As a sleep expert, one of the things that I often see stopping people from improving their sleep, is setting unrealistic sleep goals.

In the same way that we wouldn’t go from never exercising, to expecting to run a marathon in a week, if your sleep is really poor, you can’t expect it to be fixed overnight.

So, here are my three top tips on how to avoid falling into the trap of setting yourself up to fail when it comes to improving your sleep.

1. Forget the eight-hour myth. If you’ve never got eight hours of sleep before, then this probably isn’t a realistic goal for you. We don’t all need eight hours of sleep, so always make sure you’re thinking of quality over quantity. Six hours of quality sleep is much better than eight hours of broken sleep.

2. Remember it takes time. Changing your body clock will take time and isn’t a quick fix. So, make sure you’re following the tips the Sleep Well, Live Better course gives you, doing things during the day that help give you more energy and trying to take the pressure off of sleep. But ultimately, just remember this does take time, and doesn’t happen overnight. It will come, but just be patient.

3. Don’t base how well you’ve slept on how you feel when you wake in the morning. Some people just aren’t morning people, so think about how you feel during the day, or after you’ve had your cup of tea, or done a bit of exercise. If you stay awake all day, an afternoon lull is normal, so remember, being sleepy in the afternoon or first thing in the morning doesn’t mean you’re failing. Be kind to yourself.