Time travelling...

If you're reading this in the U.K. at 2 am this morning, British Summer time ended, and we all went back in time an hour. I'm wondering if you gained an extra hour in bed, or stayed up later? Did you have lots of sleep or end up getting up early? (If you have pets or young children, this is often the way it goes)

The amount of sleep we get can be really important for not only our physical health, but our mental health and well-being too. We're now seeing links between how sleep affects how we function in many ways. It's often an area I'll explore with clients in sessions, because being sleep deprived can have emotional impact.

Sometimes, you might hear people talking about 'sleep hygiene'. Don't worry, it's not about how often you wash your sheets, but all to do with the rituals and rhythm of getting ready for bed, in an environment that's going to aid peaceful sleep. So this includes things like reducing screen time, and using phones on a night-light setting, as well as those time honoured tricks like a milky drink.

And it's important to be aware of our circadian rhythms, so keeping to a fairly regular bedtime and wake up time is important. The odd extra hour in bed won't have too much impact, but too many lie-ins aren't great for our internal body clocks. So it might be interesting to see if a different bedtime routine helps you rest better, if only to help you feel less tired when it all changes again in 6 months time. :)