How to Thrive in Professional Practice. Stephen J Mordue

Having a hot bath seems counter-intuitive and seems to be going against this tide your body is creating. But it’s not. The hot bath draws blood to the surface of your body and when you get out of the bath the dilated blood vessels on the surface disperse heat causing your core temperature to drop, which leads to feeling sleepy.

      Write ‘to do’ lists for tomorrow

      One of the main things that keeps people awake is trying to remember things they need to do tomorrow. Before you go to bed (or ideally at the end of your working day – see Chapter 7 on productivity), write down everything you need to do the next day, safely leaving your notes in a place you can find them when you need to, without having them going round and round in your head. Keep a notepad by your bed. If you think of something while in bed, write it down. There’s good evidence externalising memories in this way can help us ‘put them to bed’ to help put us to bed.

      Do relaxation exercises such as yoga or listen to relaxation CDs

      There is a huge range of yoga and relaxation CDs and apps available that might help you. Anything that calms your mind and distracts you from your racing thoughts. You could try audio books, or read a book, or maybe listen to the radio. You should avoid TV and smartphones as not only do they stimulate your brain, but the light they emit confuses your brain into thinking it is daylight. One way to improve sleep quality could be through mindfulness practice (see Chapter 5). Results from a study by Hulsheger et al (2015