For the love of veganism…

February 11, 2019February 11, 20191 Comment

Please can we stop getting at people for doing the right thing in the wrong way? I’ve been seeing reports on social media of people getting told that they’re not doing veganism right, not doing sustainability right, not being the right kind of feminist. Quite frankly, it makes me want to hide the fact that I’m plant based, hide that I love trying to be more sustainable and stop talking about feminist issues, and obviously that’s not the way it should be.

Don’t get me wrong, where is a time and place for calling people out on hypocrisy and certainly times when virtue signalling and moral licencing can get irritating. We could all almost certainly do a lot more to be better people, and it’s always good to question our own actions. However, I would argue that over social media is not the right place to do it for a number of reasons:

Meaning gets lost over text, and even well intentioned constructive criticism can end up sounding bitchy or self-congratulatory.
Social media is so often a one-way conversation, not allowing for nuance and discussion. Since the purpose of calling out someone’s actions is hopefully to discuss with them the best way to rectify the situation or simply have them better understand your point of view, social media really isn’t the best place for this.
You (probably) don’t know the person you’re questioning, however much you think you might, and they almost certainly won’t know you. Similar to point number one, that probably means that any good intentions will be lost. Influencers receive hundreds (if not thousands) of comments, remarks and questions each week, and unfortunately it is easy to miss good intentions when being called out every single day for a different assumed wrongdoing. In addition, because you don’t know them personally you don’t know their full story. Often they will be doing much more than they show on their page, and you just have to assume they have a reason for doing what they are doing.
Even if they see your comment and understand it, it’s hard to trust people over the internet. ‘Advice’ over the internet is rarely well received, and the way it comes across is ‘you’re not enough, you should be doing more, and I’m going to tell you how you can be perfect just like me’. Almost no matter how it’s phrased, that’s how it’ll read at a glance. Since telling someone they are wrong is almost the worst way of changing someone’s mind, it’s a bit of a token gesture trying to change the way someone lives their life over the internet. Why should they listen to you? Frustrating though that can be, there are plenty of better ways to make the world a better place, and it might be worth spending efforts in those areas instead.

Perhaps I’m being naïve and viewing people as better than they are. Perhaps the majority of people who talk about issues such as veganism, sustainability and feminism are virtue signalling. However it’s in my nature to give people the benefit of the doubt, and from reading a number of articles on the psychology of getting people to change their minds (from politics to veganism), I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how honest your intentions are, telling someone that they should be doing better over the internet is unlikely to get them to be a better person.

So what can we do? There are a number of ways you can spread the message you want to spread without a) insulting anyone and b) your message being badly received and experiencing the backfire effect (i.e. someone doubling down on their beliefs after someone else tries to change them).

In my experience, conclusions are best arrived at through a person’s own thought process (e.g. telling them to have a different opinion is not going to get them to change their opinion). Raising important questions with allows them to think through the topic at hand an come to their own conclusions. Whether those conclusions are the same as yours or not, it’s better than being uninformed. E.g the reason I started to eat a vegan diet was because I studied environmental biology at university and was given a bunch of facts (in a non-partisan way) to do with what I liked. I started to eat vegan because of those facts, whereas others didn’t, and that’s OK.
Since advice is better received from people we know, instead of advising people over the internet to be better, why not try starting a discussion with your friends about these topics? Even if you disagree, it’s interesting to hear others’ opinions on the subject matter, as well as sharing your own. Even without openly discussing certain topics, simply living your life by certain values can have a positive impact on those around you.
Use your own page to spread the message you want. Sure, targeting individuals might have a more forceful effect, but for all the reasons above, it’s probably not the best way to change people’s minds. Instead, educate through your own platform. That way, people can come to their own conclusions from the information you give them, and by actively choosing to read your page the advice you give is not unsolicited.
Focus on your own self-improvement. I think sometimes we can spend so long pointing out others’ inadequacies that we forget to look within at the places we could improve. If your desire really is to make the world a better place, this is a good place to start.

It’s frustrating when you truly believe that your way of doing things is the best way to not have everyone immediately see that you are right. It’s annoying because you think that if only everyone lived the way you think they should, the world would be a better place. I get that, and I often think the same (if ONLY everyone in the world stopped eating meat). However, if the goal is make real change (as opposed to just wanting to show everyone that you’re right), then I think we could all do better than to tell people over social media that they’re not good enough. After all, we could probably allbe doing more.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this piece, and if you’d like to read more in a more digestible format, head to my highlights and watch the ‘vegan debate’ and ‘unsolicited advice’ ones. Many thoughts in there (both my own and my followers’). Tell me what you think!

