep.
   
   
3. Leave the Devices Alone
   Try to avoid TV and other devices within an hour of going to bed. When you use devices, that blue light floods your brain, tricking it into thinking it’s daytime. As a result, your brain suppresses melatonin production (melatonin is a hormone made in your body that regulates night and day cycles) and works to stay awake. 
   Ditch the devices and instead take a warm bath or shower and then read a book.
   
4. Keep Calm & Relax
   Put down the wine and coffee and opt for a herbal tea instead.  Non-caffeinated herbal teas can promote relaxation and a better night’s sleep. Here are our recommendations for a plant-based tea before bedtime:
   
   Chamomile Tea can calm the mind and induce sleep. 
   
   Peppermint Tea can relieve digestive complaints such as gas, bloating and indigestion as well as improve your sleep.
   
   Valerian Tea helps to reduce anxiety and has sedative properties to aid sleep.
   
   St Johns Wort Tea can balance your mood and help to relieve stress and anxiety, setting you up for a good night’s sleep.
   
   
5. Vitamin D
   Get a good old dose of vitamin D (sunshine) during the day. Exposure to sunlight regulates your circadian rhythm by telling your body when to increase and decrease your melatonin levels. Melatonin is the hormone that your body naturally produces just after dark and encourages sleep.
   
   
6. Get active
   Getting active during the day can improve sleep and the quality of that sleep for many people. It can help you fall asleep quicker and decrease the amount of time you lie awake in bed during the night.  Just make sure you don’t exercise before you go to bed as this will have the opposite effect!

Follow our 6 steps to a better night’s sleep and get the quality night’s sleep that your body and mind deserve!