How to give your sleep a reset in the New Year - and why it can help you hit your goals
New Year's resolutions are the talk of the town now that we have finally arrived in 2025. Whether it's ditching the booze, exercising more, or reaching a work goal, there is one thing that'll help them all - a good night's sleep.
Being well rested will improve whatever you have going on in your personal and professional life. In fact, there's little in life that doesn't benefit from some good shut eye, and there is no better time for a sleep reset than 2025.
Dr Kat Lederle, sleep and circadian rhythm specialist at The London General Practice, agrees. The expert believes that even if you have "the best diet in the world" your hard work will count for nothing "if your sleep quality is poor".
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“I always compare sleep to the foundation of a house, not just a wall," Dr Lederle said. "And that is because your physical and mental health, your performance, your ability to deal with stress, they all depend on sleep...
“Sleep, and in particular deep sleep, are helpful for consolidating intentions and for realising them.”
So, how do you kickstart your sleep to see greater success in the next 12 months?
Know your needs
If you want to give your sleep a new year reset, it’s a good idea to think about what’s going to work best for you. The optimal bedtime and wake time might not be the same for everybody. Whether you're a late-night reveller or an early riser might come into it, but jobs, health, and family set-ups play a massive part, too.
“Find out what your sleep needs are – how much sleep you need and at what time. We all have our personal sleep window, during which we will get the most efficient sleep,” says Dr Lederle.
Focus on your ‘why’
“Reflect on why you want to improve the quality of your sleep, what do you find easier to do or feel like when you have slept well?” suggest Dr Lederle.
Motivation experts often talk about the importance of being intentional when setting goals, and prioritising doing something that feels genuinely important to us rather than doing things because we think we 'should'. Bettering our sleep is no different – so sit down and write a list of the reasons/benefits you’ll gain from prioritising it.
Think about what is in your control
We should not strive for perfection when it comes to sleep. It’s normal to wake briefly during the night and it's rare that people will get eight hours of uninterrupted slumber. This is frustrating but focus on what you can control.
“If you’re struggling to keep a consistent bedtime, explore why you struggle," Dr Lederle said. "Are there things that are in your control that you could perhaps tweak? Are you going to bed too early or too late?
"What do you do in the evening, binge-watching or mindlessly and endlessly scrolling through social media? Is it a busy mind? Are work demands too high? Many parents and mums in particular juggle childcare, chores and jobs.
"There are many different things that can get in the way of a consistent bedtime, rather than demonising any of them, let’s see why it happens and also what small changes could be made.”
Look at what’s going on during the day
Sleep isn’t just about what happens at bedtime either. If our daytimes are filled with stress and caffeine for example, that probably won’t help.
“You start preparing for your sleep the moment you wake up,” says Dr Lederle. “So everything you do/don’t do, eat, drink, light exposure can have an effect. Including doing too much – work, exercise, projects. While we call ourselves human beings, human doing might be more apt.
“Sleep is a natural, gentle process and it needs a bit of lead-in time, so a bit of wind-down time in the evening can help. Taking mini-breaks during the day can also have a beneficial effect on sleep at night, teaching the body-mind that it is not all about doing, it does not need to always problem-solve, rest is allowed too.”
Be patient
Even if you’re only nailing your sleep reset goals 50 per cent of the time, keep going and let those 'bad' nights slide. Good things take time.
“Humans are biological organisms, they are not machines or computers where you can code a new programme, press start and then it plays,” says Dr Lederle. “Make a step at a time, small steps are easier to do and maintain than big ones! But most importantly, do not set expectations – rather intentions.”
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