Sleep, are you getting enough?

Are you a good sleeper and regularly get your much-needed eight hours a night? Are you only letting yourself have a few hours a night and then wondering why you feel awful most days? Or does the thought of going to bed fill you with dread?

Most of us take sleeping for granted but for those who struggle with it, or think sleep is for wimps, need to know that it is vital for our health and wellbeing.

Arianna Huffington’s (founder of The Huffington Post) inspiration for her latest book comes from how getting eight hours of sleep a night has changed her life – The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night at a Time.

In this book she explains how she collapsed and thought there was something seriously wrong with her, she was diagnosed with burnout and sleep deprivation. Arianna then decided to learn everything about it and the result is a solidly researched book explaining the terrifying scientific evidence regarding the long-term effects of sleep deprivation.

It will make you want to learn how to prepare yourself for sleep: make a ritual of bedtime. Arianna Huffington teaches you how to turn your life around with tips, tools, strategies and techniques that are easy to incorporate in your life. She says: ‘It won’t come overnight but you can start by setting up your own personal sleep experiment. I tried different routines, nightwear, meditation and habits, taking small steps every night. Now I am sleep pro.’

There is even a whole chapter providing excellent sleep advice and guidance for mums and dads, isn’t that what every new parent needs to read?