Get better sleep

Speaker: Michelle Flynn, Certified Health, Performance & Mindset Coach

Michelle Flynn: Hi, my name's Michelle Flynn and I'm back to share my second video for Mental Health Awareness Week. I'm a certified health coach, a trauma informed coach and a CBT practitioner. I support recruitment business leaders and their teams because I also worked in the recruitment industry myself for over 20 years. So in the first video, I talk through the most important thing that anyone can do, which is learn how to breathe properly. And in this second video, I'm going to teach you about the thing that if you're not doing properly, you're not gonna be feeling at your best and that is getting a good night's sleep. There are four things you really need to focus on to get good sleep and I'm gonna help you bring some attention to those. And so often I hear the term "Michelle, I don't have enough time" "Michelle, I don't have enough time" and I get it. and I get it. We're all really, really busy, but this is about making sleep a priority. It is your body's life support system. We need to recover our body physically from what we put it through in the day from what we put it through in the day but also mentally, we need our brain to heal. So that's what we're gonna focus on is question number one. Do you get the right quantity of sleep? Are you getting that 7 to 9 hours of sleep? And if you're not, can you just start with getting 15 minutes more? Put the phone away, get off tiktok or Instagram or whatever your social media of choice is, we all can get caught up in that algorithm and end up procrastinating and suddenly it's two hours later than when we first got into bed. So make sleep that priority and just try and get that little bit more because even five minutes more is going make a difference. even five minutes more is going make a difference. The next thing we need to focus on is are you getting the right quality of sleep because you might be getting enough sleep. But if you still wake up and you feel tired, it might be, you're not getting that deep restorative sleep and to drop ourselves into that deep sleep, we need to drop our body into its calm nervous system. we need to drop our body into its calm nervous system. And that's where I talked about the breathing. And that's where I talked about the breathing. In the first video we shared box breathing by slowing your breathing down, you are telling your body you are safe. All of your stress hormones rebalance, your heart rate drops, your body temperature drops, your blood pressure drops. And that's when you get into that great deep sleep. So add a little bit of breathwork before you go to bed. The next one is, do you have a regular sleep routine? So many people don't, they have one pattern during the week and a different one on the weekend. So, what's yours? So, what's yours? We have a body clock and it likes routine. Otherwise it's literally like we're going like that and jet lagging it all the time. So, can you put a bit of a routine in and? Ok, it's not gonna be exactly the same the whole way through the week, but try your best and the next one. Do you sleep consistently through the night or do you wake up in that danger zone? night or do you wake up in that danger zone? That 2 to 4 o'clock in the morning? Why is that? That's when our brain is most highly alert. That's when our brain is most highly alert. Imagine millions of little light bulbs and we want them turned off to get that great deep sleep. But between two and four in the morning, our brain is actually healing itself. It's filing the memories from the day. It's making sure that all of the toxins that are built up in our brain have gone. So those little light bulbs are on, which is why it is much more likely that we are going to wake up in the night. that we are going to wake up in the night. So if you are waking up needing the toilet, maybe don't drink so So if you are waking up needing the toilet, maybe don't drink so close to going to bed. If it's that you are waking up and your mind is on high alert, try that breathing pattern again because when we focus on that breathing, we start to calm the mind down. And if it's that there's a lot going on: And if it's that there's a lot going on: keep a pad and pen next to your bed and write it out. keep a pad and pen next to your bed and write it out, get it out of your head so that your head can go back into a calmer state. So, are you getting enough sleep? So, are you getting enough sleep? Are you getting the right quality of sleep? Are you getting the right quality of sleep? Do you have a regular sleep pattern? And are you sleeping through the night? Make it a priority. Get to bed on time. Put the phone away. Don't have caffeine after lunchtime because it's a stimulant, it will stop you sleeping well. As does alcohol, I'm afraid because that raises the heart rate by 20% because that raises the heart rate by 20% And when the heart rate's higher, it is hard to get into that deep sleep. Look at maybe not eating quite so late, not being on the technology, quite so late not being on the technology, quite so late making your bedroom really comfortable, make your bed somewhere. You want to be making it dark in your room, making it quiet making it quiet, making it cool making it cool, There's lots of different things that we can just tweak to help us get optimum sleep. So pick one of those things that you're going to focus on and give it a go and you will notice the difference when you wake up the next day. Just a little bit more energy, a little bit more clarity of thought, a little bit more able to take on the day and go and achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. And if you've got any more questions about sleep because I know that's a quick fire around there but drop me a note, Michelle Flynn Michelle Flynn I'm on linkedin. I'm happy to answer all of your questions because I know for me when I don't sleep well, I am not going to have a good day and that is not great for everyone around me. So make it a priority. Take care.