As the UK marks Festival of Sleep Day, a leading therapist has shared four crucial strategies to help the countless individuals struggling to achieve restful nights, highlighting that quality sleep is foundational for both physical and mental wellbeing.
The Foundation: Rethining Your Sleep Schedule
Emma McAdam, a marriage and family therapist, argues that conventional "sleep hygiene" advice often comes too late in the day to be truly effective. She compares it to planning for retirement only when you retire. Instead, she advocates for building a solid foundation for sleep long before bedtime, with the first step being a consistent wake-up time.
Contrary to the common advice of going to bed at the same time each night, McAdam suggests focusing on a fixed morning alarm. "If you go to bed before you're sleepy, you're going to feel frustrated and anxious about not being able to fall asleep," she explains. This anxiety can train the brain to associate bedtime with worry. The key, she says, is to nurture your natural "sleep drive"—the body's accumulating need for sleep during wakefulness. Sleeping in or long naps drain this drive, making it harder to fall asleep later. Therefore, waking at the same time every day, including weekends, is a more powerful tool.
Harness Light and Movement
McAdam's second tip involves using light to regulate your internal body clock, or circadian rhythm. Daylight in the morning triggers cortisol production, boosting alertness, while darkness prompts melatonin release, encouraging sleepiness. She recommends seeking morning sunlight or using a light therapy box to feel more energised and advance your rhythm for earlier melatonin release in the evening. Crucially, she advises avoiding light from phones, tablets, and TVs for about 90 minutes before sleep.
The third pillar is physical activity. "Too little activity can lead to your body feeling like it's not ready to rest," McAdam states. Regular exercise, whether a walk, housework, or dancing, helps wear the body out appropriately for sleep. However, she cautions against vigorous workouts too close to bedtime, as they can be counterproductive.
Controlling the Nighttime Worry Cycle
For many, the attempt to sleep is hijacked by a flood of anxieties, creating what McAdam describes as "an impossible trap." Her fourth and final strategy is to deliberately schedule a daily "worry time." She recommends setting aside 15 to 30 minutes in the afternoon or early evening to sit down and write out all concerns on paper or in a task management app. The critical rule is to "never worry in your head." This practice contains anxieties to a specific period, preventing them from invading the precious quiet of the night.
With poor sleep posing a severe risk to health, as underscored by the NHS, these four practical steps offer a proactive blueprint. On Festival of Sleep Day and beyond, implementing these changes could be the key to unlocking more restorative sleep and significantly improving overall health and daily functioning.
