10 Tips to Beat the Winter Blues: Tip Number Seven

GO TO BED EARLY

sleep-quality

Recently I was inspired to share 10 tips on how our surroundings might help improve our mood and outlook. To read more about what inspired me, see my post on LinkedIn Pulse HERE.

My FIRST TIP was about losing your mind in the present.  My SECOND was about letting someone else guide you for a day.  My THIRD one encourages you to try something new or something that you haven’t done for a long time, and the FOURTH TIP is about greeting someone you don’t know.  The FIFTH was to reconnect with a loved one and my SIXTH TIP was to find inspiration.

Today I’d like to recommend that you go to bed early.

There’s much talk about the benefits of ample sleep – anywhere between 7 to 9 hours seems to be the recommended amount.  The benefits seem to extend to weight loss, improved memory and other cognitive brain functions, immunity to depression and even boast long-term effects such as protection from heart disease and other degenerative illnesses.

The benefits I’d like to talk about is having the peace and quiet before bedtime to curl up with your favourite book, or your iPad to catch up with your favourite show on BBC iPlayer, or play WordsWithFriends online.  While some of the suggested activities might not be best in other ways, what you do gain from the extra time on your own in the comfort of your cozy bed is some ‘me’ time that relaxes the body and mind!

Having some quiet time to yourself at the end of a busy day might be difficult to achieve, so if you make it a point to head upstairs (or down the hallway) to your bedroom before your partner joins you – or before you usually head to bed – you can reclaim some precious time for yourself that calms and prepare you for a good night’s sleep.

Good for the body; good for the soul!

Next tip: Find some ‘me’ time.