Importance Of Sleep

by Flora Cryer

We have had a super busy week, which means we have both had lots of late nights and early mornings. This got us thinking about how important sleep is and how much of an impact it can have on your lifestyle. It is so often underestimated,  but it is so important for our mental and physical health.

Some people can find getting enough sleep so much easier than others. We both have very different sleep patterns. Flora has experienced years of insomnia, whereas Libby is out like a light! (literally), but we both find when we have a bad night's sleep we can definitely feel the effects it has on us. 

So, below are a few tips which we find help enhance our sleeping patterns:

  1. As big coffee drinkers, we have found timing your caffeine intake throughout the day is crucial. We aim to not have any caffeine after 4 pm (latest!) 
  2. When to workout. If you are planning a big, intense workout (HIIT), we have found its best to avoid doing workouts too late, due to it stimulating your body just before bed. We aim to complete our workouts at least 3-4 hours before we sleep (but there are times that we do end up working out just before bed, and we then end up lying awake for ages when trying to get to sleep.)
  3. Optimize your environment. Make your bedroom, a place you associate with calm and relaxed emotions. Ensure your bed is comfy with blackout blinds (or in Flora’s case use an eye mask). Comfort and relaxation are KEY.
  4. Reduce screen time before bed. Okay, we know this is easier said than done, and we are often scrolling through our phone just before bed, but the nights that we don’t we find we sleep so much better. If we are using our phones while in bed, we always make sure our settings are on ‘Dark Mode’ to reduce the blue light levels. But we recommend reading a book or listening to a podcast, 15-30 minutes before bed, rather than scrolling through your phone (it definitely helps!).
  5. Clear your mind. If your mind is still busy when you get into bed try writing down all your thoughts, and a to-do list for the next day so it allows you to be less stressed and more relaxed, optimizing your sleep. 
  6. Avoid guzzling glasses of water before bed, as this will most likely result in a midnight trip to the toilet. Once again Flora is the biggest culprit of this, usually also waking Libby up whilst trotting down the corridor (our rooms are right next door to each other hehe). 
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