NEED BETTER SLEEP?

Try Davinia’s all-day hormone hacks to improve the quality of your slumber

IN THE MORNING

Get some natural light. Stand outside or stick your head out of the window as exposure to daylight stimulates the release of the hormone cortisol and will help get you aligned with your natural circadian rhythm. Cortisol gives us energy and drive for the day, so we want it when we get up, not when we’re going to bed.

Take off your sunglasses when not in bright direct sunlight as these can get in the way of your eyes’ light receptors and trick your body into thinking it’s night time.

Have your breakfast later. Keeping your body in a fasting state for as long as possible will stimulate cortisol release in the morning.

AT LUNCHTIME

Eat fermented food and good fats. A healthy gut microbiome will support your levels of serotonin, the happy hormone that then turns into melatonin, the sleep hormone.

IN THE EVENING

Wear blue-light-blocking glasses when using electronic devices as this sort of light makes your body think it’s daytime.

Eat bananas at night not in the morning. Keep them and also other tryptophan-rich foods such as oats, lentils and sourdough to later on in the day. Tryptophan is the amino acid that turns into serotonin then melatonin.

Dim the lights: your brain will produce melatonin in response to the darkness.

Try a cold shower. This will trigger sleepsupporting parasympathetic hormones.

Tape your mouth shut with micropore tape. Breathing through your nose reduces snoring and night-time waking.

Don’t watch adrenaline-pumping films at 11pm – you’ll be up all night!

Avoid alcohol – even a small amount will impair sleep. Try L-theanine instead – an amino acid that boosts serotonin. I take 400mg before bed.

This is an edited extract from Davinia Taylor’s Hack Your Hormones (Orion Spring, €16.79)*