Sleep tips for Christmas holidays

by Dr Caitlin Chasser

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Christmas is nearly here and I wanted to pass on my top tips for maintaining good sleep during the holidays. While Christmas can be a time of seasons cheer, more often it is also a time of heightened emotions, sometimes even anxiety and stress. You may be in someone else's house or following a different daily routine. Often we find our sleep suffering as a consequence. 

Christmas Sleep Tips

Here are a few tips to keep you sleeping peacefully:

1. Keep your main heavy meal as early in the day as possible, and avoid eating too much in the 3 hours before bed (though a bit of light snacking is fine). Ideally when you head to bed you want your body ready to focus on sleep rather than be distracted by having to digest that extra helping of Christmas pudding.  Although turkey infamously contains trytophan, one of the key components needed to make melatonin (one of our sleepy hormones), there is not enough in one whole turkey, let alone a portion of roast dinner, to make you fall asleep. 
2. Get out every day for fresh air, natural light and some exercise, even if its only a 10-15 minute walk. Not only will this make you feel better than lounging on the sofa but the light even on a cloudy day, will help to set your circadian rhythm, and exercise is proven to improve sleep quality and quantity. You will sleep deeper and feel more rested after daily exercise.
3. Alcohol!! Alcohol is sleep's worst enemy. Though it does have a sedative effect in the early part of the night it is proven to worsen sleep quality, causing much more broken sleep especially in the early hours. That means waking frequently through the night, and less REM or dream sleep. Dream sleep is essential for emotional processing, social interactions and generally wellbeing - all essential for Christmas!

That said, at The Sleep Project, we understand that for many a glass of bubbly or something special is an integral part of Christmas celebrations. So if you want to have a wee tipple, try to keep your drinking early in the day and keep well hydrated. Christmas is one of the few times when drinking with breakfast is generally accepted, so bring on the Christmas cheer and consider starting early!

Merry Christmas from all The Sleep Project team!