We know that when you are experiencing emotional difficulties your sleep can really be affected. Getting less sleep means you may be less able to deal with these difficulties in a rational way so we’ve asked some other people who have struggled with sleep for some suggestions as to what helped them. See what works for you. 

Electronic devices emit ‘blue light’ and this stops the production of our natural sleep hormone. Try to avoid screens two hours before bed. Or switch your device to night mode and reduce the screen brightness.

  • Ensure your bedroom is a place you would like to fall asleep in. A quick tidy up, some clean sheets and a cosy bed is a good place to start
  • Make your bedroom a place you just associate with sleeping
  • Try to make sure your room is dark and quiet. Maybe think about using an eye mask and earplugs if needed
  • If you’re struggling to sleep in your room, perhaps try another one if you can 

Try giving yourself a five minute ‘worry time before you start your bedtime routine. Write down all the things on your mind and leave them on the paper.

A routine may help you wind down your mind before sleep. A warm bath or shower with some relaxing music, a milky drink or camomile tea, with an easy to read book before bed is a good idea. Before you try to sleep, try a relaxation mediation.

Don’t do any strenuous exercise two hours before bed, but some gentle yoga may help relax you.

Try to keep yourself as busy as you can with activities in the day to ensure you are tired at bedtime.

Some people find a talking book helpful (sometimes it helps if it’s a boring one so you don’t stay awake to hear it!) 

Make yourself a bedtime playlist of music you find helpful to fall asleep to. Some people find instrumental music most helpful.

Avoid caffeine four to six hours before going to bed.

If you struggle with nightmares and find yourself awake, try a grounding technique to help calm you.

You may find relaxing sounds such as waves may help you drift off.

If you are struggling to go to sleep, try for about an hour. But if it’s not happening, get up, try reading for a bit and then return to bed. Do this as many times as needed. If you worry about not being able to sleep it’s less likely to happen.

Don’t be afraid to wake someone else up in the house to be with you if you are struggling.