I’m going to be honest with you, I live my life in a perpetual state of exhaustion.

Sometimes I’m less exhausted than the day before (which is nice), but it is a constant known to my body and I that it hasn’t had enough energy for about 10 years.

I have actually wondered what my brain could do if it wasn’t constantly tired, seeing as I seem to be getting by fine despite it.

A lot more, it turns out.

A poorly rested brain means you struggle to pay attention generally and when faced with something that requires multiple steps (like driving a car or following specific procedures) you’re much more likely to make mistakes - twice as likely, to be precise. You can also be more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.

And the impact isn’t just mental, it’s physical, too - consistent poor sleep can mean you’re more at risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and strokes. And if you’re getting less than six hours a night, it can lower your life expectancy.

So with that in mind, I figured it’s about time I started investing more in my sleep.

My usual bedtime routine is minimal, let’s say. It consists of brushing my teeth (I’m ashamed to admit I don’t even bother taking my makeup off), flopping into bed and scrolling on my phone until I drop off hours later - something a recent TikTok addiction doesn’t help with. I do turn off my phone’s blue light while I stare at it endlessly, and when I feel myself eventually starting to drift I set an alarm with a sleep cycle app to wake me up with less brutality.

But that’s not quite enough, so here are the five things I changed to help me rack up those z’s and reap the benefits…

I changed my bedtime routine to see if I could improve my sleep and this is what happened