Dormy House

December 4, 2018December 4, 20181 Comment

Fiann and I stayed at Dormy House as part of our UK staycation. The hotel is part of the Farncombe Estate, a group of hotels within a short drive of one another, each with their own defining rustic charms, but a definite connecting thread between them.

I previously stayed at The Fish Hotel, another of the hotels on the estate. I loved it so much that I decided Dormy House would have to be next on my list. I was not disappointed! Foxhill Manor will have to be next – watch this space!

The front of Dormy House, in full Christmas attire

Dormy House is another breed of hotel. Modern but rustic, with beautiful decor and everything you could possibly need – it is the perfect place to relax for a long weekend or staycation. We stayed in the Courtyard Suite, a little quasi-apartment with a room, living room and bathroom, complete with all the necessary amenities. Whilst I didn’t see the other rooms, the suite was the perfect size and I would definitely recommend it for a little extra room compared to your bog-standard hotel!

Of course we immediately visited the spa on arrival – having run a 10k race earlier that day, we were dying for something to ease our weary legs, and the spa hit just the spot. First stop was the outdoor hot tub next to the fire. We had the place to ourselves and it was the ultimate relaxing experience. The spa also has a huge variety of different rooms with various purposes, from a beautiful sauna overlooking to pool, to an ice bucket for some swift cooling. We spent a good 40 minutes in the spa before heading to dinner.

The beautiful pool at Dormy House

Dinner at The Potting Shed was great – there was a specialist vegan menu, and although it had only two options for each course, everything we ate was of top quality. I especially enjoyed the dessert!

We didn’t get to explore much more of the estate in the short time I had, but I would love to be able to return sometime for longer. Fiann and I felt there was so much more to do by the time we left (not least just enjoying the hotel sitting room and fire with a good book)! Other than potentially getting more vegan options on the menu for breakfast and dinner, I would give this hotel a full 10/10 for having everything we could possibly want and more. See below for some more pics by the incredibly talented Caylee Hankins who you can find here or on her Instagram.

The front sitting room was beautifully decked out for Christmas!

It’s never wrong to order another coffee when they’re that good

We never wanted to leave our perfect little sitting room in our suite!

Enough space to swing a cat (or dance like nobody’s watching)

Balayage by salon 64

February 25, 2018Leave a comment

When I was younger I had so many experimental phases with my hair. Caramel, dark brown, really dark brown, highlights, bleach, even pink and purple at one stage. None of them really suited me, at least not in a way that was sustainable. It’s taken me about 10 years of messing around with my poor locks to finally find my look. It’s natural, girly and I only need to top it up once or twice a year, which is a huge relief on my bank account!

I’m sharing these hilarious pictures of me over 10 years ago as they’re pretty indicative of what I was going through hair-wise since I was 13. Look and laugh, please.

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Since people are often asking me how I get my hair done and what I ask for, I thought I’d write a short post on it to explain.

Nb/ This treatment was given to me free of charge by Salon 64 however as always all opinions are my own. I absolutely love this salon and would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little special! Amazing service, coffee and conversation.

What is balayage?

The word balayage comes from the French ‘to paint’ or ‘to sweep’. It is a method of highlighting the hair that leaves it looking naturally lighter, without being stripy or growing out into horrible roots. Balayage has softer, less noticeable regrowth lines (if at all noticeable) than traditional highlights, and highlights the parts of your hair that would naturally lighten in the sun, meaning it looks natural. You can get it done on any hair type and colour, and since it doesn’t grow out leaving roots, you can get it done infrequently, meaning that it ends up much cheaper than other highlighting techniques!

The steps: bleach, leave and blend, rinse and olaplex and then dry.

