Adjust your sleep pattern after the summer

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Left your sleep rhythm on holiday after the summer? Now is the time to adjust your sleep routine to fit your everyday life! Here are some tips to help you get your sleep rhythm back on track quickly and easily.

Build a daily routine

Start correcting your sleep pattern by returning to or building routines for the day. These routines should include a regular eating pattern, clear working hours and exercise.

To keep your eating rhythm regular, always start your day with breakfast and eat an appropriate-sized meal every 3-4 hours. A meal is the right size when it doesn't make you feel hungry and keeps you from getting hungry until the next meal.

Clear working hours help both to organise your day and to keep stress at bay. Remember to take breaks from work and end the day as planned. At the end of the working day, it's a good idea to take a breather, i.e. write down all the thoughts in your head. This way you can leave work matters at work and they won't distract you for the rest of the day or make it difficult to fall asleep.

Exercise is a great way to relax and relieve stress accumulated during the day. Just 10-15 minutes of exercise is enough. Morning, midday or early evening is best, but don't leave a hard workout too late into the evening. After a hard workout, the body needs two to three hours to recover, preferably more.

Daytime naps that became routine during the summer may no longer work on weekdays, so avoid taking naps or at least too late naps. Stop drinking caffeinated drinks before noon, so have your last dose of caffeine by 3pm at the latest.

Start correcting your sleep rhythm in the morning

To change the rhythm, it is important to wake up at the same time every morning, even on holidays. Don't snooze, but get up as soon as the bell rings. Look for the light right away so that your body gets the message that the day has begun. For dark mornings, take a dawn light or a bright light bulb.

Drink your morning coffee or tea if it's part of your routine. A quick oxygen boost in the cool autumn weather or a few squats or stretches, for example, will help wake you up and stretch your body.

Clear morning routines make it easier to get off to a fast start. Prepare for the next day the night before, so your mornings don't start with a rush and stress. You can have your clothes ready, prepare your lunch in the fridge and pack your bag in the hallway to wait for you in the evening.

Calm down early in the evening

Start calming your body and mind well before bedtime. Turn off your computer early and avoid flicking through your phone. Drift off into the dusk and dim the lights so that the body gets the message that evening has arrived. Cool and ventilate the bedroom to get it ready.

Make an evening snack part of your evening routine. Have your evening snack about an hour before bedtime. Eat a carbohydrate- and protein-rich evening snack. Avoid foods that are high in fat and added sugar, especially high in sugar, and avoid alcohol, which impairs sleep and makes it harder to fall asleep.

Shifting your bedtime rhythm should be done gradually. There's no point going to bed too early, especially if you're not tired. Falling asleep can cause more stress. Rather, move your bedtime 15-30 minutes earlier each night until you reach a suitable bedtime. A good bedtime is between 9pm and 11pm.

If you can't seem to fall asleep any earlier, you can try something like melatonin, available from pharmacies, for a few days. However, melatonin taken in tablet form is not a substitute for other routines that help you fall asleep and is only a short-term solution.