Getting a good nights sleep is an important early step if you are feeling anxious or depressed. Your body and mind use the overnight rest time to restore, rejuvenate and regenerate. If you aren;t getting enough sleep then you are starting your day already run down and low.

Imagine yourself like a battery, during the day you deplete your charge. The occasional top up with a lunch break will add some energy, but you know by the end of the day you’ll be down at 10-20%. Overnight you’ll reach 80-90% and the day starts again. Now if the sleep isn’t enough you are starting the day at 70% which means by early evening you’re at 0%. Worse starting the day at 50% and you are in negative by the end of the day. This brings anxiety, worries and you are in to a cycle of no sleep and no energy.

So what can you do?

There isn’t a quick fix to this, - however, a great place to start is to establish some good sleep hygiene. Putting these things in place will, over the course of a few weeks, start to make a difference. You’ll need to be prepared to make some habitual changes for this to work.

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends!

   You are aiming for 7.5 to 9 hours sleep each night, work backwards from when you want to wake up.

2. Establish a bedtime routine

   You might like to listen to some music or read a book. Something to relax could include a warm bath, refreshing shower or some breathing exercises.

3. Get regular exercise each day

   Try to do this in the morning so you are using your full charge, this might mean waking up 45-60 minutes earlier.

4. Around two hours before bed, note down things on your mind

   Give yourself ten minutes with a pen and paper to list out and scribble down what’s currently in your thoughts. It may take longer the first few times, but you will get used to the process each day. You are aiming to take a quieter head to bed.

5. Spend 10-15 minutes outside, twice a day.

   A dose of daylight in the morning and in the afternoon will help your internal clock to know it is daytime, and not sleepy time. When you are making your morning drink, go stand outside while it brews. If you have an afternoon break pop your coat on and go face the sun.

6. Regulate the temperature in your bedroom

   You want to aim for a comfortable 18-20ºc which may mean opening a window for the first part of the night and closing it in the early hours of the day.

7. Keep your bedroom quiet and dark

   That means avoiding phones, screens, glowing alarm clocks, bright LEDs on chargers. Leave them all in another room. Get some black out curtains or blinds.

8. Use your bed only for sleep (and sex).

   Doing this will train your brain to know that the bed means sleep and nothing else.

9. Practice a relaxation technique before sleeping

   Try the breathing techniques linked above, or find a short repeatable process online which suits you. Headspace and Calm apps have these. After a few listens, you can do the process without your phone. If you have an Apple Watch, try the Mindfulness app.

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