How it was done:

Section the hair into 4 equal sized sections
Starting at the back of the hair with smaller sections, each quarter is roughly 1.5 inches thick and is free hand painted with bleach. An extremely visual technique is what makes each balayage slightly different and bespoke to each individual head of hair. This technique is repeated starting at the back of the head working the way up to the crown. The hand painting also allows for a natural look to suit the individual, or a stronger look if desired.
This is then repeated on the 2 side areas.
Leave the colour to develop for 15 mins – this is much shorter than traditional foils, so balayage is often done and dusted much quicker than streak highlights.
Once the colour has developed, hair is rinsed at the backwash and the colour is blended together with a sponge to blend the newly placed blonde into the virgin hair. This technique is known as mash technique. This creates the gradation from darker to lighter hair that you don’t see in dip-dyed hair.
Lastly shampoo condition and style all using MR.SMITH – Hydrating shampoo, conditioner and styled with volume mousse. Olaplaex was used on my hair to repair broken strands and improve hair condition (this stuff is amazing).

Before and after: I didn’t want a huge change, just a subtle lightening at the back and around my face. The salon did a perfect job – a combination of the weak bleach used and olaplaex treatment left my hair in great condition after the treatment!

Visit Salon 64’s website to learn more and book.

Once you visit this place you’ll be coming back all the time!

Shoot with James Purvis

February 21, 2018February 21, 20181 Comment

All these photos are 100% unedited but I love them so I thought I’d share 🙂 Enjoy!

Check out James Purvis on instagram or visit his website.

Six reasons to eat plant based

January 26, 2018January 26, 20187 Comments

Eating less red meat and focusing on a more plant based diet is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to celebrities, influencers and a better understanding of the benefits of increasing veg protein and reducing red and processed meat. As we have become more educated about the impacts of meat on the environment and the ethics of meat consumption, food providers have followed suit, providing more and more options for those opting for a plant based diet.

This blog post was written in collaboration with Tesco, but as always all opinions are my own. Check out their new Wicked Kitchen range, a collaboration with plant chef Derek Sarno. The range uses plants in a variety of ways, making all the meals taste amazing (trust me, I’ve tried them!) but without the negative effects of meats. Gone are the days of weird-tasting fake meats – this is a real deal. They’re also super convenient, which means that at the end of a long day of work, they’re quick to stick in the oven or on the hob so you can get eating asap. I am unbelievably impressed with the range, and would recommend it to anyone, not just people who are already vegetarian or vegan! If you’ve been considering lowering your meat and dairy consumption for some while, there’s no better time to do it. Here are a few reasons why you should just go for it!

It’s good for your health

Increasing the proportion of the diet that is made up of wholefoods such as fruit and vegetables can only improve your health. Multiple studies have also shown significant improvements in health outcomes for those with heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, diseases that have exploded in frequency over the last few decades. Red meats, especially those that have been heavily processed, have been liked closely with increased rates of these diseases, and decreasing the amount you eat can only have positive impacts on your health. It is now possible to replace meats with vegan products that have the same flavours but none of the negative impacts, so why not try some vegan alternatives, such as those found in the Wicked kitchen range?

It saves you money

People often complain that eating vegan is more expensive than eating meat, but if you are simply replacing the most expensive part of the diet with more vegetables, grains and pulses, it ends up significantly cheaper than an omnivorous diet. Specialist products such as tofu and meat replacements can sometimes be relatively expensive but are almost always cheaper than meats. Brands such as Tesco have started providing ready meals that are no more expensive than their meat counterparts, meaning that even convenience foods are as cheap or cheaper than the animal product equivalent.

It’s one of the best things you can do to save the planet

There is irrefutable evidence to show that red meat, especially products that come from cattle, have a significant impact on the environment. The livestock industry consumes about 8% of the world’s water, depriving those areas that most need it (Schlink et al., 2010). Whilst it takes 2400 gallons of water to make 1lb of meat, 1lb of wheat can be grown with just 155 gallons of water. Without going into too much depth, using meat for food is less efficient in just about every way, using more land, water, fuel, and using 60% of all the human grade grain grown in the world. By products of the meat industry include greenhouse gases such as methane, which has 23 times the global warming potential of CO₂. Care about the world we live in? Reducing your consumption of animal products (especially meat) will make a huge difference. Vegan alternatives are also more ethically sound – the more we eat plant based, the less suffering there has to be, and that’s something we can all feel good about.

It’s easy to lose weight… but you don’t have to

Whilst weight loss is by no means the most important thing in the world, the low caloric value of plants means that you can have a lot more volume for your calories! This means more food and who can complain about that?.In addition, by pure correlation, vegans have the lowest BMI, vegetarians second lowest, and meat eaters have the highest. Having said that, if you’re not looking to lose weight, it’s plenty easy enough to find high calorie vegan foods, such as nuts and oils, and dishes can be made to incorporate these to fill you up. Veganism isn’t about being hungry – it’s about being satisfied with delicious plant based foods!

