You may not think it, but we need sleep for multiple reasons. Some of these include:

Vital biological functions
Sleep is necessary for your vital biological functions because it helps restore cells in the body to help in vital functions (e.g., growth and protein synthesis), aids in effective brain functioning, helps regulate appetite and insulin levels.

Mental health
Sleep is also important for your mental health as it reduces anxiety, helps keep emotions stable, and helps with concentration and memory.

Physical health
When it comes to physical health, sleep boosts immunity, helps your heart by regulating blood pressure, and helps you have better coordination.

There are many different sleep practices, ultimately you need to find the ones that work for you.

Here are some general tips for a good night’s sleep:

  1. Routine is really important since sleeping is a learned behaviour.
  2. Once you find your routine, stick to it. Sleep needs practice.
  3. Go to bed tired and don’t read/eat in bed. Associate your bed with sleep.
  4. Manage worrying thoughts when you are in bed by writing them on a note pad next to you and allocating some time to deal with them when you are awake.
  5. Don’t sleep in the day—it will mess with your body clock.

Are worrying thoughts keeping you awake?
If you’re struggling to wind down before bed or experiencing racing thoughts as you try and sleep, try the free Clear Fear app.

Clear Fear is an app developed for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Dr. Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and uses the evidence-based treatment CBT to focus on learning to reduce the physical responses to threat by learning to breathe, relax, and be mindful as well as changing thoughts and behaviours and releasing emotions.

Download it for free on the App Store and Google Play.