A good night’s sleep needn’t be elusive. If you are one of those poor sleepers you don’t have to take it lying down. A little preparation goes a long way.

There is no right way to ensure good sleep, but plenty go wrong ways. Sleep is achieved through preparation, routine and maintenance, and like a lot of life’s essentials, it is often prevented through unhelpful beliefs, attitudes and practices.

We are all busy and aspiring to fit in ever more by way of work, chores, pastimes, duties, interests and commitments. So much so that in some cases leisure isn’t leisure at all, but just another ‘to-do’ list. The paradox is that we need adequate sleep to perform well and to stimulate creativity and energy.

Yet four out of ten people will cut back on sleep-time to fit more in, thirty per cent of us complain of too little of it, and many people consider sleeping to be a waste of time, or at least unproductive.

It seems that we just don’t value sleep the way we should, and sleep doesn’t get the respect it deserves (in so-called ‘westernised’ cultures, at least).

Our nightly trip through slumberland does far more than simply heal and restore our energies. Sleep should be first-class if we are to get the best from it, but we rarely take the time to think of it that way.

A good night’s sleep

Sleep needs to be sufficient in a number of ways, and whatever the sleep-deniers might say, we need eight to 10 hours of it within each 24. It is only then that we can take the odd night – or more – of disrupted or disturbed sleep in our stride.

It is not a passive process where our body systems shut down and lie dormant until morning, there’s a lot going on during sleep, and with forethought, we can actually use sleeping time to get things done, like solving a problem, find inspiration, or composing something we intend to write (blog posts in my case).

A good night’s sleep should not be taken lightly, and I know that people find it devastating to be deprived of sleep, particularly when it happens on a regular basis. The good news is there’s a lot you can do to improves sleep, even if you are one of the many who have suffered chronically through disturbed nights.