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Better Sleep

If you are struggling to get enough sleep this guide offers simple and practical tips to help you sleep better.

support to help you sleep well

Sleep is essential for both your physical and mental health. However, it is common for people to face difficulties in getting enough quality sleep. Recommendations suggest adults should get between 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night, although it's important to remember everyone's needs are different.

Why am I finding it hard to sleep?

It's normal to have the occasional restless night, but if you’re regularly having trouble sleeping, it might start to affect other parts of your life.

There are many factors that can affect your sleep, from your sleeping environment to stress, deadlines, a poor diet, exams, or not being able to switch off. Understanding what may be contributing to your sleep struggles will help you find ways to improve it.

When you don’t get enough sleep, it can impact your energy levels, affect your mood and make it harder to concentrate. All of these may make it more difficult to study or carry out daily tasks and over time this can impact your overall wellbeing. Sleep helps your brain process emotions and supports your body in recovering from the day. If you’re not sleeping well, you might feel more anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed. Over time, lack of sleep can make it harder to cope with life's daily challenges.

What can you do to help right now?

Are you awake right now and finding it difficult to get to sleep? Here are a few tips to help you:

  • Check you are comfortable, is the room too hot? is it dark enough? or perhaps you need a drink.
  • Relax, try some gentle breathing exercises or listen to a sleep podcast like those suggested below.
  • Try not to watch the clock. Often this can raise your anxiety levels.
  • Get up. If after 20 minutes you are still awake, get out of bed. Go to another room with dim lighting, read a book or if your mind is racing you could write your thoughts down on paper. If you can't go to another room try sitting at your desk or sit up in your bed.
  • Resist the urge to look at your phone, laptop or TV, the blue screen will keep you awake.
  • If you still can't sleep, allow yourself to focus on getting rest for the night instead.
  • Follow your normal routine the next day and avoid napping to give you the best chance of sleep the next night.

If you are awake at night and need support with difficult feelings or emotions you can contact Be Well Talk now, our 24 hour phoneline that will connect you with an advisor.

What can you do to improve sleep?

Making small changes to your routine throughout the day and before bed can help improve your sleep:

Sleep Environment

  • Create a comfortable sleep environment by making sure your room is dark, quiet and at a comfortable temperature.
  • Try to only use your bed for sleeping, and try to study at a desk or study space. Consider using the kitchen or common areas to study away from your bedroom, or think about where you can study on campus and in the city. This will help your brain associate your bed with rest and relaxation, making it easier to fall asleep.

Sleep Routine and Habits

  • Create a bedtime routine, doing the same relaxing activities each night can signal to your body that it’s time to wind down and prepare for sleep.
  • Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day can help regulate your body’s internal clock.
  • Avoid napping during the day.
  • Limit screen time before bed. The blue light from phones and laptops can make it harder for your brain to switch off. Aim to put screens down at least 30 minutes before you sleep.

Relaxation Techniques

  • Try relaxation techniques. Breathing exercises, meditation, or gentle stretching can help you relax before sleep.
  • If you find your mind racing with thoughts or ideas, try jotting them down on some paper beside your bed. This can often then help clear your mind and relax.
  • If something specific is playing on your mind, like an exam, deadline, relationship or money worries try to address these problems directly and seek support for them if you need it. Fixing the underlying issue for your stress will help you more in the long term.

Diet and exercise

  • Avoid caffeine late in the day. Stimulants like caffeine can stay in your system for hours and make falling asleep more difficult.
  • Pay attention to your diet, a poor diet, heavy meals, sugary foods or alcohol can make it harder to sleep or impact the quality of your sleep. Try to keep your diet balanced.
  • Get enough exercise during the day. It can help your body feel physically tired and improve sleep. Avoid intense workouts just before bed.

You may find that there are other factors impacting your sleep:

  • If noise from your housemates or neighbours is keeping you awake, try to have a conversation with them. You can agree suitable levels of noise or quiet times. Reslife have a keeping the peace with flatmates guide guide which offers some practical tips to deal with disputes. You can also tell ResLife if something in your accommodation is impacting your sleep through the Sleep well form.
  • If you live in private accommodation in the city and are having difficulties with neighbourhood noise then contact Our Shared City – Bath's Student Community Partnership.
  • Some medications can impact sleep. If you think this may be a case, speak to your Doctor.

It's also important to recognise that mental health and medical conditions can contribute to difficulty sleeping. If the tips above are not improving your sleep you may want to seek further support from your doctor.

Videos to help you sleep better

These videos are also helpful for sleep:

Apps and tools you can use

These apps can also act as useful tools to help with your sleep:

Podcasts and things to listen to

Podcasts can be a great way to support sleep or listening to soothing sounds in bed can help you relax:

  • The Can't Sleep podcast on the Be Well App is a quick and calming podcast to help you relax before sleep. (4 minute listen)
  • Headspace have a relaxing Deep sleep music video you can listen to in the background to help you fall asleep. (45 minute listen)
  • Headspace also offer a video for racing thoughts while try to sleep which is a guided mediation to soothe racing thoughts. (10 minute listen)
  • The NHS have an Audio Guide where a doctor talks through tips to help your sleep. (6 Minute listen)
  • The NHS also have a guided meditation podcast to help you relax and fall asleep titled as Beditation. (10 minute listen)
  • Get Sleepy is a series of podcast stories designed to help you drift off at night.

Helpful websites

These websites also offer some useful information for better sleep:

People you can talk to

You might find that some of the resources above help improve your sleep. But if you're still struggling, there are people who can offer support:

  • Your Doctor will be able to discuss any root causes of your poor sleep and offer support and further advice.
  • The Student Support Advice Service can help with anything that may be bothering you, causing you to loose sleep. They can also refer you to our Counselling and Mental health services where appropriate.
  • If financial worries are preventing you from sleeping you can talk to our Money Advice Service.

Final thoughts

Getting quality sleep is key to your mental and physical wellbeing. By making small changes and seeking support when needed, you can improve your sleep and feel more rested.

This page was created in partnership with students and Student Support.

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