Many of us are now working from home to ensure the safety of those around us and this can come with a variety of difficulties. As you adapt to your new reality, it is important to ensure that working from home is not negatively impacting your sleep. If you are not sleeping properly this can cause a lack of motivation and productivity at work.

Here are some sleep tips to help you adjust to working from home:

Workspace

Designate yourself a room in the house to be your new office space, which you keep clean and tidy to help improve productivity. Try to avoid working from your bedroom, keep your bedroom for sleeping only.

Routine

Stick to a routine, get up and go to bed at the same time every day. It can be easy to get caught up in work at home so try to work your normal hours and avoid working longer hours than necessary. You need time to wind down after work and prepare for sleep.

Get Outside

Get up, get dressed and get outside. Whether it is for your morning walk or just a cuppa in the garden, getting outside in the morning increases the production of melatonin. Increasing your melatonin will help you to fall asleep later at night.

Exercise

Get moving, when you are feeling stressed and uncertain one of the best things to do is to get your body moving! Exercise outside in the morning is best to increase melatonin production. Make sure you are not exercising 2 hours before bed as this increases body temperature making it difficult to fall asleep.

Take breaks

Ensure you are taking regular breaks away from your desk. Remember to reduce your caffeine intake after lunch. Caffeine stays in your system for a long time and can impact your ability to fall asleep if consumed after lunch. Try to reduce your fluid intake 2 hours before bed to prevent disturbed sleep due to waking up to go to the bathroom.

Eat Healthily

Your diet can impact your sleep, it is important to eat a healthy diet with fruit and vegetables. It can be tempting to eat more sugary snacks while working from home but try to opt for a healthier snack if you can. Remember to avoid eating in the 2 hours before bed as this can cause problems falling asleep as your body is still digesting food.

Reduce Alcohol Intake

It can be tempting to have an alcoholic drink after work to unwind. Due to the boredom because of being locked down this could increase your drinking habits. Remember alcohol has a major impact on your sleep by reducing the amount of restorative sleep you get. This can lead to you waking up and feeling sluggish, reducing your motivation at work.

No Screens before bed

Not only does the blue light emitted from screens impact your ability to fall asleep but the constant news updates on social media can increase stress and worry. Reducing screen time 2 hours before bed will help you to relax before bed.

We hope you are all staying safe and looking after yourself. Try out these tips to help improve your sleep but please do reach out if the stress and anxiety caused by this current situation is causing a big impact on sleep.