Minimum effort required
Days in lockdown had an impact on all our sleep habits. Anxiety, on top of an endless to do list would make anyone lie awake at night, or pointless scrolling through social media into the early hours.
Good sleep can do wonders for your wellbeing and productivity, with experts around the world placing seven to nine hours of shut eye a night as a top priority for a longer and healthier life.
Aakanksha Tangri, Founder of Re:Set – an online education tool for inclusivity, mental health and wellbeing – struggled to get a solid night sleep and knew it impacted her day to day life.
“I was averaging three to four hours of sleep each night, and I could see the impact on my physical and mental well-being,” she says. “My mind was foggy, my body fatigued constantly and I was cranky.”
After complaining to her therapist, Tangri was introduced her to sleep hygiene and never looked back.
“She put me on a strict sleep hygiene regimen for a month, and I was requested to report back regularly on my progress,” she explains. “Two months in, I can proudly say I’m well-rested on most days. Ultimately, I had to reevaluate my entire routine and make some fundamental changes”
The method looks closer at sleep routines and changes you should make to your day to day in order to ensure you are getting the restful sleep you need to improve your mental and physical wellbeing.
Below, Tangri shares three simple changes anyone can make to improve their sleep and feel better in the morning.
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Coffee cut off point
“I stopped caffeinating post 4pm. Tough, but doable. My recommendation is to find something else caffeine-free you can drink instead. I turned to copious amounts of water which my skin thanked me for.”
Don’t be a commitment-phobe
“My therapist recommended regular exercise, and I started scheduling yoga classes either in the morning or evening. My instructor made sure I was held accountable, which helped immensely because it meant even if I didn’t want to show up, I had to or be bombarded by calls and messages. This helped establish a sense of routine, and we’re all well aware of the benefits of exercising, such as a reduction in stress levels and better sleep.”
Switch off
“Three hours before bedtime, I had to get off all electronics which meant giving up Netflix as well. My phone went on airplane mode and I gave my mother’s number to my close friends and family in case of an emergency. Lack of electronics meant I had very little to do except read, try my hand at meditation and eventually drift off to sleep.”
