SET YOUR ALARM — FOR BEDTIME

Tips from Heather Darwall-smith, author of The science Of sleep: 1 EARLY on in the day make a plan for how you are going to prepare for bed. Settle on a time — midnight, for example — and set an alarm so you stick to it. 2 NOTICE when you are procrastinating. Pause and take a breath, then reflect on your actions. Developing awareness is the first step. 3 WRITE a to-do list of the things you need to do before bed. Then prioritise them and leave anything else for another time. 4 ONE hour before your bedtime, stop all screen time. Turn off messaging on your devices and stop looking at social media. Do something relaxing — read a book or try sleep yoga. This will put you in a different headspace and get you ready for sleep. 5 THE next morning, get lots of light into your body as quickly as possible. Open your blinds and curtains, and maybe have your morning coffee in the garden. Getting into the daylight before 9am sets up your natural sleep-wake cycle. 6 COMMIT to your new bedtime for two weeks. Changing habits is hard but with consistent repetition we can rewire the brain. Your aim is to get good sleep across seven nights and do away with those mammoth weekend lie-ins.