How to get restful sleep

Just as a bedtime routine helps children, the body and brain of adults respond to bedtime cues and rituals, so try to have a wind-down routine that you follow every night.

Alcohol doesn’t help you to sleep, it does the opposite, so if it’s sound sleep you want, avoid booze late in the evening.

Being either too hot or too cold can prevent sleep, so spend some effort on making your bedroom temperature equable.

If you have a tendency towards insomnia anything will keep you awake, so turn off dripping taps, close any squeaking doors and batten down anything that can flap in a draught.

Learn some kind of selfhypnosis that induces sleep quite quickly when you can’t drop off – mine is counting backwards from 10, repeating “I’m falling asleep” with each number. I’ve never got beyond five.

Wear loose-fitting cotton sleepwear or none at all.

Change your mattress every seven years or so.

If your partner likes music or television last thing, don’t get worked up – snuggle down with earplugs and an eye shade.

If you wake up in the early hours and can’t get back to sleep, don’t lie there and fume. Get up, do the odd chore, make a cup of tea, do a crossword, read and when you’re feeling sleepy go back to bed.

Only ever take sleeping pills in the short term to get you over a bad patch.

Sex is the best prelude to sleep.