It’s important that you try to take some time for yourself and look after your needs. Tips for self-care include:

  • A regular sleep routine and 7-8 hours of sleep per day. A sleep routine may include: reducing caffeine (especially after 3pm), no blue screens (mobile phones and TV) half an hour before sleeping, using sleep encouraging activities like reading, colouring, listening to the radio instead. See more below about sleep.
  • Having a balanced diet and regularly drinking water: reducing salts, processed food and sugars. Increasing fresh food and vegetables.
  • Staying active: walking, running, swimming and yoga, at an appropriate level for your stage of recovery. If in doubt take an 'everything in moderation, nothing to excess' approach.
  • Enjoying outside spaces.
  • Mindfulness: trying to ‘live in the moment,’ ‘moving from ‘doing’ to ‘being,’ instead of worrying about what the future might hold or what has happened in the past. For example: just taking a moment to mindfully drink a cup of tea, really noticing all the senses involved or taking a shower mindfully.
  • Meditation – just noticing thoughts and feeling without judgement often focusing on your breathing or different parts of the body (try the free Headspace app)
  • Spending time with friends and family.
  • Try new creative hobbies or things that you used to enjoy; painting or singing in a choir.

Sleep and SCAD

Sleep is an essential part of our lives but unfortunately sometimes when we are stressed or anxious, perhaps after experiencing a SCAD, sleep can evade us. In fact, the more we want and worry about sleep, the more it seems to escape us, but there are things we can do to help.

When it comes to sleep, we are all individuals and we all need different amounts of sleep, usually decreasing as we get older. Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep , though famously, Margaret Thatcher only needed 4 hours of sleep a night!

Working out what helps you to get a good night's sleep can be highly individual, so experiment with some of the ideas below and see what works for you.

Routine, routine, routine

Try to go to bed and get up, around the same time each day, even at weekends and only sleep for your optimum number of hours (ie hours you slept when your sleep was not a problem or experiment to find out what works for you). Napping during the day can really affect your sleep pattern, so try to avoid this if possible or limit naps to less than an hour, before 3pm. After SCAD you may find you initially need a bit more sleep and this is fine as long as your night-time sleep is not affected.

Also, try to set up a ‘going to bed’ routine about half an hour before trying to go to bed, like you might do with a toddler – it is an effective way of signalling to the brain to start winding down.

Avoid blue screens (phones, TV) during this wind-down time, as this is very stimulating to the brain and affects sleep.

Reading a book, colouring, breathing exercises, listening to the radio or anything that starts to activate the calming side of your brain is helpful. Also a warm bath 1-2 hours before sleeping can be helpful, as this raises and then lowers the body temperature, which can help you feel sleepy.

Sleep hygiene

You have probably heard of a lot of these suggestions but it is worth looking at them, in case there is anything you can have a go at:

  • Right space. Ensure your bed and bedroom are comfortable for sleeping – a cooler room with blankets and possibly an eye mask or ear plugs may be helpful.
  • Avoid caffeine and nicotine. These substances, including caffeine in food, act as stimulants and it is therefore best to avoid them at least 4-6 hours before bed.
  • Avoid alcohol: Many people believe that alcohol helps them to sleep but it in fact alcohol interrupts the quality of sleep and therefore best avoided in large amounts and 4-6 hours before sleeping.
  • Only use your bed for sleeping: Try to use your bed for just sleeping and sex, so your body makes a connection with bed and sleeping.
  • Regular exercise: Exercise helps with sleep but it is best to avoid strenuous exercise in the 4 hours before sleeping.
  • Eating well: As well as a healthy, balanced diet it might be helpful to have a small snack before bed so you are not hungry but a heavy meal before sleeping can be disrupting. A glass of milk before bed, can help as it contains a natural sleep inducer.

Sleep thinking

Your sleep thinking is key to a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, worrying or becoming frustrated by not being able to sleep, is interpreted by the brain as a threat and it will send adrenaline to keep you safe. Adrenaline is great for fighting or running and staying awake. It is the opposite of what you need for sleep. So try lying to your brain and pretending everything is fine: eg ‘I don’t mind not sleeping, time to do a meditation, just relaxing is good.’

Once you do become frustrated, start tossing and turning or feeling awake - it is best to get up, get a drink, write down any worries, read a book but avoid phones or TV - until the adrenaline has reduced and you start feeling sleepy again. Repeat if required.

Sleep strategies

There are a number of ideas that can help sleep. It is helpful to give the brain something to think about (rather than thinking or worrying about sleeping). It needs to be interesting but not too stimulating. This is probably where the idea of counting sheep comes from but counting sheep is too boring for the brain to be interested enough… but if the sheep were all wearing different outfits, it might work. You might try:

  • Thinking about tomorrow in fine detail.
  • Counting backwards in 7s from 100.
  • Thinking of names, objects for each letter of the alphabet.
  • Breathing exercises.
  • Safe place imagery.

Remember, everyone has a ‘bad’ night’s sleep from time to time but hopefully, some of these tips will help you get a better night’s sleep most of the time.