We all know the vital importance of a good nights sleep in boosting your mental wellbeing. Continual poor sleep can have detrimental effect on our lives.  This can result in us feeling constantly tired, suffering from poor concentration/co-ordination, irritability, and generally feeling low, making us unable to function properly and carry out important daily tasks.  This can be dangerous in certain jobs which require good concentration.

I am one of those lucky people who has generally no problem getting off to sleep and can get back to sleep easily when (or if!) I wake during the night.

However this was not always the case.  Previously suffering from depression and severe anxiety this resulted in me having an extremely poor sleep pattern.  In fact some nights I got no sleep at all and others a few hours when at my worse.  I then developed an anxiety around not been able to sleep.  It was a vicious circle I was in and needed to get myself out of it, as my health and wellbeing was really suffering.

Once I began to get myself back on track, my sleep  started to improve over time.  I gradually taught my brain to switch off at bedtime and fill it with happy thoughts.  I told myself bedtime is for sleeping and nourishing my body in preparation for daytime and I realised that worry is such a waste of precious time and energy.  I now try to fill my life with things which make me happy and smile, leaving very little time for worry!!

Here are some of the things I found  which helped me personally.  Each persons situation is individual, and it is important if there is a reason for you not sleeping well, it is tackled or resolved if possible.

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