Sleep Better With This Simple Routine

Experts have worked out that the average adult needs 7 – 9 hours of sleep each night to function at their best.

With proper sleep, you will find a plethora of benefits such as improved memory, less stress, more energy, and a reduced risk of life threatening conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

Yet, according to Mental Health UK, at least 1 in 5 Brits aren’t getting adequate rest, that’s 20% of the entire population!

If you consider yourself a part of this 20%, or are just looking to create a better bedtime routine, then you might find the simple 10-3-2-1-0 Rule very useful.

The numbers refer to the amount of hours you should stop doing something before bed in order to optimize your chances of a good night.

10 hours before bed, stop consuming caffeine.

Whilst the exact amount of time varies from person to person, caffeine can take up to 10 hours to clear the bloodstream.

It is found in most of our favourite beverages, coffee obviously, which usually contains over 100 mg per cup, but black tea and fizzy drinks are also caffeinated, a single cup of Yorkshire tea contains over 90 mg of the stuff.

The molecule adenosine is what’s responsible for our sleep cycles, slowly building throughout the day in our brains and starting the process of making you tired.

However, the structure of caffeine is very similar to adenosine, and when consumed is able to block our adenosine receptors, stopping the wind down process from naturally taking place.

So for example, if you’re planning to fall asleep at 10pm, your last cup of coffee of the day should be at 12pm to give the caffeine enough time to clear your system and let adenosine do its job of making you feel sleepy.

3 hours before bed, stop drinking alcohol and eating.

It may make you drowsy, but alcohol actually leaves you more susceptible to waking up in the middle of the night, leading to tumultuous sleep.

Similarly, eating too close to bedtime can lead to problems with digestion, which can be especially troublesome for those with acid reflux.

Therefore, leaving a 3 hour gap between your final mouthful of the day and your head hitting the pillow is a good amount of time for everything to be comfortably digested.

However, it’s equally important to not go to sleep hungry, as this will also disrupt your night.

So if you’re trying to get to sleep but your stomach just won’t stop rumbling, a couple examples of good bedtime snacks include carrot sticks with hummus, apple slices with peanut butter, or a bowl of Greek yogurt, as foods like these provide good sources of protein that will keep you full.

2 hours before bed, stop working.

This is going to be easier said than done for some people due to the nature of different jobs, but generally you want to stop all tasks associated with work at least 2 hours before bed so you leave yourself adequate time to wind down, this includes checking your email, going over a written piece or planning events.

Writing up a to-do list can be very useful in keeping organised and on top of all your tasks, so you don’t find yourself becoming unduly stressed and staying up late into the night working.

1 hour before bed, put away all devices.

Devices such as our phones, ipads and laptops have become integral parts of everyday life.

However, electronics emit blue light, which suppresses production of melatonin, the hormone which regulates your sleep cycle, knocking it out of rhythm.

And beyond that, if you’re watching a TV show or scrolling any kind of social media, you’re keeping your brain stimulated and alert, which is not what you want when you’re trying to get it to drift off to sleep.

If you’ve got good self control, just switch your devices either Off or onto Do Not Disturb an hour before bed, or keep them across the room.

If you find you’re really struggling with putting your phone down though, try putting it in another room entirely so that getting up to grab it is less appealing.

0 hours snoozing.

It is undeniably tempting to hit the snooze button on your alarm to get just that little bit more rest, but it has been found that snoozing can actually be detrimental.

Sleeping for an extra few minutes once we’ve already been woken up from a REM cycle does not leave enough time to return to that space of deep, restorative rest and can lead to higher blood pressure and a racing heartbeat.

Moving your alarm from next to your bed to across the room can also be a big help, as the act of physically getting up to switch it off will help fight the urge to lay down again.

Finally, changing the sound of your morning alarm from a blaring bell or deafening chime to something a bit more soothing, like birds chirping or a rushing river, can make waking up feel less daunting.

So, that’s the 10-3-2-1-0 rule, and if you’re struggling with getting enough sleep it’s certainly worth giving it a try.

Additionally, it may be worth trying some of the following more general tips too:

• Keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature, cooler is better, but do whatever you personally find the most comfortable.
• Consider trying deep breathing or meditation exercises.
• If you can, avoid napping during the day, but if you feel that you need to, try to keep them to 20-30 minutes long, and not after 3pm.
• Look after your mental and physical health, try to not engage in any high intensity workouts close to bedtime, and if there is something on your mind keeping you up, talking to someone about it or writing down how you’re feeling on a piece of paper could help ease any anxiety.
• Don’t try and force yourself to fall asleep. If you’ve been laying in bed for 20 minutes and you haven’t fallen asleep yet, rather than fret about it and get worked up, get out of bed and do something calming, like listening to soft music or reading, until you feel tired.