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: 24

Occupation: Assistant producer at a podcast company

How much water do you drink on average per day? 7 glasses.

How much caffeine do you drink on average per day? 2-3 coffees.

What time do you go to bed at night? 11pm.

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

How often do you exercise? I do yoga about 3-4 times a week and run maybe once or twice.

Do you eat breakfast within 60 minutes of rising? Yes.

“My sleep is patchy and restless, which doesn’t make for a good night’s rest. Not only do I grind my teeth – something I’ve done for as long as I can remember and shows no signs of stopping – but I also tend to wake up early and struggle to get back to sleep. And when I do manage to get to sleep, my dreams rear their head. My dreams aren’t always bad; in fact, sometimes I quite enjoy my wild dreams. But they’re all very vivid and feel scarily real, and often involve mundane situations involving my friends and family that turn quite extreme.

“All of this leaves me feeling depleted in my waking life. I try to stick to a consistent sleep schedule (so no long lie-ins at the weekend), but I do try to take moments to pause during the day by practising yoga three to four times a week and making sure to always take my lunch break. But my energy levels aren’t always the highest, so I supplement this with two or three coffees every day, drinking lots of water and eating breakfast soon after I get up.

“Work wise, I combine my full-time job as an assistant producer with some tutoring and freelance research at the weekends, so I’m always on the go. I always make sure to make a to-do list so I feel in control of my workload, but I do find my job challenging and have only been in my current full-time position for around two months.

“I’d love to learn how to sleep more solidly, and not be so afraid of waking up in the early morning and being unable to go back to sleep. I’d also be interested to learn more about my dreams – can you provide any insight?” 

“You come across as being hard-working and have one of the classic signs of being a perfectionist – teeth grinding,” says sleep expert and physiologist Dr Ramlakhan. 

“I’m happy to see you’re practising yoga regularly (this will stand you in good stead given the demands of your working life), but you’re probably still not getting enough rest and downtime during the day.

“You strike me as a sensitive sleeper – fitful sleep and waking frequently and in the early hours are both tell-tale signs – so you need a really good wind-down routine in the evening to help you decompress from the day. I suspect that your vivid dreams are your brain’s way of trying to help you do this, as dreams are often a way of ‘cleaning up’ from the day.”

She continues: “A lot of incredible things happen while we sleep; sleep doesn’t just give us rest and energy for the day ahead, but it also helps us to sift and sort through information, consolidate memories and process emotions – even those we pick up from the people around us, something sensitive people often do.

“Much of this takes place during our dream states, so the more of this ‘work’ you can do during your waking hours, the more restorative and restful your sleep will be.

“If you want to reduce the intensity of your dreams and sleep more deeply, a 15-minute journaling practice before you turn the lights out could help to lessen the amount of stuff your brain has to deal with while you sleep. You could also try this Qiyong shaking practice to let go of the day, preferably in the early evening. It might also help with your teeth grinding.”

Images: Ami O’Callaghan; Dr Nerina Ramlakhan