September marked the month we got back into the swing of things, back to delivering our online REST Programme™️ and our free Lunch & Learn sessions, which were a huge hit. Our REST Programme™️ we are delivering in October is now fully booked. Don’t worry we have two more courses coming up this year, one in Bristol and another online in December. We will be releasing our 2023 course dates very soon!
Awareness Month
This month there is a lot of focus around awareness of alcohol, smoking and mental health with Go sober for October, Stoptober and World Mental Health Day. Alcohol, smoking and mental health can all have a big impact on sleep.
Alcohol
While you might think alcohol is good to help you get to sleep, it actually decreases the amount of Non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep is our deep restorative sleep that enables us to consolidate our memory from the previous day. Without enough Non-REM sleep we can wake up feeling unrefreshed. If you are planning on Going Sober for October, then you will hopefully have more refreshing sleep. If you struggle to get to sleep and rely on alcohol to get to sleep, you can try different methods to help you get to sleep. Having wind down time two hours before you go to bed, where you can read, meditate or do some gentle stretches or yoga to help unwind and get ready for bed. Read more about the impact of alcohol and sleep in our blog for the NR Times https://nrtimes.co.uk/the-impact-of-alcohol-on-sleep-sleepunltd/
Smoking
Nicotine is a stimulant, therefore smoking before bed can make it difficult to fall asleep. Similarly, to alcohol, nicotine can also prevent you from getting deep refreshing sleep. We would suggest trying not to smoke in the two hours before bed to allow your mind and body to wind down. This includes any form of tobacco and e-cigarettes. However, October is the month of Stoptober, so if you do try to stop smoking this month you may see an improvement in your sleep!
Mental Health
World Mental Health Day is also on the 10th of October. This year’s theme is ‘Make mental health & well-being for all a global priority’. Mental health can also have a major impact upon our sleep. If you are stressed or worried, then this can cause problems with falling to sleep and staying asleep. Allocating worry time to write down and address your worries during the day can help with improving your sleep in the evening. Sleep and Mental Health disorders are strongly linked, read more about Mental Health and Sleep in our blog here. https://sleepunlimited.co.uk/2019/05/15/sleep-and-mental-health/
Keep an eye on our social media pages where we will be posting more about Go Sober for October, Stoptober and World Mental Health Day, providing you with tips to help improve your sleep!
