In this week’s Sleep Diaries, a 27-year-old research assistant has her bedtime routine analysed by a sleep expert.

A little about me:

Age: 27

Occupation: research assistant

Number of hours sleep you get each night: 7.5-8 hours

Number of hours sleep you wish you got each night: 8 hours

How much water you drink on average per day: 2.5 litres

How much caffeine do you drink on average per day: 60-80 mg (made up of 2-3 cups of tea daily and 1 cup of coffee a few times per week)

How much exercise do you do on average per week: I work out 4-5 days a week, alternating between yoga, running and weights. I also do a daily walk or cycling commute.

Day 1

I wake up at around 7.30am but doze until just after 8am. I had intentions of going for a Sunday morning run but feel very cosy so stay in bed with a cup of tea for an hour.

The only problem with this is that I feel a bit sluggish when I do get up so I hop into the shower as soon as I get out of bed and put a bedding wash on.

I don’t have much of a bedtime routine, but I end to have a couple of cups of spearmint or herbal tea an hour or two before bed and try to give myself a decent amount of time to get my things together for work the next day. 

I know going on your phone before bed isn’t great for your sleep, but tonight I spend 15 minutes scrolling through TikTok with my fiancé.

We turn the lights off at 10.30pm, and I fall asleep relatively quickly, only waking up once during the night when I feel a bit of a draft.

Day 2

It’s Monday! My alarm goes off just before 7am and I get up around 20 minutes later. I clean my teeth, tidy up the dishes from the draining board and get my office set up for the day. I have a few minutes spare before I start work so follow a quick breathwork practice.

While I’m doing this my fiancé makes me a pot of tea, so once I’m done I pour myself a cup and start work at 8am. My desk is against the south-facing window, which gives me a good amount of morning sunlight.

After 9am I make a breakfast of stewed berries, yoghurt and homemade granola, then make us both a cafetiere of coffee around 10.30am. This timing gives me the best chance of avoiding a stitch on my lunchtime run.

My usual Monday yoga class is fully booked, so I book myself into a Friday lunchtime class as well as making sure to book next Monday evening!

Dinner is an easy reheat of yesterday’s shepherd’s pie with broccoli. I then make my lunch for the next couple of days – a noodle salad – and a pot of spearmint tea.

At 7:30 pm I feel a little peckish and snacky so make a small bowl of porridge with added protein powder. I tend not to eat past 8pm so that I have at least two hours of digestion time before bed.

I turn off the TV and my laptop a bit before 9pm and get myself ready for work in the morning. From Tuesday to Thursday I work in the office, so everything goes into my bag the night before. I download a new book and read a few chapters before bed, before turning the lights off at 10.30pm.

Day 3

My alarm goes off at 6.15am and I wake up feeling surprisingly rested – I’m even able to get up without snoozing. Office mornings are about getting out of the house as quickly as possible, so I clean my teeth, take my food out of the fridge and get dressed before leaving.

I cycle to work and it’s frosty today, so by the time I get to the university gym I’m definitely awake. After my gym session and shower I head to my desk, arriving at 8.30am. Once I’m there I tuck into my breakfast.

Once I get home in the evening I pour myself a glass of wine with dinner and start on a blog post. It was my birthday recently and I have a decent amount of chocolate leftover from that, so I snack on some while I work. 

However, I developed a niggling headache at work and it still hasn’t gone away, so I give up on writing and get into bed at 9pm with plans of an early night.

My book ends up getting pretty interesting, however, and the next thing I know it’s 11pm… oops! I set my alarm for 6.30am to give myself an extra 15 minutes in bed.

Day 4

When my alarm goes off at 6.30am I immediately hit snooze, but 20 minutes later I’m woken up by what I think are downstairs’ cats running around. I snooze the alarm again and get up at 6.45am feeling reasonably well rested.

I’m teaching today and want to look fresh, so between this and waking up later I compromise with a shorter session at the gym. A colleague is joining our study today as a clinician, so we meet over a coffee first thing.

Once I get home from work I decide to try and finish my blog post. I make my usual pot of spearmint tea and have a non-alcoholic spirit called Nightcap plus some chocolate. It contains ingredients like lemon balm and valerian root to supposedly promote calmness.

I head to bed with a book but spend 10 minutes on TikTok instead. I switch the lights off at 10.30pm.

Day 5

When my alarm goes off at 6.15am I’m not ready. I think I must have been in the wrong part of my sleep cycle as I was fast asleep when my alarm went off, so I decide to skip the gym in order to stay in bed.

In hindsight it was for the best as my period arrives later that morning, and I spend the day dealing with cramps. At least that explains the extra evening hunger and sweet tooth!

I get to the office for 8.30am and have my first cup of tea of the day with breakfast. After this I swap to some low-caffeine herbal teas, although I do end up having half a cup of coffee mid-afternoon as my manager makes a cafetiere.

I spend most of the evening after getting home as close to the fire as possible. My fiancé makes us both a small glass of wine and I have a bit more of the non-alcoholic drink before a cup of spearmint tea. I head to bed with a book and set my alarm for just after 7am. I’m looking forward to a later start!

So, what does it all mean? A sleep expert offers her thoughts

Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, sleep expert and professional physiologist, says: “Nothing worrying jumps out at me about your sleep routine and so I’d like to focus on what you’re doing right! You’ve evidently got a great exercise routine and, most importantly, seem to listen to your body when you need more rest and sleep.

“I particularly like that you do breathwork as this will help hone your self-awareness and ability to listen to what your body needs.

“Your pre-bedtime routine with cups of herbal tea might not suit all. It might seem obvious but consuming a lot of liquid before bed – even if it is non-alcoholic and herbal – can keep you up if you’ll end up needing trips to the bathroom.”

Dr Nerina continues: “This doesn’t seem to be a problem in your case, though. Everyone is different and again, the key is to listen to what your body needs. In your case, the tea drinking appears to be a vital part of your bedtime wind-down routine (I’m not sure about the TikTok scrolling, but I’ll allow you that!)

“It is equally important to be well hydrated, especially if you exercise regularly as you do, as dehydration can impair your sleep. It is normal to get up during the night to visit the loo, maybe once or even twice, but it’s important not to check the time or look at your phone as this can scupper getting back to sleep.”

If you would like to take part in Stylist’s Sleep Diaries, please email lauren.geall@stylist.co.uk with your age, using ‘SLEEP DIARIES’ as the subject. We look forward to hearing from you.

Lead image design: Ami O’Callaghan

Other images: Getty/Dr Nerina Ramlakhan