Sleeping well and waking up refreshed isn’t always that easy — especially if you have many thoughts or worries going through your mind. 

But getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night is important for your general wellbeing. This is because it helps to:

- reduce stress - by helping your body relax
- improve your mental wellbeing - by reducing your risk of developing conditions like depression and anxiety in the long term
- boost your immune system
- improve memory, learning and concentration
- maintain a healthy weight - by reducing your likelihood of snacking or eating more food due to a lack of energy
- boost heart health - by improving the regulation of your blood pressure and blood sugar levels

Sleep quality is just as important as quantity, so consider how you feel when you wake up in the morning and during the day. Do you feel energised and able to focus on what you’re doing? Or do you feel tired and irritable?

If you feel tired and irritable, it may be [time to take action](/insomnia/insomnia-tips). 

See our our tips below on how to build a sleep routine that sticks. 

Person in bed with an alarm clock in the foreground

Music or silence – what do you prefer when exercising? Happily, there are benefits to both.

Music can lift your mood, energise you and make you want to move. Sing along and you’ll get extra benefits – singing can reduce stress, boost your immune system, improve lung function, up your pain threshold and help with mental health. Music can also result in longer exercise sessions.

But for some of us, music can be a distraction while exercising. There’s also some evidence to suggest that practising quiet mindfulness while exercising can help us make a stronger mind-body connection. How can you do this? Try counting how many breaths you take either by time or by milestone. If your mind drifts, don’t worry, just start again. The more you practise mindfulness, the more instinctive it becomes.

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Music or silence – what do you prefer when exercising? Happily, there are benefits to both.

Research shows that physical activity can also boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Choosing a workout soundtrack (or not)

What do you do to relax at the end of the day? Here’s an idea you can try: an easy foot massage.

If you’ve had a massage before, you’ll know it involves moving the muscles and other soft tissues of your body. It can help the body relax, slowing down breathing and heart rate. By helping muscles relax, it can also reduce pain. Studies suggest that massage can improve sleep, too.

__It’s easy to give yourself a massage at home. Try this easy foot ‘arch rub’:__

1. Put your foot in your hand, holding the top of your foot.

2. Use the fingers of your other hand to rub the arch of your foot.

3. Rub from your heel to the ball of the foot.

4. Do this a few times before repeating with the other foot.

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What do you do to relax at the end of the day? Here’s an idea you can try: an easy foot massage.

Massage therapy has been used in China for more than 3,000 years.

3,000 years

An easy massage to help you unwind

Baths are great for treating sore and aching muscles. But how can a bath be good for your mind? 

It’s thought that essential oils may help you feel more relaxed or more energised and may even help to improve your mood when you use them in your bath. 

Essential oils can be found in lots of bath products such as bath oils, bath bombs and soap, but you can also mix your own. 

__To use essential oil in your bath, follow these steps:__

1. Choose an essential oil. Try lavender for a better night’s sleep, lemon to lift your mood or eucalyptus to refresh and invigorate.

2. Dilute it in a carrier oil such as grapeseed, jojoba, almond or argan oil. Add 5 to 20 drops of essential oil to 1 tablespoon of carrier oil and mix well. Don’t add essential oil directly to your bathwater without first diluting it in a carrier oil. Undiluted essential oils can cause skin irritation. 

3. Add the essential oil mix to your bath just before you get in so that the oils don’t evaporate too quickly. 

4. Sink in and inhale the scent coming from the warm water. You can also massage the oil droplets in the water into your skin. 

You should avoid using essential oils if you:
- are pregnant 
- are breastfeeding
- have any cuts or broken skin
- have previously had a reaction or allergy

You should always do a patch test before using any new product to see how your skin reacts. Apply a few drops of your diluted essential oil to a small area of skin on your forearm and cover with a plaster or bandage for 24 hours. Do not use the product again if you notice any kind of irritation.

Baths are great for treating sore and aching muscles. But how can a bath be good for your mind? 

According to research, the human nose can detect more than 1 trillion scents. That’s definitely not to be sniffed at. 

1 trillion

How to run the perfect bath for your mind

Bored of working out at the gym or in the same spot in your living room? 

It turns out fresh air isn’t the only good thing about exercising outside. Also known as “green exercise”, an outdoor workout has a number of benefits.

Some studies suggest that moving your body outdoors can help improve your mood. That’s because the extra exposure to sunlight can increase vitamin D production, which may lift your mood.

So, why not connect with nature, take in some views and soak up the rays during your next workout?

It can be a run up a hill or a circuit training session in your local park, a gentle walk around the block or even just a few laps of the garden.