It’s no less convenient

When it comes to cooking, we all want foods that are quick and easy to make, and sadly that often forces us to go for choices we’ve made 100 times before, often incorporating meat as a centrepiece to a meal, just because it’s ‘easy’. However, more and more people are demanding plant-based products that are just as easy to make as meat ones. With a higher demand comes higher supply. Conscientious and influential brands such as Tesco are incorporating more and more vegan foods into their takeaway sections, allowing people to opt for nutritious and delicious vegan foods that are just as convenient to pick up as any other food. Convenience is often cited as a reason for people eating meat, but this reason is becoming less and less relevant. You’d be surprised what you can find!

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing

A lot of people are put off the idea of becoming vegan or even vegetarian because of the idea that they have to give up everything they love, or it’s not worth doing. It’s this kind of ‘all or nothing’ attitude that put me off for years, but in reality, every little change helps. If you are vegetarian, try having a couple of vegan days a week, or just reduce dairy consumption if you really love eggs. The chances are that over time, you’ll find that you don’t crave animal products anymore! Products from the Wicked Kitchen range can help you make that transition far easier, swapping out meat products for plant products used in a creative way, meaning you won’t miss meat at all.

There is really no reason not to try eating more conscientiously by reducing the amount of animal products you consume. It is often habit that allows us to continue doing things that aren’t in our best interest, but all it takes is a decision to make a change and half the battle is already done. Whatever your reason, there has been no easier time to start eating plant based, so why not give it a try?

I’d love to hear of your experiences with veganuary or your journey to eating less meat – feel free to send me a message on instagram or comment below.

This dairy-free caponata pizza has to be one of my favourites from the range!

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel spa

December 30, 20172 Comments

I first went to the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel when I was 18 – I was actually singing at a Christmas luncheon for charity! It was so nice, then, to be able to head back for the first time since then last week. After a very long week of work and events, it was much needed! I went with my boyfriend, of course, and am excited to share the experience with you.

There’s no doubt that as soon as you walk up to the renaissance hotel, you’ll be awestruck by its beauty and scale. The spa is on a lower level as soon as you walk in, but you still get to experience the beauty of the inside of the hotel. Upon arrival we had a very short wait while we filled in some health questionnaires, and were then shown around the spa. It’s all situated along a corridor (a pretty one at that), with the spa at one end and relaxation room at the other.

We started our afternoon with a 30 minute Moroccan massage, which is an oily back massage. Having been climbing the day before, my back was stiff enough to be extremely sensitive! I feel like the massage might have been better suited to someone who hadn’t worked out the day before – for me it was not so much relaxing as painful, which when coupled to the (otherwise wonderfully) heated bed, made the massage probably a little less relaxing than it should have been. However, the products used smelled amazing, and the experience probably would be perfect for other people.

The pool was gorgeous – dark, lovely decor with chairs around the outside for relaxing on. It was the perfect temperature with plenty of bubbles for the full experience. However, I think when I went it had been over-treated, so was a little stingy on the eyes, sadly.

All in all, there’s no doubting that the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel is somewhere you should visit, if only for the decor! The spa is very relaxing, but there were some small improvements to be made. It wasn’t as good as some day spas I’ve been to, but for a hotel spa, it is really lovely and does just the job of relaxing you before your next engagement.

Verdict: if you’re staying at the hotel, the spa and gym are definitely worth a visit. Book a treatment and enjoy! I wouldn’t put it on the top of my list of day spas, but then again, that’s not its job. Let me know what you think when you visit!

Click here to read more about the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and its spa.

The decor of the hotel is all part of the experience!

10 reasons to lift weights

December 17, 2017December 16, 20176 Comments

When I first started playing sports, the idea of a girl lifting weights was laughable. The only girls who did were the rowers and field athletes– everyone else thought it was manly, and my secondary school weights room was literally only for boys. The main gym was mostly cardio equipment, and without a doubt cardio was what was expected of the girls, if they went to the gym at all. Seven years on and the attitudes towards women being fit and healthy rather than skinny have changed so much. The rise of social media stars who incorporate weights into their routines has undoubtedly helped. But what are the benefits of lifting weights, and why do people swear by them for getting in shape?

