Member Article

Sleep on it

I don’t know about you but before any big event I often find it hard to sleep. It doesn’t have to be a presentation of course, although public speaking is certainly going to make me anxious. Performing while you’re tired really isn’t a good idea, obviously. Mind you there’s some good news I’ve been reading recently in my research.

Firstly, there’s quite a bit of mounting evidence that the amount of sleep you get on the night before the big day doesn’t have much effect on your ability to perform: what’s much more important appears to be the amount (and quality) of sleep you’ve had in the few days before that.

A good sleep regime can therefore make all the difference.

A lot of the things your parents encouraged you to do when you were a child are useful:

• have a milk-based drink;
• go to bed at a sensible time - preferably the regular time;
• take some exercise during the day and eat sensibly;
• don’t watch television or play computer games shortly before bedtime

and, one for the grown-ups:

• there’s some evidence that sex before the big day will help too.

As always: questions and comments at sme@curved-vision.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .