Welcome to Stylist’s Sleep Diaries, where we’re taking a deep-dive into one of the most important (and elusive) factors in our day-to-day lives: sleep. To help us understand more about it, we’re inviting women to track their bedtime routines over a five-day period – and presenting these diaries to sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan for analysis.
In this week’s Sleep Diaries, a 42-year-old teacher learns how to sleep well despite the demands of her busy schedule.
A little about me:
Age: 42
Occupation: teacher
Number of hours sleep you get each night: 6 hours
Number of hours sleep you wish you got each night: 8 hours
Do you measure your sleep in some way (e.g. using your phone or wearable): no
How much water do you drink on average per day: 1.5 litres and 1 coffee each morning
How much exercise do you do on average per week: 5.5 hours – 35 miles running
Day 1
Tonight we eat early as a family – macaroni cheese followed by cake! I put my son to bed at 7pm and then had my final glass of water of the day before relaxing in front of the TV – we watch Antiques Roadshow followed by a new series on BBC iPlayer. At 8pm I also have a banana because I’m feeling peckish.
I feel pretty tired tonight so head up to bed at 10pm knowing I have work tomorrow. I read my book until 10:30pm and drift off to sleep easily as normal, but wake up at 2am needing the toilet. I get back into bed afterwards and feel pretty restless, so I move to the spare room to avoid disturbing my husband.
I sleep until 6am and wake needing the toilet, but doze until my 6:30am alarm. I feel pretty rested and ready for the day.
Day 2
I get in from work at 5:30pm and have my last drink of the day at 6pm. I put my son to bed at 7pm and then make dinner – tonight we’re having chicken with walnut pesto, pomegranate and chips. We eat at 8pm in front of the TV, and spend the evening making our way through a couple of quiz shows and an episode of drama on iPlayer.
I head up to bed at 10:20pm, and read my book until 10:45pm. I pop to the toilet before bed and then switch off the light – I’m asleep by 11pm.
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I wake up at 00:45am so go to the toilet. Afterwards I feel restless for the rest of the night, and end up waking up a few times. I wake up for the last time at 6:10am and feel OK – not too tired.
Day 3
I get in from my running club at 7:30pm and make dinner – leftover bean chilli and rice. I also have a large glass of water which worries me, as it’s quite late for me to be drinking in the evening. I end up eating in front of the TV at around 8:15pm, and have a few pieces of dark chocolate to follow.
I watch a BBC iPlayer series until 10:15 before reading my book for half an hour. At 10:45 I head to the toilet and turn off the light – I’m asleep by 11pm again.
I wake up before midnight feeling restless, so I head to the toilet and then to the spare bedroom so as not to disturb my husband. I sleep on and off, waking several times. I finally wake up at 5:30am and read the news on my phone until my alarm goes off. I’m feeling pretty tired and grumpy!
Day 4
Today is my day off work so it’s an easy say. I put my son to bed at 7pm and then cook up some left over macaroni and cheese which my husband and I eat in front of the TV at 8pm. We also have some chocolate ice cream for pudding.
We spend the evening watching a series on TV until 10:15, before heading up to bed and reading until 10:40. I fall asleep easily about 11pm, but have a very unsettled night. I wake up at 1am and can’t get back to sleep until 3am – I even tried getting up and changing beds but just couldn’t switch off my mind.
I finally drift back to sleep but wake at 5:30am needing the toilet. I stay in bed and doze my alarm until 6:30 – when I get up, I don’t feel rested.
Day 5
I feel very tired today. When I get in from work I do some household jobs before putting my son to bed at 7pm. Afterwards, I cook a chicken curry with naan bread and eat in front of the TV.
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I watch a series until 10pm, when I find myself starting to fall asleep on the sofa. I head up to bed and read until 10:30pm – I’m asleep by 11pm.
I wake up at 11:50pm and go to the toilet. I also move rooms because I feel restless and don’t want to disturb my husband. I manage to get back to sleep but keep waking throughout the night before finally waking up at 5:30am. I feel very tired and groggy when I get up.
So, what does it all mean? A sleep expert offers her thoughts
Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, sleep expert and professional physiologist, says: “You really need to be getting more sleep, as you have a demanding life with a young child, demanding job and a good running habit. All of this takes energy and not surprisingly, your batteries are run down by the end of the week. I would like to offer you a few tweaks, which could make a big difference.
“First of all, I’d love you to get to bed just a little bit earlier. Your reading habit is great but ideally, at least a few nights a week, you should be turning the lights out a bit earlier – say 10pm? Getting more pre-midnight sleep could really boost your energy levels.”
Dr Nerina continues: “The next thing I really want you to do is relax your grip on checking the time when you wake up during the night, which is entirely normal, by the way. Registering the time is bringing you into full consciousness which will make it harder for you to get back to sleep.
And you worry about your water intake –for obvious reasons. You need to hydrate and could probably do with even a bit more given your running. If you need to go to the loo twice during the night then go – don’t worry about it! It’s the worrying and clock watching that’s stopping you sleeping!”
If you would like to take part in Stylist’s Sleep Diaries, please email us at [email protected] with your name and age, using ‘SLEEP DIARIES’ as the subject. We look forward to hearing from you.
Lead image design: Ami O’Callaghan
Other images: Getty
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