World Sleep Day: how to build a ‘sleep hygiene’ routine that works, according to an insomnia expert

From ditching your tracker to building a 'sleep drive', insomnia specialist Kathryn Pinkham shares her expert tips 
Shutterstock / Volha_R

The past couple of years have wreaked havoc with our sleeping patterns, you know this already but studies back it up.

Yet sleep has a huge impact on our day-to-day emotional and physical wellbeing, and a chronic lack of it puts you at greater risk of obesity and developing certain conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.

If you are one of the many who struggles with shuteye, help is at hand. Insomnia specialist Kathryn Pinkham, founder of The Insomnia Clinic and a Boots sleep expert, has shared her her top expert-approved tips for getting a good night's kip. There are a number of healthy daily habits that are relatively simple to get into the habit of, and they can help promote good slumber. These are known as “sleep hygiene practices.”

Here are some to try.

Build your 'sleep drive'

“In order to fall asleep quickly and get good quality sleep we need to build up a strong ‘sleep drive,’” Pinkham explains. “This is basically an appetite for sleep – the longer we have been out of bed, the bigger our appetite. “ Our bodies are designed to build up a sleep drive during the day and go to sleep when the drive is highest “to take back the debt we have been building.”

Going to bed early and waking later will mean you struggle to fall asleep or wake throughout the night (or both) as your sleep drive is simply not strong enough, so the best way to strengthen your sleep drive is to shorten the amount of time you spend in bed.“Most poor sleepers tend to go to bed early or lie in in an attempt to get more sleep, but this results in a weak sleep drive. Try going to bed later and setting your alarm earlier, even if it’s only 30 minutes each end of your sleep window; you’re creating a much stronger sleep drive which results in better quality sleep,” she says.

The 20 minute rule

As a general rule of thumb, Pinkham suggests avoiding being in bed for longer than 20 minutes if you are wide awake and trying to drift off. Tossing and turning in bed when you feel wide awake can create an association between your bed and sleeplessness, and over time this can in some cases lead to even the thought of going to bed making you feel awake and anxious

“Instead, leave the room and watch TV or read until you feel sleepy, then return to bed and you will find you are more likely to drop off than if you stay in bed.”

Ditch the sleep tracker

Sleep trackers can become a source of anxiety if people begin to obsess over what they appear to tell them. “I have worked with patients before who cancel meetings if their tracker says they didn’t sleep well as they believe they won’t be able to perform – but the data isn’t always accurate.

“The only way to really track sleep is via a sleep study in a hospital where sensors would be connected to measure eye and brain activity among other variables. Simply measuring heart rate and movement is generally not precise enough to accurately measure different sleep stages.

“Ultimately, tracking your sleep is not going to help you to sleep any better but there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that it can make your sleep worse by increasing hyper vigilance around sleep,’ she adds.

Swap your phone for an alarm clock

“The first thing most of us do when we can’t sleep is to check the time, however each time you check the clock you are creating a habit to keep on waking at the same time. It also makes you more likely to start thinking once you have seen the time, leading to worries about being tired the next day and creating more pressure to get back to sleep,” Pinkham says.

“I advise people to go back to a good old-fashioned alarm clock, set the alarm and then turn it to the wall and keep your phone out of the room to avoid temptation to check when you are awake.”

Journal your thoughts

“If you struggle with a racing mind at night, then it’s worth getting into the habit of emptying your mind during the day. Allocate a short 20-minute window each day (early evening perhaps) and write down everything which is on your mind including all of the things that keep you awake at night.

“Writing down your thoughts is a really therapeutic way to ‘empty’ your mind. You can spend some time problem solving or challenging your thoughts or even crossing them off if you realise they are ‘what if’ worries and out of your control. This will help you to remain more focused during the day and also reduce the chances of these thoughts popping up when you are trying to sleep.”

Get some ‘brain rest’

“In today’s 24-hour society we spend a lot of time in fight or flight mode as we rush from meeting to meeting and obsessively check our phones, but we are not designed to be in this mode for this long or this often, so the result is we feel tired and exhausted. We tend to think that we can rely on sleep to give us all the energy we need but actually sleep can’t overcome a stressful or busy lifestyle,” Pinkham says.

If you’re struggling with feelings of fatigue, she recommends making time to ground yourself in the present moment using mindfulness tools. “Take some time to notice what’s around you and slow down your breathing, even if just for a couple of minutes. It can really help boost energy levels naturally.”

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