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If you're bored of working out in the same spot in your living room, try getting outside to exercise. Also known as “green exercise”, an outdoor workout has a number of benefits.

It’s recommended that you do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, a week. You should also do 20 to 30 minutes of strength training twice a week.


150 minutes

Take your exercise outside to boost your mood

You may already know that citrus fruits are a great source of vitamin C and that vitamin C may help strengthen your immune system. 

But besides being rich in vitamin C, citrus fruits are also high in fibre, so they may help improve your digestive health, too. An orange can provide 3.7g of fibre – just over 10% of your recommended daily fibre intake of 30g.

Wake up your taste buds while boosting your vitamin C and fibre intake with these tangy citrus fruits:

- 1 orange (154g) contains 3.7g of fibre
- 1 grapefruit (308g) contains 4.93g of fibre
- 1 lemon (65g) contains 1.82g of fibre
- 1 lime (65g) contains 1.82g of fibre

Snacking on an orange or grapefruit is easy, but lemons and limes are trickier – try adding them peeled to your smoothie.


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Citrus fruits are a great source of vitamin C. But did you know that they're also high in fibre?

You can also get vitamin C from peppers, strawberries, blackcurrants, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and potatoes.

Try citrus fruits for a surprising benefit

Beat the urge to reach for a sugary pick-me-up in the afternoon with some easy prep-ahead snacks.

When the afternoon slump hits and you need a quick snack to see you through to dinner, it’s hard not to grab the first thing in sight. Processed snacks might be tasty and easy, but they’re usually high in salt, fat and sugar, and they rarely keep you going for very long.

More nutritious snacking can be as simple as keeping the fridge stocked with a few pre-made options – most don’t even require cooking. Fill portable food storage boxes with sliced fruit, vegetable sticks, unsalted nuts, and cherry tomatoes. Keep reduced-fat cheese spread in the fridge for dipping.

__Try one of these easy prep-ahead ideas.__

Next time you put the oven on, add a tray of chickpeas tossed in paprika and a teaspoon of oil and roast for about 30 minutes at 200°C. Allow to cool and pop in the fridge to snack on in the afternoon. 

Or pre-make roasted veg fingers: Scatter sliced carrot, sweet potato or parsnip on an oven tray, drizzle with a dash of oil, add seasoning and cook for about 30 minutes at 200°C or until soft.

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Beat the urge to reach for a sugary pick-me-up in the afternoon with some easy prep-ahead snacks.

Adults should not eat more than 30g of sugar a day (about 7 sugar cubes). Children aged 7 to 10 should not eat more than 24g (6 sugar cubes) and children aged 4 to 6 not more than 19g (5 sugar cubes) a day. A lot of sugar is hidden within processed foods, even if they’re savoury.

Try these healthy afternoon snack swaps

A good night’s sleep is a wonderful thing. The secret to consistently sleeping well may lie in following a bedtime routine.

Good sleep can improve your memory, concentration, athletic performance, productivity, overall mood and boost your immune system – but how to give yourself the best chance of a proper night’s sleep?

__Setting a nightly ‘bedtime call’ or alarm for when you’re likely to start feeling sleepy might help. __

Research tells us that going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time every day helps reinforce the body’s sleep-wake cycle – so the body ‘learns’ when to go to sleep. 

Your bedtime alarm doesn’t have to mean hitting the sheets right away. It could signal the start of your winding-down-for-bed routine – turn off phones, switch off the TV, brush teeth, read by dim light. The key is following the same relaxing routine each night, at the same time. 


The secret to consistently sleeping well may lie in following a bedtime routine.

Reading a book or listening to the radio can relax the mind by distracting it, helping you go to sleep.

This is your bedtime call

Sleep is essential for good health and wellbeing. Find out why, and how to get more sleep if you're feeling deprived of it. 

E. Joseph Cossman, author

Get up at the same time every day, also on weekends. This helps your body’s sleep-wake cycle find its rhythm, which can improve the quality of your sleep. 

Wake and get up at the same time

If you’re changing your sleep schedule, make changes slowly as this gives your body time to readjust. This may also help you build new sleep habits into your routine.

Make changes slowly

Consider when you tend to wake up, then work out when you need to fall asleep. You may need to wind down a little earlier than usual to get to sleep on time.

Allow time to get enough sleep

Catching up on sleep during the day may seem like a good idea, but napping can upset your sleep routine, making it harder to fall asleep at bedtime. 

Avoid napping

Find a way to wind down before bed to help put you in the mood for sleep. It could be a bath, listening to gentle music or reading a book.  Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to do this.