We all have that problem when we wake up at 3.30am and can’t get to sleep – or even we might lie for hours after we go to bed unable to drop off. Health and wellbeing scientist Dr Federica Amati has given her own tips for how she personally gets a good night’s rest
Appearing on the Alively Podcast, the author of author of Every Body Should Know This and head nutritionist at Zoe, the health science company founded by Tim Spector, said there were five simple things she always does to get in the right frame of mind – and to help her body get into ‘sleep mode’.
She explained that getting rest was vital to her working well during the day. She said: “The quality of my sleep is an overwhelming predictor of my performance. I do all the things that will help me to wind down before I go to bed, like having a cold room with a warm bed.
“There’s some people who have amazing sleep routines with like really hot baths and then journaling and reading at least 3 pages. I think maybe that will come later in my life when my kids are older. But now it’s just knowing to like avoid screen time, having a really good temperature and that works for me is like the darkness and the comfortable pyjamas in natural fibres. And then I also try to make sure that I give myself enough time so if I know I’ve got to wake up earlier than usual, go to bed earlier.”
Dr Federica’s five sleep tips:
- Have a cold room and a warm bed
- Avoid screen time
- Darkness
- Comfortable pyjamas
- Go to bed early enough to take the pressure off
Diet and wellbeing guru Dr Michael Mosley spoke previously about a simple thing everyone can easily do which he says is ‘genuinely life-changing’ when it comes to sleep. The expert, who sadly died last year said that if people follow his advice if they are having trouble getting to sleep then ‘nine times out of ten’ it should work – and he said that he does this exercise ‘every day’.
Dr Mosley said: “Strangely enough one of my favourites and what has been genuinely life-changing is doing the slow deep breathing exercises. They’re really simple called 4-2-4. What you do is you inhale through your nose for four, you hold it for a couple of seconds and then you breathe out through your mouth for kind of four. You do that for a minute or so, your heart rate slows down.
“If you’re feeling a bit stressed through the day it has a big impact. But say you’re awake in the middle of the night and you’re worrying about stuff. You do that for a minute or so and you’ll be surprised that nine times out of ten you’ll just drop off to sleep.
“It is amazing how much difference just changing your breathing pattern can do. It’s something really really simple but it has a profound effect. This is a much more conscious process where you deliberately slow everything down and you listen to your breath. It’s been the basis of Yoga and all sorts of things and practices for thousands of years.
“It is astonishing – the science is really interesting as well and one of the reasons it helps with sleep is because it slows your heart rate down and then that is a trigger for sleep.”