adjust your sleep routine for summer
Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity, on how to switch up sleep patterns for longer days
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Light and dark are strong cues in telling your body when it’s time to wake up or go to sleep. An increase in daylight hours – which is great for spending time outside – means it comes as no surprise that many of us struggle to adjust to a new sleeping pattern during British Summer Time when the mornings are brighter and the evenings are lighter.
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Keeping your bedroom dark is the first thing to consider. You can use heavy, lined curtains or blackout blinds to block out morning light that might wake you early. An eye mask can also be an additional tool to eliminate light enabling you to sleep, or if you’re travelling take a portable blackout blind.
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Closing curtains or blinds in the early evening will also help to block out some of the evening light exposure in your living area and your bedroom. This will help to start melatonin production and prepare your body for sleep. Where possible, use dimmer lamps/lights to keep light levels low and create a relaxing ambience. And don’t forget to unplug electronic devices that emit light and inhibit the night-time secretion of melatonin, in particular in the hour before bedtime.
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Exposure to light in the morning is important to feel alert. Natural light, which can still be effective on a cloudy or grey day, helps reset our internal body clock. It helps us get over feeling groggy when we have just woken up and makes us more alert. Open the curtains upon awakening to let daylight flood into the bedroom. Consider swapping an evening walk for a morning walk – as soon as is practical, get out into natural light in the morning, preferably around the same time every day.
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Make sure you develop good sleep habits – think reading, meditation, and other things that will relax you before bedtime. Consider other lifestyle habits, too, such as factoring in daily exercise, limiting caffeine and alcohol intake and eating healthy food.
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Don’t forget, we thrive on routine so keep a consistent wind down and sleep schedule in place and try not to stay up too late or get up too early. Consistency will help combat external factors such as light that can hinder sleep.