Put your sleeping issues to bed once and for all

From making friends with your bed to running through the next day, there are ways to help you beat insomnia and drift off easily

- NILUFER ATIK

We all have the odd night when we're tossing and turning, unable to get to sleep. But when the occasional bout of sleeplessness continues, it could lead to insomnia, affecting your ability to work, rest and play effectively, which can have a negative impact on mental health.

It's no wonder then that sleep retreats have become so popular, offering bad sleepers the chance to address bedtime issues with experts in an environment built for relaxation. One of these is the Sleep Easy programme at Longueville Manor in Jersey, where psychotherapist and sleep specialist Lydia Falle helps guests break their bad sleep habits. Here, Lydia gives her top tips....

Bad scroll model

Blue light often gets a bad rap when it comes to things that affect our sleep. But in actual fact, evidence suggests blue-light exposure does not impact it as significantly as we think. It is more likely the content you engage in or the addictive nature of scrolling is the thing stimulating you more.

"The content you look at before bed should be relaxing, so watching the news or looking at upsetting material online isn't the best idea.

"Also, dimming the lights in the room you are sitting in when the sun goes down sends signals to your brain it's time to wind down and get ready for sleep so do this every evening."

Don't micro-nap

After a couple of nights of bad sleep, it may be tempting to succumb to a few micro-naps in the day - short, intentional naps for a few minutes at a time. But according to Lydia this could be even more detrimental to sleeping at bedtime.

"Your sleep pressure is decreasing because you are getting a bit of sleep here and there, so when you go to bed, there's not enough to help you drop off," she says.

"The napping happens in the day as you are so tired but it's better to schedule in proper time to have one good 20-minute power nap instead."