Unplugging for a better nights sleep...

Written by Nicole McKendry, Clinical Hypnotherapist

...practice unplugging!

How often do you wake up feeling tired?  One possibility is that your Smartphone or tablet could be affecting how much sleep you're getting.  Recent research has found that LED screens disrupt sleep by stopping the body producing the hormone melanin, which responds to light and governs whether you feel sleepy or not.

Studies support and suggest that the decline in the number of hours slept per night is affecting public health by increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, depression and diabetes in adults and contributing to concentration problems in children.

Here's a few tips to follow to improve your sleep:

1. Unplug before bed! It's important to have uninterrupted time away from technology and the culture of instant and immediate responses.

2. Don't take your Smartphone/Tablet to bed with you for the fear of FOMO (fear of missing out).  Lack of sleep induces anxiety and makes day-to-day functioning difficult.

3. Recognise and be honest with yourself about the real reasons you can't unplug when you go to bed.  Are you being overloaded at work or is your manager imposing unrealistic deadlines. (read more on how France is trying to help workers with work-life balance).  Perhaps you're afraid to miss a text or update from your boyfriend/girlfriend...why?  A healthy relationship with trust should allow for time apart without you feeling anxious or needing to be in constant and instant communication.

Give it a try.... unplug and have a goods night sleep!

Sleep problems?  Why not contact Therapy in the City and change your sleeping pattern.