Nine tips for sleeping soundly

Dr Michael Farquhar is a consultant in paediatric sleep medicine at Evelina London Children's Hospital, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and educates healthcare professionals on the importance of sleep.

Here’s Dr Farquhar's advice for ensuring you get a good quality sleep.

Create a regular sleep routine to figure out how much sleep you need to function. Adults typically need seven to eight hours' sleep each night.
Keep well hydrated and stick to a regular eating pattern. Junk food and alcohol have been linked to lack of sleep.
Don't depend on caffeine to get you through the day, as it can affect sleep quality and duration for up to six hours. That said, drinking caffeine before a short breaktime nap can help you wake up feeling refreshed.
If you can, try to 'bank' sleep if you’re expecting to work late over an extended period and then try to return to your normal sleep routine as soon as possible.
If you’re returning home late, a light meal is a good idea but don't be distracted by TV or other electronic devices as this can impact your sleep.
Create the best possible environment for sleep. The ideal is a cool, quiet, dark room and a comfortable bed.
Make time to relax and unwind as you usually would. Don’t be tempted to let this slide – it should be just as important in your routine as study and work.
If you wake up during the night, try breathing exercises to help you relax and get back to sleep. If this doesn’t work, try an activity that distracts your mind for a while but avoid picking up electronic devices.
Get advice if you feel you’re struggling to manage your work-life balance or you’re feeling stressed and unable to sleep. Don’t self-medicate as this could easily make things worse.

We need to talk about sleep

Support for students

We need to talk about sleep