How to sleep better – despite work worries

When you work from home it’s all too easy to still be fretting about a difficult client or tricky project when it’s time for bed.

Or maybe you can switch off during the evening, but find that these issues come back into your mind at bedtime or that you wake in the early hours worrying about them.

It all seems so much worse during the night, and if you’ve spent a restless night it seems like you’ve only just got to sleep when it’s time to get up again. Not the best way to start the day.

I’ve found the following all help me to sleep better:

Natural bedding
Natural fibres for pillows, duvets and bedlinen are much better at keeping you warm but not overheated. Yes, they cost more, but I see it as a good investment in being able to sleep better and be more productive during the day. And you can get some good bargains in the sales.

Bath
A bath is warming, and relaxing for both mind and body. Add half a dozen drops of organic lavender oil and you’ll be struggling to find the energy to get out and into bed! I usually buy Neal’s Yard because I trust the quality and I like the deep blue bottles.

Balm
A is a great fan of Badger Balm Joint Rub after vigorous bouts of wood chopping and Ki Aikido, and when we went to buy a replacement tin I spotted Sleep Balm. Its organic ingredients include extra virgin olive oil, beeswax and essential oils of bergamot, lavender, rosemary and ginger, so it smells delicious.

You rub it into pulse points and under your nose. Does it help me sleep better? Well, one night last week as I was drifting off to sleep I realised I’d forgotten to use it, and was too lazy to bother. Until shortly after 3 am, when I woke up and had difficulty getting back to sleep. So I rubbed some on, and as far as I can recall, fell asleep again soon after.

You can also get Night-Night Balm for children with lavender, sandalwood, mandarin, spearmint and camomile oils. It gets rave reviews from parents, some of whom also use it.

Breathing technique
As I was surfing recently I spotted a link to this article How I Learned To Fall Asleep In Under 1 Minute I couldn’t resist clicking through. The 4-7-8 breathing technique is very simple – you just breathe in as you count four seconds, hold it for seven, then breathe out for eight and start again. If it feels impossible to breathe so slowly, just count quickly at the beginning and then slow down as you get into it.

Under one minute as the title claims is pushing it, I feel, but after using this for a few weeks I seem to fall asleep after a few rounds – that’s all I can remember in the morning, anyway.

How do you make sure you get a good night’s sleep? We’d love to hear your tips on ways to sleep better.