Welcome back to Stylist’s Sleep Diaries, where we take a deep dive into one of the most important (and elusive) factors in our day-to-day lives: sleep. To help us understand more about it, we invite women to share their habits with our sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan for analysis.  

Age: 55

Occupation: Administrator

How much water do you drink on average per day? Two or more glasses if I’m exercising, otherwise I just stick to decaf tea. 

How much caffeine do you drink on average per day? None, unless a decaf option isn’t available.

What time do you go to bed at night? Between 10-10.30pm.

What time do you wake up in the morning? 7am

How often do you exercise? I run two or three times a week, walk daily and occasionally do some yoga and cycling if I can squeeze it in.

Do you eat breakfast within 60 minutes of rising? No – I usually eat after running or walking first thing.

“For the last couple of months, I’ve found myself waking up really early in the morning and struggling to get back to sleep. My alarm typically goes off at 7am, but I now find it hard to sleep long enough for that to be needed.

“I put a lot of effort into living a healthy lifestyle. I don’t drink, stick to decaf tea where possible and I really enjoy exercise. Currently, I run two or three times a week alongside walking every day and some occasional yoga and cycling. I tend to do this as soon as I wake up in the mornings, which is why I tend to delay breakfast until I get back home.”

“Work-wise, I don’t find my job particularly challenging, and I always make sure to take a lunch break and squeeze in smaller breaks throughout the day. I very occasionally work in the evenings if deadlines dictate, but that happens rarely.

“The biggest source of stress in my life right now is my teenage daughter’s mental health issues, which started recently and are still ongoing. I’m generally quite anxious about life and my children, so this has been amplified by the current situation.

“I’d love to know where the early morning wakeups are coming from and whether there are any tools I can use to get back to sleep or stop them from happening altogether. Any advice?” 

“You have some great habits in place, but I would like to help you deal with the early morning waking,” says sleep expert and physiologist Dr Ramlakhan. “This is the second most common sleep problem, the most common being having difficulty getting to sleep. 

“Unfortunately, it is also commonly experienced by those who are going through the so-called ‘sandwich years’ in which parents are ‘growing down’ and children are ‘growing up’. That early morning sleep is so important for restoration and healing, but it can be affected by stress and anxiety.

“So, here’s a little toolkit for you and for anyone who is suffering with this sleep issue: when you wake up, it’s important that you must not check the time as this will simply bring you into a more alert state of consciousness that is then more difficult to come down from. If you need the bathroom, you should simply go to the bathroom. In fact, this can be a good way of simply resetting the sleep cycle again.”

She continues: “Once you’re back in bed, try using meditation to help you fall back to sleep. Here’s a short version of one I use: place one hand on belly and the other hand over heart, close your eyes and repeat the following words silently and softly to yourself as if putting a small child to sleep:

• I love my left foot
• I love my left big toe
• I love all the toes of my left foot
• I love my ankle
• I love my lower leg
• I love my left knee

“Continue up to the top of your head and down the right side of your body so you end up on your right foot. Make it up as you go along and have fun with it. You will start to fall asleep and lose your train of thought. As soon as this happens, simply return to your starting point – ‘I love my left foot’. Keep repeating that until you fall asleep.

“It’s as simple as that. The full version of this exercise is available as a bonus resource on my newly created online course. It’s a powerful exercise that I have been teaching to thousands of people as well as using myself for many years. I hope it works for you.” 

Images: Ami O’Callaghan, Dr Nerina Ramlakhan