From helping us to function more effectively during the day, to helping stick to a healthy lifestyle and exercise routine, the positives of a good night's sleep are many and varied. Here are just a few of, what I believe, are the key benefits:

1. More Alertness and Energy.

Waking up properly rested can positively affect our energy levels, alertness and ability to concentrate. We all have experience of waking after a refreshing nights sleep and feeling like we can tackle the world but often these nights are few and far between. I always encourage people to not just look at their sleep to increase energy levels but also their lifestyle. Are you eating well, drinking plenty of water and managing your stress levels for example. All of these plus good sleep will help to increase energy levels.

2. Less Stress

The first side effect of a few bad nights sleep is stress. We don’t tend to take poor sleep in our stride very well so prioritise how to improve your sleep to avoid adding extra stress and worry. Stress and poor sleep can become part of a cycle where the less sleep you get the more you worry and then worry stops you from sleeping so try improving your sleep to break the cycle. CBT for insomnia can help you to understand this cycle and how to break it if you are struggling on your own.

3. Weight Loss and Rest

Getting a good night's sleep can balance out the hormone fluctuations that provoke appetite. Tiredness often makes us reach for the biscuit tin as we try to get energy from sugar but if you improve your sleep you will find it easier to make healthy choices.

4. Sleep Improves Happiness

Sleeping allows us to wake with more energy and increased motivation to attack the day. The more tired we are, the more we worry about the effects of poor sleep and the less we tend to do with our days, all risk factors for depression and anxiety. With lack of sleep so strongly associated with mental illness, it's not hard to see how getting an early night and some deep sleep can lead to a better day tomorrow.

If you want to improve your daytime functioning and reap the rewards of better sleep then help is at hand.

At The Insomnia Clinic we help people to understand and improve their poor sleep which in turn improves daytime functioning, physical and mental health. The programme of treatment we offer is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) so if you are still struggling to sleep then CBT-i is the NHS recommended approach to fix poor sleep. CBT-i works by looking at both the behavioural and cognitive (mental) factors which are maintaining sleep problems.