Nb/ As a disclaimer I’d like to say that I also condemn those who shame anyone who does cardio – there are health benefits to all exercises, and I for one love a good sweat session. However, this post will be focussing on the health benefits of lifting weights. If you’d like to read more about cardio, please check out my post on how to get better at running.

I got into weights late in the game because I was afraid it’d make me ‘bulky’ – it didn’t and won’t for you either!

It’ll strengthen your bones

Most of us don’t think of our bones as living things, but they are. They respond to how we live, especially when we are young. As we get older, our bones lose density, becoming more brittle and prone to osteoporosis (this is why older people are more likely to break and fracture bones). If you lift weights, your bone density increases, meaning you’re in a better position to protect yourself from these issues later in life.

It’ll make you happier

Whilst all physical activity is great for mental health, strength training has been linked to lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as fatigue. In addition to the benefits of just getting moving, watching yourself progress with strength training can help you focus in other areas of life and give you a sense of achievement.

It’ll give you a higher BMR

Your BMR is your basal metabolic rate. It’s the rate at which you burn calories when you’re doing absolutely nothing. So not only will lifting weights burn calories when you’re doing it, lifting also increases your muscle to fat ratio, meaning that you’ll burn more calories just lying there. And guess what that means… More food!

It helps other sports

If you’re not lifting weights because you’re focusing on other sports, you could be harming your progress rather than helping it. Lifting weights strengthens both supporting muscles and the muscles you may use for your sport, meaning that whatever you do, lifting weights can help you do it harder, faster and better. It’s one form of cross training you don’t want to miss out on.

It doesn’t take a long time

If you’re short on time, having a 30 minute workout is perfectly fine when lifting weights. My glutes sessions are around 40 minutes long, but when time-restricted 30 minutes works absolutely fine. Lifting can work around your schedule in a way that running a 5k can’t.

Muscle is denser than fat

But what does this actually mean? It means that if you do lots of strength training and gain some muscle, it’ll take up less space than fat does. This is what allows people to get leaner leaner when they weightlift. You may not weigh less, but you’ll definitely look like you do! This is also why lifting weights as a girl certainly won’t make you look bulky. Whilst you probably shouldn’t be doing something purely because of aesthetics, there’s nothing wrong with wanting some toned curves!

It’s good for your heart

Cardiovascular exercise is undoubtedly excellent for your heart health, but lifting weights has similar benefits. It can lower blood pressure as effectively as cardio and can mean you’re at lower risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack. The American Heart Association recommends at least 2 strength training sessions a week.

It doesn’t require much space

Whilst getting to the gym is useful if you want to lift heavy, if you’re short on time and space, you can do bodyweight resistance training at home. Also when your gym is super busy, getting on all the machines can be a nightmare, but grabbing some dumbells and a small space for a mat is sometimes all you need. Lack of time/space isn’t an excuse here!

It’ll help you sleep

All exercise can help with sleep – those who exercise frequently report the best sleep, both in terms of length and quality. In addition, getting good sleep helps with muscle growth, so the two work together perfectly. Do more of one and you’ll get more of the other. It’s a win-win!

You’ll live longer (and heathier)

All of the factors above lead to a reduced risk of disease, meaning you’ll live longer, healthier and happier. What’s not to love?!

I hope you find this post helpful! To see more of what I do why not check out what I’m up to on Instagram or Twitter.

My blogging story

December 10, 2017August 30, 20191 Comment

I often get asked when/why/how I started instagramming and blogging, and in truth, the story is long and not simple. I’ve always been a writer, enjoying capturing emotions and events in a diary from a young age. But, ever efficient, if I could capture the same story in a photo, I would rather do that. So here’s a little overview of how I got into both blogging and other forms of social media.

Throwback to my first ever shoot – for Sweaty Betty!

I started my current instagram at the beginning of 2013 (I had another one for a few months previously), following several years of struggles with body image, control and food. Instagram gave me a way to ensure I ate three meals a day – no under eating, no over eating, no purging. The community back then was small in comparison to now, but the support I received as a teen recovering from eating issues was phenomenal. Over time, however, I felt myself distancing from the community and felt better moving on from it all, as I’m sure others who have suffered have also felt during and after recovery. Remembering is good, dwelling is not, so I moved on.

The start of my fitness journey overlapped with the end of instagramming about eating disorders and food – I was a competitive squash player at school, and after deciding that my instagram would be about health and its role in my life, I started to include more fitness pictures alongside the food. However, I found myself increasingly opinionated on all things health and wellness, and was irritated at not being able to convey these feelings (and the facts and figures I feel are so important) in the space of an instagram caption. Not even a picture would tell the thousand words I wanted to tell.

That’s when I set up my blog. It was August 2016 and I had been storing up articles and recipes for some time. I was also getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of evidence based statements and abundance of pseudoscience being banded around social media. I hoped that sharing fact based, balanced articles might help people see themselves – and ‘influencers’ – in a different light. Essentially I want to share things that are important to me with a wider audience, and I hope it gives people a better insight into who I am as a person and what my values are!

After starting my blog I saw my followers grow. My first month of blogging received about 3000 views in a month. By January, 5 months later, I was getting 9000 monthly views, which coincided with my instagram growing from 10,000 followers on christmas day 2016 to about 20,000 followers around a month later. For reference, I now get an average of around 10,200 views per month, an audience that really means a lot to me.

I never really thought about twitter much, except to complain about the seeming abundance of trolls and stupid comments from various world leaders. However, partly out of perceived necessity and partly out of curiosity (and a desire to share more of what I was doing), I set up my twitter in November of 2016. Bizarrely I’m actually now quite obsessed.

Who knows what’s next – maybe a youtube, maybe a podcast? In a world where a woman is judged on one photo and opinions are crammed into 280 characters (admittedly better than 140), I want to slow things down and draw people in. Show them that life isn’t captured in a snapshot, and explain why truths aren’t one line quotes. It’s a mission that’ll probably go on forever, but in the meantime, I’m having fun and hopefully adding enjoyment to others’ lives too!

I hope this gives you a little insight into my journey through blogging. Read more about my story here, of check out my instagram or twitter to see what I’ve been up to!

Throwback to my account almost a year ago – it’s grown a bit since then!

Blogception

How to get better sleep

December 6, 2017December 7, 20176 Comments

We’re all pretty great at feeling sleepy, but actually sleeping well is a totally different matter! Do you struggle from time to time? Read this post to see just how important sleep is, as well as get some advice on how to do it better.

It’s no secret that you feel better when you’re not massively sleep deprived, but it’s also been proven that people don’t realise how much their lack of sleep is affecting them. On average in the UK, we get only 6.8h of sleep a night, rather than the recommended 8h for optimum health. The figures in the US and Australia are similar, reflecting a culture that shrugs off sleep as an irritating waste of time, rather than the necessity it actually is. The National Sleep Foundation found that for adults older than 18 years of age, between 7 and 9 hours of sleep on average is optimal for health.

When you think of risk factors for diseases, what do you think of? Poor diet? Smoking? Bad genes? I’m sure sleep pattern is not something that comes high up on the list, but poor sleep patterns have been linked to negative short term effects, such as depression, lost concentration and anxiety, as well as longer term impacts including increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. The reason is simple: sleep provides time for your body to repair damage. Without this time, damage accumulates, causes poor life decisions (such as over eating and lack of exercise) and eventually can lead to negative long-term outcomes.

Sleep also gives us time to consolidate memories, strengthen neural pathways and process information – it’s why our dreams often involve events from the day, mushed together into some sort of weird nonsensical mess. There’s a theory that freeing our brains from the constraints of reality allows us to make connections we might not have made before, and process information that would have taken too long when awake. So those times you stay up until 3am revising for a test? Don’t. You’re far better working up until you sleep, then picking it up again in the morning. In my mind, it’s all very cool.

So how do we sleep? As someone who used to suffer from insomnia, I know how frustrating it can be when you are just unable to stop your mind from whirring. Sleep experts call good sleep practices ‘sleep hygiene’ – getting into a good bedtime ritual to prime our bodies for deep, restful sleep. Here are some of my top tips for a good nights sleep.

Take a hot bath
Weirdly, it’s not the heating that actually makes you sleepy – it’s the rapid cooling that follows a hot bath that makes you tired. Our bodies naturally cool off about 2h before sleep until around 4-5am, meaning that artificially inducing the cooling before you sleep can help send signals to your body that it’s time to sleep.

