Lack of sleep can have a detrimental effect on wellbeing and life satisfaction. Lack of sleep can also affect your performance and impact in your problem-solving skills; learning; academic performance; mood and mental health. Research has shown that the quality and quantity of sleep have been found to closely associate with learning capacity and academic performance. Academic performance has been shown to decrease when an individual has less sleep or decreased quality of sleep – it has also been associated with deficits in attention; drowsiness; and riskier behaviours.
Postgraduate research projects are composed of many complex tasks and ongoing problem solving. Sleep is very important to ensuring that your problem-solving ability remains in good working order; and that you are ready to complete the many tasks that face you. Working late into the night can reduce this capacity, and so giving up sleep for work is likely to reduce your productivity overall – exacerbating poor mental health and wellbeing.
Lack of sleep has a negative effect on social relationships and can increase symptoms of depression – social relationships and interactions with friends of peers can become strained when you experience a lack of sleep.
Make your bedroom comfortable and make your bed a place that your brain associates with rest and sleep – try not to work on your bed if at all possible.
Try to get some natural daylight during the day – you should endeavour to have at least 20-30 minutes in sunlight. This will help your brain calibrate daytime and night-tie, making it easier to sleep at night.
Regular exercise can help to improve your sleep – by tiring out your body and helping you to reduce anxiety and stress.
Try to get a routine of waking-up and going to bed at the same time every-day, including weekends.
Try to not use any screen-based devices for at least an hour before bedtime. This includes phones, iPads, laptops, PCs, Kindles and TVs. Set a time when you will stop checking or answering emails or messages.
Establish a restful pre-sleep routine that you can follow every night - this may involve reading; listening to music; preparing yourself for bed (e.g., taking make-up off); and releasing nice smells into your bedroom; breathing exercises; preparing for the next day. Going through the same routine will prompt your brain to prepare for sleep.
Warm baths and showers can help your body to relax and encourage your body temperature to drop - inducing feelings of sleepiness.
Practice breathing and relaxation exercises to help you relax in bed.
Source
Summarised from 'The Wellbeing Thesis' - An online resource for postgraduate research students to support your wellbeing, learning and research - https://thewellbeingthesis.org.uk/