By Dr Claire Gregor

Do you find yourself lying awake for hours on end trying to fall asleep whilst desperately trying to clear your mind of work or worries?  Are you constantly yawning and giving in to daytime naps at the expense of restorative night-time sleep?  If so, it may be that you need a bit of help in recalibrating your sleep routines!

Whilst many people are familiar with the notion that a nutritious diet and regular exercise are essential components of a balanced and healthy lifestyle, in recent times, focus has started to be directed onto the importance of sleep as well.    A good night’s sleep helps with memory consolidation, tissue repair, and mood regulation, which in turn can lead to more harmonious relationships.  Research also suggests that improving your ability to drop off to sleep, stay asleep, and avoid early awakening can contribute to increased cognitive ability, and, crucially for a university population, improvement of grades (Trockel et al, 2010).  Yet many people are unaware as to how to improve poor quality sleep.  Before reaching for sleeping pills, an awareness of the architecture of sleep can be really useful in debunking some of the myths that surround sleep, and taking a cognitive approach to poor sleep can be hugely beneficial.

This part of the Mind-Body Conditioning talks aims to provide you with the knowledge and confidence to address poor sleep quality through exploring aspects of good sleep hygiene, cognitive beliefs, and practical techniques that will hopefully lead to you getting a better night’s sleep!  There is also an opportunity for you to participate in a research project looking at  knowledge of good sleep practices and how that links to sleep quality if you are interested.  For more information about this, please go to: https://tinyurl.com/ybscnuon