Jump Start Aug: Healthy Week: Day 1

Tenner Week has finished – how did you get on? It’s now time for Healthy Week to begin: loads of cheap and cheerful ideas to get you feeling tip top. Yesterday was already a day for relaxation and de-stressing, so let’s get on with some more healthy stuff…

Here’s the schedule, again with one new simple idea every day:

• Day 1: (Thu) A good night’s sleep
• Day 2: (Fri) No added sugar
• Day 3: (Sat) Fresh air
• Day 4: (Sun) 7 fruit and veg
• Day 5: (Mon) Flexibility
• Day 6: (Tue) Break a bad habit
• Day 7: (Wed) Troubleshooting day

So today – er, tonight really – it’s time to get some peaceful sleep. If you sleep well already, all you have to do is go to bed a few minutes earlier than usual, so you can wind down and relax.

If you don’t always sleep that well, try the following:

• Make the room slightly cooler (open a window, change to lighter bedding, ditch the winceyette pjamas and thermal socks, and so on)
• Aim for a routine: go to bed at what you think should be your regular time
• Avoid caffeine from mid-afternoon (makes it harder to go to sleep)
• Avoid alcohol in the couple of hours before bed time (makes you wake up early)
• Start to wind down an hour or so before you intend to go to sleep (avoid very loud music, scary movies, thinking about your bank manager or irritating co-workers, etc)
• Try listening to some relaxing music, a deep sleep MP3 or a ‘sleep well’ app
• Try some gentle exercise in the evening
• Try a warm bath in the late evening, but don’t have the water too hot
• Have some warm milk before you turn in for the night

Do you have any other tips for good zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?