BREATHING FOR SLEEP

Staying hydrated throughout the day is extremely important for our brain health and impacts our sleep too, so make sure that your first drink in the morning is a glass of water.

Caffeine care is also important and I advise anyone who drinks coffee or tea to have their last cup before 4pm, because caffeine has a half-life of six hours.

At least 20 minutes of exercise is important, even if it’s just a quick walk, but not too close to bedtime is this may actually activate the body.

Breaks from technology throughout the day are crucial. As an example, while you are eating is a good time not to look at your phone or be near it. You

A very simple but powerful breathing technique, which is hugely effective and aids sleep, is conscious or coherent breathing. It has been used to treat trauma patients and the positive results are scientifically backed. Breath is the conversation between mind and body and this form of abdominal breathing combines wonderfully with a simple visualisation exercise. Here’s how you do it:

Get comfortable lying down and shut your eyes

Start by placing your right hand on your navel

Breathe in just through your nose and count to four feeling just the belly rise

As you breathe in imagine the tide rolling in gently on your favourite beach

Now breathe out for four, also through your nose and feel the belly empty

As you breathe out imagine the tide drawing back out Repeat a few times until you start to drift off should not look at your phone or laptop at least an hour before going to sleep. When it comes to going to sleep, it is vital you do not have the mobile in your bedroom as it omits signals even when turned off ( if you are in a hotel, put your phone in the bathroom). Recent research reveals at least 30 per cent of businesspeople will get up in the middle of the night and check their phones. Don’t! At least 30 minutes of daylight is very important for our internal body clock and helps to regulate the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

I also recommend guided meditation such as Yoga Nidra or sleep meditation as an excellent way to enter a state of deep relaxation. The practice has a clever structure, which relaxes the body and quietens the mind. In a world where we are increasingly overwhelmed and overstimulated, the value of winding down becomes more significant. www.stephenmarksyoga.com