How to help clients get a better night's sleep

For many of us, the past year has taken its toll on our wellbeing. With constant worries playing on our minds, our sleep patterns have been greatly impacted. Matt Taylor, brand and education manager at Eve Taylor London, shares three ways to get a better night's sleep.

[Sponsored content]  ‘Coronasomnia’ has been penned as the term for sleep issues related to the pandemic and is used to describe us struggling to get a decent night's sleep. Our circadian rhythm regulates the timing of periods of wakefulness and sleepiness throughout the day, dipping and rising. 

This internal body clock allows our body systems to carry out essential functions throughout the day and night, and is influenced by various environmental factors. When we are feeling balanced, our circadian rhythm creates consistent and rejuvenating sleep, but when the rhythm is knocked off balance, it can create significant sleeping problems, which are not good news for our mental health.

4 ways to encourage restful sleep:

Limit caffeine and alcohol consumption: A poor night’s sleep can leave us feeling tired the next day, with caffeinated drinks such as tea, coffee and energy drinks seen as the boost we need. However, when consumed in the afternoon and early evening, these stimulating beverages can then keep us alert, impacting our next sleep time. Chamomile and valerian teas are widely available and are well regarded for their soothing actions to relax the senses and induce restful slumber.

While drinking alcohol to help you relax and fall asleep faster can be an attractive option, it can affect the quantity and quality of your sleep by disrupting your slumber later in the night with potential bathroom visits.

Reduce social media, texting and news intake: The intake of information, whether from watching conflicting reports on the news, reading posts on social media or late night texts from friends or even clients, has the tendency to keep our minds ticking over and increase stress hormones in the body – not what is needed before we retire to bed. 

Avoiding social media and the news in the late evening can alleviate unnecessary stress and reduce tension for a more relaxed feeling. Set your mobile phone to ‘do not disturb’ after a selected time, with the exception of key people, so you aren’t disturbed with texts or phone calls that can wait until morning.

Reduce light before sleep: Reducing light before sleep is vital, as artificial light can fool your body into thinking it is daylight and delay your circadian rhythm. Maintain a dim light in your bedroom and keep blue light-emitting electrical devices away from reach. If you do need to have your mobile phone close to hand, turn it onto night mode setting and reduce the brightness right down so any screen illumination is limited.

If light in the room is unavoidable, invest in a good-quality sleep mask to keep things nice and dark. This will encourage the circadian rhythm to identify it is time for sleep.

Utilise the power of aromatherapy and botanicals: Aromatherapy has been used for millennia for its outstanding benefits for all round wellbeing. Valerian root and lavender essential oils can both be incorporated into your daily regime and impart deeply relaxing effects to the senses, helping you drift away into comfortable stillness. 

These oils are found in Eve Taylor London’s Sleepwell Blend, which can be diffused before bed to encourage deep relaxation and assist to transport the mind and body into peacefulness, setting the scene for restful sleep. Available also as a wearable gel, Eve Taylor London’s Sleepwell Gel can be applied to the body in the evening time to further encourage restful feelings.

This is sponsored story in association with Eve Taylor