Mastering Sleep in the Summer

Question three. Of the eight behaviours and 12 characteristics, which is the one that's most relevant to me? And what do I do with it? Well, I think the most relevant of the behaviours and characteristics is actually the sleep. It's really difficult in the summer when you have very, very long days, anywhere from 14 to 18 hours of sunlight. And the sun rises very early in the morning and sunsets very late in the evening. And I know that I struggle to sleep when there is light outside. And that in itself is difficult because when you don't sleep well, you have less energy in the day to do the things, even though you have all of those long days and you have those motivations that you want to achieve some of the challenges that you've set yourself for the summer season, like weight loss and a healthier diet. But when you're fatigued because you're not sleeping very well, that becomes more difficult. And sleep is not just compromised by the long days and the sunlight, but also because it's hot and sticky, gets quite humid in the UK with the way the weather is. And that in itself means your sleep is much more disturbed or a bit more bitty and that fatigue really can set in as those days accumulate. And it's really trying to find ways to make that sleep pattern more regular and appropriate and a better quality. And I do that by ensuring I've got blackout blinds, setting myself times to go to bed and getting up in the morning, even though the sunlight outside or the daylight can confuse the brain. And you're like, oh, it's nine o'clock at night, but it's still light outside. But you have to make yourself go to bed, turn off all of the computer screens and the blue light that will keep you up and keep your mind working and racing, even though you're trying to go to sleep, taking a shower before I go to bed, so that helps with my sleep, and ensuring that I haven't had a heavy meal really late at night. Again, that's difficult when you've got light hours and people are having parties and barbecues and they go on to really late at night, again, because there's so much light outside and garden parties are the thing that happens in the summer in the UK. So it's really being strict with my sleep schedule, making sure that I do go to bed at a decent time so that when I wake up in the early hours of the morning because I go to work, that I had a restful seven or eight hours of sleep knowing that that's the right thing to do. So it's really making sure I've set myself some goals and also set a time schedule in my head as well as physically on a clock to ensure that I do follow that pattern.