- Avoiding light and in particular screens for at least an hour before bedtime
- Avoid drinking in the 2 hours before bedtime
- Avoid eating in the 3 hours before bedtime (Think 3-2-1)
- Getting 20 minutes of natural sunlight into your eyes within an hour of waking (even on a cloudy day, light levels (called LUX) are far higher outside than in). I try and do this every day if possible. For example, I’ve stopped wearing sunglasses when i’m cycling to work. I also use a super-bright seasonal affective disorder lamp in my office at Bournemouth Hospital – it is an interior room with no windows, so I get very little natural light otherwise on a weekday.
- Having a bedtime routine, and I would particularly encourage meditation – I do this for 10 minutes every night
- Keeping the room cool
- If you can’t sleep, get up and move away from the bedroom, read a book until you are ready again
- Avoiding alcohol and smoking
- Avoiding caffeine for at least 8 hours before bedtime – I very rarely consume coffee after lunchtime
- Exercise (but ideally avoid too close to bedtime, I’ve certainly had some poor nights sleep having done a workout late in the evening)
