The time we spend asleep is one of the most important parts of our day. Good sleep is essential for our bodies to rest and recover, but quality sleep can be elusive, especially when life gets busy.
Being overtired can have a big impact on your physical health and your mental wellbeing, but there are little things you can try to improve the quality of your sleep. Sleep supplements are one option, but check out our other recommendations too…
Signs You Need Better Sleep
You know your body better than anyone, and you’ll know if you’ve not been getting enough sleep. But sometimes we end up saying ‘yes’ to so many things and taking so much on that we end up ignoring the signs.
Signs of tiredness can include:
A constant feeling of sleepiness
Finding it difficult to concentrate
Sore, dry eyes
Feeling irritable or grumpy with others
A general feeling of exhaustion
To reduce feelings of tiredness and fatigue, you might want to try adding a magnesium-based supplement to your routine. Garden of Life’s Whole Food Magnesium Powder in raspberry-lemon flavour contains organic brown rice magnesium chelate to help reduce feelings of tiredness and fatigue and contribute to normal psychological function.
If you’re worried that you might be chronically tired and nothing you’re trying is working, speak to your GP to rule out anything more serious.
3 Health Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep
Getting enough sleep (7-9 hours a night is the recommended amount for the average adult) can have so many benefits for both your physical and mental health, such as:
1. Helps Your Memory
Although sleep allows your mind to rest, it’s still at work while you’re asleep, converting short-term memories into long-term ones. This can help your brain to retain information, benefiting your concentration as a result.
2. Stress Management
Sleep can be good for your emotional wellbeing and help you to manage stress. It can have a knock-on effect on your relationships too, as you could find yourself less irritable and grumpy with the people around you.
3. Support Your Diet
If you wake up feeling more energised, you’ll be less likely to eat unhealthy foods for a quick fix, meaning that getting better sleep could help you to manage your weight too.
Our Top Bedtime Routine Tips
Bedtime routines aren’t just for little ones. Getting yourself into the habit of following the same little rituals every evening before you go to bed can really help to relax your mind before you go to sleep.
We recommend:
Limiting your screen time: it’s important to spend some time decompressing from your day, but try to do this with a book, some meditation or even a crafty hobby instead of scrolling through your phone or watching a screen – the artificial blue light that screens give off can trick your mind into thinking you’re more awake than you actually are.
A bedtime drink: something warm and milk or a chamomile or peppermint tea sipped slowly before bed can be a soothing way to unwind and calm your body.
Create bed boundaries: as tempting as it can be, try not to spend too much time in bed watching TV, reading or doing anything other than sleeping. If bed becomes something you associate purely with sleep, your mind will be better at knowing that it’s time to go to sleep when you get under the duvet.
Sleep sprays: pillow and room sprays have become really popular in the last few years, but there are also oral sprays available to help support your sleep.
