BETTER SLEEP in a week!

Don't let the festivities ruin your rest with these easy steps

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Christmas is the time of year when we do everything to excess - except sleep. It can feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day for all the shopping, eating, drinking, and socializing, let alone eight hours of slumber. 'What we experience at this time of year impacts on our night-time sleep in the same way that our nighttime sleep impacts on our outlook on the day,' says Dr Kat Lederle, author of Sleep Sense*. The good news? You can still have fun while avoiding festive fatigue - here's how.

7am

The best time to exercise so you sleep better at night, according to a study by Appalachian State University, US. Early exercisers slept longer and had more beneficial sleep cycles, compared to those who exercised at 1pm and 7pm.

Snack smart

Feeling peckish? Snack on turkey, milk, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. These are good sources of tryptophan, an amino acid that boosts the hormone melatonin, which can help you to sleep.

Delegate

It’s difficult to sleep well when your mind is a whirl of tasks to do. ‘But Christmas should be a fun time, not something that becomes a huge stressor,’ says clinical hypnotherapist Geraldine Joaquim**. ‘Delegate tasks to others to help share the load. Writing a plan gets things out of your head, so keep a pad and pen by your bedside to unload.’

Switch off