How To Sleep Better During Lockdown

2 min read

Want to know how to get a better night's sleep? Read on to find out how to sleep better

The land of Nod, 40 winks, shut eye. Whatever you call it, sleep is an important (and big) part of our lives, with the average person spending 26 years asleep over their lifetime! With us spending so much time snoozing, it makes sense to get the best quality night’s sleep you can, right?

Getting a good sleep routine is good for both your physical and mental health, and can have a knock on effect on other factors too, such as your diet and concentration levels. By making just a few small changes in your daily life, it can have a big effect on your sleep, scroll down to find out how.

Fresh air

Ever noticed how after a day out you feel sleepy when you get home? That’s because when we expose our eyes to sunlight, our body makes a hormone called melatonin, which is used to regulate our sleep and wake pattern and it’s the only way our body knows whether it’s light day or night.

Staying indoors all day means you’re more likely to have a rubbish night’s sleep as you aren’t exposing your eyes to outdoor sunlight, which will reduce your melatonin levels. Next time the sun shines, take a walk outside and leave your sunglasses off for a little while so your eyes can absorb the light (just don’t look directly at the sun!)

Photo by Ainsley Myles / Unsplash

Limit your screen time

This goes for during the day as well as before bedtime, too. Consuming too much TV and constantly scrolling through social media isn’t just bad for your brain, but also your eyes. Blue light, the light given off by our screens, blocks the hormone melatonin (remember, we need that for sleep.) After too much screen time it’s difficult to get to sleep and eyes might feel dry and sore, so it’s best to limit scrolling on your phones and laptop for at least 30 mins – 1 hour before bed.

Avoiding social interaction
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez / Unsplash

Create a calm and relaxing space

Where you sleep has a big impact on how you sleep, so it’s important to create a space that’s easy to drift off in. A good quality bed and mattress is imperative for good quality Zzzz’s, and a room that’s not too cluttered and busy can help our brains to switch off at night.

If you’re working from home and your bedroom is the only space you have to work in, move your laptop to another room when work is finished to help you switch off, and throw a blanket over your bed to make it look different so you associate your bed with sleep, not work.


Jenny Shaw

A content and copywriter who loves the written word in all it's forms, Jenny is passionate about writing informative and factual blog posts, helping you achieve your goals.