Have a hot drink
For the same reasons as a hot bath, having a hot drink before bed can make you sleepy. Certain herbal drinks, such as camomile and lavender are thought to help sleep. This is thought to be because they contain compounds that reduces anxiety and promote relaxation, slowing the nervous system and promoting deep sleep. Try not to drink too much before bed though! Getting up through the night can disrupt your sleep patterns. I usually have a tea in the hour before bed and swear by it to help me sleep!

Avoid blue light
The blue light emitted from your phone and laptop signals to your brain that it’s still daytime. This delays your natural body clock making it harder to fall asleep. Stop using your phone, laptop and TV at least an hour before you want to sleep. If you need to, consider adding a filter using an app like f.lux that reduces blue light on your screen after sunset.

Limit yourself to 9 hours max
Plenty of people struggle to even stay asleep for this long, but I would easily sleep for 10h a night if I let myself. However, staying in bed for over 9 hours can actually harm your sleep in the long run. Forcing yourself to get up in the morning means that your body clock stays in check – if you allow yourself to sleep until you’re not tired anymore, you will end up going to bed later and later, meaning that when you do have to get up early you’ve restricted your sleep even further. Try to wake up on your first alarm – snoozing it only leads to more sluggishness. Winter may be a time of hibernation, but sleeping for too long won’t do you any favours. If you need to nap during the day, limit it to 20 minutes. Longer can affect nighttime sleep.

Don’t expect to be able to catch up on lost sleep in a night
A lot of people think that a bad night’s sleep can be recovered by sleeping more the next night, and while the evidence is not conclusive, studies suggest that this isn’t the case. The damage done by one bad night cannot be undone by one good night, and it often takes a few days to get back to normal. In addition, going to bed later disrupts your circadian rhythm (your internal body clock that tells you when to sleep and wake up), so it’s best to avoid significant amounts of lost sleep.

Exercise!
As anyone who has stopped exercising for an injury will know, exercise and sleep go hand in hand. Cut out exercising and a good night’s sleep goes too. Exercising tires out the body enough that falling into bed after a hard workout earlier in the day is just one of the nicest things. It also promotes the same cooling effect as having a bath and drinking tea does, but has the added benefit of decreasing the anxiety and stress that often keep us awake. However, avoid working out late in the evening – placing stress on the body late in the day can delay your natural body clock, making it harder to sleep, so try to end exercising at least 3h before bed.

Be comfy
Get a good mattress and a pillow that’s not too high. Nighttime discomfort can lead to light sleep. If you’re in a rented flat or a student where you didn’t choose the mattress, consider buying a good mattress topper (and take it with you when you leave!).

Fresh air
Linked to exercise, getting outside and some fresh air during the day can help get that ‘flop onto the bed’ feel at the end of the day (in a good way). I actually don’t know why this is, but it’s likely a mixture of getting exercise and getting natural light. Natural light inhibits melatonin (the hormone that sends us to sleep), meaning that when you go back inside, there is more of the hormone before bed to make you feel tired. This is especially useful in winter, when it is dark for a lot of the day.

Avoid caffeine
A little in the morning shouldn’t be an issue for most people, but avoid any caffeine past 3pm. The effects are long lasting – even if you don’t feel wired, the stimulant will keep on powering your body far past the point when you would like to sleep. Also bear in mind that caffeine can be hidden in lots of drinks that aren’t coffee, such as teas and fizzy drinks.

Limit alcohol
While alcohol may help you get to sleep, sleep quality is poorer and once it wears off you’re more likely to wake up. Dehydration can also be a cause of waking through the night, and alcohol makes this far worse.

Ironically, overthinking sleep can be one major cause for struggling to fall asleep and sleeping lightly. Try to get into a good routine early in life so that when you are under pressure, sleep is one thing that comes naturally to you. Sadly, for one of the most natural of behaviours, sleep is sometimes difficult to find, but hopefully with the information of how important it is, as well as some of the tips above, you’ll start prioritising it over another episode of Game of Thrones (other series available).

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post and tips for a good night’s sleep! Head to my instagram or comment below to let me know.

It’s no secret to those that know me that sleep will always be a priority for me!

Shoot with David Wren

October 24, 2017Leave a comment

Here are some photos from my recent shoot with the amazing David Wren, one of my favourite to date!

I look forward to sharing the rest of these on my instagram too 🙂 Hope you like them as much as I do!

For shoot enquiries please email meldunbar@wmodel.co.uk or beatrice@wmodel.co.uk

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