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: 39

Occupation: Marketing and HR

How much water do you drink on average per day? Lots!

How much caffeine do you drink on average per day? One coffee and about three to four cups of tea.

What time do you go to bed at night? Between 10pm and 11pm.

What time do you wake up in the morning? Between 6am and 7am.

How often do you exercise? I exercise three times a week, alternating between cycling, tennis and swimming.

Do you eat breakfast within 60 minutes of rising? Yes, but I’m rarely super-hungry.

“Over the past 10 years, I’ve gone through numerous periods where I wake up early and find it hard to get back to sleep. During those times, my body will wake up like clockwork at 6am no matter how long I have left until my alarm, and I’ll end up lying there, staring at the ceiling, until I give in and get up. Only rarely do I manage to have a lie in at the weekend – it’s more of a ‘when I can’ situation than something I can pick and choose.

“Otherwise, I’d say I’m in a pretty good place. My energy levels are solid, I exercise three times a week and I rarely drink alcohol (around two units a week). I do drink caffeine to give me a little boost during the day, but I make sure to have my last coffee or tea before 4pm so I don’t struggle to fall asleep later. I also try to squeeze in relaxing activities when I can – I meditate about once a week and do a yoga session once a fortnight – and occasionally have a nap when I feel like I need it.

“The biggest stressor in my life right now is my job. I’ve been with my current employer for four and a half years and find the job very challenging because my boss is bullying me. I feel very supported by my closest relationships but having the work situation hanging over me takes its toll. I also run my own business in my spare time, so there’s always a lot going on in my head. My main coping mechanism for this is writing to-do lists – I always write one in the morning.

“I feel like I’m coping well with life and what it’s thrown at me, but I’d love to have some tools under my belt that I can use to extend my sleep and feel more rested. Can you help?” 

“While the 6am waking bothers you, waking up at that time every day isn’t bad for you,” says sleep expert and physiologist Dr Ramlakhan. “By that point of your sleep schedule, you’ve probably had most of the useful sleep you need – anything else is just ‘nice to have’ sleep – so I hope that can serve as a bit of reassurance. However, there are things you can do to increase your chances of sleeping for a bit longer or getting back to sleep when you wake.

“Firstly, when you wake up, you should avoid looking at the time and tell yourself you’re simply going to rest. In other words, you need to take the pressure off thinking you need to sleep, as this will make it less likely to happen. It also might help if you get yourself a weighted eye pillow and place this over your eyes when you wake up – the pressure and darkness might help you slide back into sleep again.

“It’s worth noting that your caffeine intake is pretty high and having your last caffeinated drink at 4pm is a little late. Ideally, you should avoid caffeine after 2pm. However, in your case this doesn’t seem to be affecting your energy levels or sleep, so you don’t need to worry too much. I’d recommend playing around with this yourself and seeing how you feel if you halve your intake or stop caffeine after 2pm.”

“Working a busy job, running your own business and juggling children is a lot, so it’s great that you’re writing a regular to-do list. However, a small but powerful time management hack you could implement – and one that could stop you waking early worrying about what you have to do – is to write your list before you go to bed rather than first thing in the morning. That way, you’ll be able to go to bed having established control over your priorities.

“Those small issues aside, you’ve got some great habits, so keep up the good work in those areas. Dealing with stressful relationships at work can be hard but having that support at home will help you cope better. I wish you all the best.”

Images: Ami O’Callaghan, Dr Nerina Ramlakhan