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Improve sleep through diet and exercise

A good diet and regular physical exercise can help us to relax and get better sleep. And the opposite is also true: an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise can stop us from sleeping well.

Avoid eating large meals close to bedtime. Try to also ditch the bedtime caffeine (like coffee), alcohol or nicotine if you can, because these are stimulants that make us more alert. Stimulants are a common cause of sleep problems.

The general advice is to avoid stimulants 1 to 2 hours before bed. Try it and see if things improve.

Regular exercise helps with sleep, but avoid anything too energetic in the 90 minutes before bedtime if you find it stops you from sleeping. Find out more about the benefits of being active for your mental health.