How To Improve Sleep For Better Performance, Productivity and Problem Solving

The list of benefits of a good nights' sleep extend far beyond these three P's, but they made for a good title! Unless you've been living under a rock your whole life, you're probably aware of at least some of the benefits of a good sleep - some from personal experience, some from reading, and probably some from experiencing a lack of good sleep too!

With estimates about the number of people affected by poor sleep or insomnia being as high as 1 in 3 in the UK (according to NHS Inform), the knock on to daily life is huge, regardless of the reasons behind the issue.

So why do so many of us just accept poor sleep as a normal part of life, when sleep deprivation has actually been widely condemned by global human rights organisations as a severe and inhumane psychological torture method due to the intense mental and physical stress that it inflicts upon our brains and bodies?

If you suffer from insomnia (struggling to get to sleep, or difficulty staying asleep), it's time to take action and regain control of your sleep!

Common advice for combating insomnia and improving sleep quality includes:

• Establishing a Consistent Sleep Schedule: Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, helps regulate your "internal clock", making it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally.
• Creating a Relaxing Bedtime Routine: Engaging in calming activities before bed, such as reading, taking a warm bath, or practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation to help signal to your body that it’s time to wind down.
• Limiting Exposure to Screens for 1 Hour Before Bed: Who hasn't heard of blue light over the last few years? Emitted by phones, tablets and computers, blue light can interfere with your body's production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep.
• Optimising Your Sleep Environment: Make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleep by keeping it cool, dark, and quiet. Consider investing in a new mattress and/or pillows and bedding if yours have seen better days, and if you are sensitive to external light or noise, think about installing blackout blinds or playing white noise into your room.
• Being Mindful of Food and Drink: Heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime can be very disruptive to quality sleep. Have lighter snacks if you’re hungry, and stay hydrated throughout the day but limit fluids in the evening to reduce nighttime awakenings.

But what if you've tried all of these but have noticed only very minimal change? There are other things that you can do:

