Sleep is an often overlooked, but critical factor in maintaining a healthy mind and body at an optimal weight. Here I am going to give you some practical tips and advice for improving the quality of your sleep every night.

Blackout: Your room needs to be dark, not just a bit dark, but dark enough that you can't see your hand in front of your face. IKEA do some really good, cheap blackout blinds that I use behind my curtains to give 2 layers of protection from the street lighting outside. Turn off and get rid of the bright LCD alarm clock and all other small sources of light that are in your room.

Beds are for Sleeping: Not checking email, working or reading notes for tomorrow's meeting. You need to separate the bedroom from that work mindset so that you can totally relax when you get into your bed. If you work in bed then how can you expect to ever relax there?

Chill Winston! Preferably you should relax for an hour or 2 before bed to let your mind and body unwind and deal with the day's issues. You should not eat, work, exercise or do anything stressful in this time, just switch off and try and put your daily grind behind you so you can have a clear head when you go to bed.

Booze: Whilst you may feel comatose after 6 pints of Stella, you are not actually getting good quality sleep and won't reach the deepest phases of your sleep cycle leaving you tired and sleepy the next day - AKA Hungover!

Caffeine: High, daily caffeine intake can increase feelings of anxiety in stressed people which often manifest themselves at bed time making it hard to get off to sleep. Any residual caffeine in the system will obviously stimulate you mentally and make sleep harder.

Stay Cool: We sleep better and deeper in cool, airy rooms rather than warm stuffy ones, so open a window and turn off the heating and try a thinner duvet for extra tough-points.

How Much: Aim for 7-8 hours per night most nights. If you get organised and prioritise then this is achievable for most people most of the time.

Sleep Strong

Ben