• Exercise Regularly: Regular physical activity can help you to fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply. However, try to finish your workout at least a few hours before going to bed as exercising too close to bedtime can be stimulating.
• Adjust Your Diet: Some foods can promote sleep, such as those high in tryptophan (like turkey or bananas) or complex carbohydrates (like oatmeal), while others have the opposite effect (as mentioned above). Consider incorporating sleep-promoting foods into your dinner or evening snack.
• Limit Alcohol and Tobacco Use: Both alcohol and nicotine disrupt sleep patterns, even if they initially seem relaxing. Reducing or eliminating these substances can lead to better sleep.
• Get Exposure to Natural Light During the Day: While it can seem hard to find in the UK, sunlight helps regulate your body's circadian rhythm. Try to get at least 20-30 minutes of natural light exposure (whether you can actually see the sun or not) each day, ideally within an hour of getting up - this helps influence production of key hormones and signals that control sleep and regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle, AKA your circadian rhythm.
• Limit Naps During the Day: Short power naps can be beneficial for some people, but long or irregular napping during the day can negatively affect your nighttime sleep. If you need to nap, try to keep it under 30 minutes and avoid napping late in the afternoon or in the evening.
• Implement an Evening Digital Detox: Consider limiting all digital engagement in the evening. Disconnecting from social media and news can reduce stress and over-stimulation.
• Adjust Lighting in the Evening: In the hours leading up to bedtime, use dim, warm lighting to mimic the natural transition to night time and signal to your brain that it's time to wind down.
• Avoid Intense Mental Activity Before Bed: Engaging in stimulating activities like work, gaming, or emotionally charged conversations keeps stress levels high right when you need them to be dropping. Set a cut-off time for these activities that is at least an hour before bed and do something calming and enjoyable instead.
• Manage Stress and Anxiety: Stress and anxiety are one of the most common reasons that make it difficult to fall asleep. Experiment with stress management techniques to find one that you like and find helpful, such as journalling, yoga, mindfulness or meditation to calm your mind before bed.
• Evaluate and Manage Chronic Pain: If pain is a barrier to sleep, work with a healthcare provider to manage pain more effectively, whether through physical therapy, medication, or alternative treatments.
• Experiment with Relaxation Techniques: Techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and box breathing are really easy to do once you're in bed, or there are loads of apps and resources available to take you through visualisation techniques and/or provide calming music, white noise or sleep stories to help your mind and body relax, making it easier to fall asleep.
• Consider Aromatherapy: Essential oils like lavender, chamomile, and cedarwood can promote relaxation and improve sleep quality. Use a diffuser or apply diluted oils to your skin or pillow - there are many pillow sprays and essential oil roll-on products available that have been designed with exactly this use in mind.
• Avoid Clock-Watching: Constantly checking the clock or looking at your phone when you can't sleep can increase stress and make it harder to fall asleep. Turn your clock away from view if you find yourself frequently checking the time.
• Get Back Up: If you can’t sleep, it is often recommended that you should get back up and move to a different room. This is because it helps to break the cycle of frustration and anxiety that can develop when you lie awake in bed. Known as stimulus control, this strategy helps retrain your brain to associate your bed with sleep rather than wakefulness. Once up, keep lighting low to enforce to the brain that it is still night time, make a non-caffeinated hot drink if you would like one, choose a relaxing activity such as reading, writing, stretching or listening to quiet music or a calming podcast, and (most importantly) avoid picking up your phone, tablet or computer to avoid blue light exposure and the effects of "doom-scrolling"!
• Use Your Bed Only for Sleep and Intimacy: Avoid using your bed for activities like watching TV, working, or eating. This helps to reinforce the association between your bed and sleep.
• Try a "Sleepy Tea": Natural supplements like ashwagandha, camomile, griffonia simplicifolia (5HTP1), L-Theanine (found in green tea), melatonin, magnesium, tart (montmorency) cherry, passion flower, valerian root and vitamin B6 can help improve sleep quality and there are a number of "sleepy teas" and supplements on the market that contain combinations of these ingredients*. However, as with all natural supplements, there may be potential interactions with other medications and you should consult your healthcare provider before use.
• Check Medication Side Effects: Some medications can interfere with sleep. Review your prescriptions with your doctor to see if adjustments or timing changes could help to improve your sleep.
• Request a Referral for CBT-I: If you've tried many strategies without success, CBT-I is a structured program that helps address the thoughts and behaviors that prevent restful sleep. It’s proven effective for many people with chronic sleep issues.

As with all things health related, what works well for one person may not work so well for another, but hopefully there are enough tips here that one or two of them might help you to fall asleep and/or stay asleep more easily.

With the benefits of better sleep including enhanced mood and emotional stability, better cognitive function, reduced inflammation, improved immune function, increased energy levels, better appetite regulation and weight management, reduced cravings for unhealthy foods, improved athletic performance and reaction times, reduced stress levels, better soft tissue repair and regeneration, improved decision making, increased productivity, enhanced ability to interact positively with others, better hormonal regulation, improved metabolism and lowered risk of chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity, there's every reason to try to prioritise sleep and try to achieve your recommended 7 to 9 hours a night.

If you find any of these tips helpful, I'd love to hear about your experience!

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* There are three sleep drinks that I use regularly myself and enjoy:

1. Hibern8 Sleep Aid - a science-backed, natural product developed by a performance nutritionist and an ex pro-footballer to help athletes recover more effectively. This product does contain 5HTP1 and may interact with some medications - please check with your GP or Pharmacist to make sure that it is suitable for you. Please feel free to use my referral code KF10 if you would like to try their products at https://www.hiber-n8.com
2. Aldi Diplomat Sleep Tea - contains passion flower, camomile, cinnamon, cardomom, cloves and vitamin B3
3. Twinings Superblends Sleep - contains passion flower, apple, camomile, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and vanilla

I supply a range of these products for guests to try for themselves on my Retreats.