Sleep is just as important to your health as keeping active and eating well. Adults are recommended to have at least 7 hours of good sleep a night which will help you feel energised, positive and ready to take on the day. A poor night's sleep will make you feel tired and irritable the next day, and getting less than 7 hours of sleep on a regular basis increases your risk of several adverse health outcomes which include;

• weight gain (people often eat more when they’re tired)
• diabetes
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• stroke
• depression
• impaired immune system
• increased risk of death caused by accident

The amount of sleep you need differs from person to person, and as you get older you may find you don’t need as much sleep as you used to. Things that can disrupt your sleep can include medication, anxiety, depression, needing to get up in the night to go to the toilet, being in pain, worrying, drinking caffeine and using tech (mobile phone / tablet etc) too close to bedtime and eating late at night. Identifying what may be causing you to have a poor night’s sleep is the first thing you can do to try and improve your sleeping pattern. The Sleep Council offers a range of advice to support people to get a better night’s sleep. The 10 top tips below apply to most people, but if you are someone who works shifts, or would like advice around children’s sleep patterns then the sleep council website has more targeted advice.

Knowsley has developed leaflets containing tips to help children and families get a better night’s sleep. They also contain information on what support is available locally and are designed for 3 age groups; 0-12 months ,1-5 years and 5-12 years.

Keep regular hours

   Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time every day will programme your body to sleep better. Choose a time when you're most likely to feel sleepy.

Create a restful sleeping environment

   Your bedroom should be kept for rest and sleep. Keep it as quiet and dark as possible. It should be neither too hot nor too cold. Temperature, lighting and noise should be controlled so that the bedroom environment helps you to fall (and stay) asleep.

Make sure that your bed is comfortable

   It’s difficult to get restful sleep on a mattress that’s too soft or too hard, or a bed that's too small or old and worn out. If you have a pet that sleeps in the room with you, consider moving it somewhere else if it often makes noise in the night.

Exercise regularly

   Moderate exercise on a regular basis, such as swimming or walking, can help relieve some of the tension built up over the day. Make sure that you don't do vigorous exercise too close to bedtime as it may keep you awake.

Less caffeine

   Cut down on stimulants such as caffeine in tea or coffee, especially in the evening. They interfere with the process of falling asleep, and they prevent deep sleep. The effects of caffeine can last a long time (up to 24 hours), so the chances of it affecting sleep are significant. Instead, have a warm, milky drink or herbal tea.

Don’t over-indulge

   Too much food or alcohol, especially late at night, can interrupt your sleep patterns. Alcohol may help you to fall asleep initially, but it will disrupt your sleep later on in the night.

Don’t smoke

   It’s bad for sleep as well as your general health. Smokers take longer to fall asleep, they wake up more frequently, and they often have more disrupted sleep.

Try to relax before going to bed

   Have a warm bath, listen to quiet music or try using a relaxation CD. Switch off your tech a couple of hours before bedtime - that includes your phone!

Write away your worries

   Deal with worries or a heavy workload by making lists of things to be tackled the next day. If you tend to lie in bed thinking about tomorrow's tasks, set aside time before bedtime to review the day and make plans for the next day. The goal is to avoid worrying about these things when you're in bed, trying to sleep.

Don't worry in bed

   If you can’t sleep, don’t lie there worrying about it. Get up and do something you find relaxing such as reading a book or listening to music until you feel sleepy again, then return to bed.

You can’t always stop the stress from happening. How stressed you are isn’t just down to what happens to you. How you react to what happens to you is also important.

Everybody has a time when they feel at their best. Identify your best time (you may be a morning or an afternoon person) and use it to carry out important tasks that need the most energy and concentration. Make a list of things you have to do on any given day. These are your priorities; everything else can be left until later. Arrange these priorities in order of importance and try to stick to that order.

Once you’ve finished a task, take some time to pause and relax, why not reward yourself with a healthy treat such as a piece of fruit or a 5 minute walk or do something you enjoy! At the end of each day, sit back and be pleased with what you’ve done. Don’t spend time about worrying about what still needs to be done.

For more information visit Mental Health Foundation

Everyone reacts differently to worrying and difficult times and some people will find things more challenging than others. The most important thing you can do is to ask for help.

If you are in mental health crisis and you need urgent help, you can call the NHS Mental Health crisis line on freephone 0800 051 1508. NHS staff will then support you to get the help you need. Available for people of all ages, including children and young people, available 24/7.

You can also contact one of the agencies below for information to support your mental health or if you are concerned about someone you know.

If you are in mental health crisis and no longer feel able to cope or be in control of your situation and need urgent help, you can call the NHS Mental Health crisis line.

NHS staff will then support you to get the help you need. Available for people of all ages, including children and young people, available 24/7. Call freephone 0800 051 1508.

• Shout offers confidential 24/7 text messaging support for times when you need immediate support. he service is staffed by trained volunteers who will work with you to take your next steps towards feeling better. They can help with issues such as stress, anxiety and depression and are able to talk via text at any time of day or night. Simply text the word “REACH” to 85258 for immediate support.Visit the website
• Samaritans - A safe place o talk 24 hours a day about whatever is troubling you. Call 116 123 or visit the Samritans website
• Qwell - free, safe and anonymous online chat-based counselling support accessible 24/7. Booked and drop-in chat sessions from midday to 10 pm weekdays and 6 pm to 10 pm on weekends with professional counsellors. You can also access self-help resources and peer to peer support forums and lots of helpful content on a variety of mental health and wellbeing topics. Available for anyone in Knowsley aged 19+. Sign up now at Qwell.io
• Think Wellbeing Knowsley offers free NHS therapy for people in Knowsley with common mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, to help you change the way you feel by changing the way you think.  You can access online therapy available 24/7, with weekly online support from your therapist or attend a six week course that will help you to develop skills to manage your mood. Those who need extra support can access one-to-one therapy . You can find out more by visiting the Think Wellbeing website
• Kooth provides online support and counselling, information, advice and support for young people in secondary schools. Find out more on Kooth's website'
• Yound Minds offers lots of practical tips and advice and real-life stories from other young people who have struggled with their mental health and how they got through it. Parents and carers who are concerned about their child’s mental health up to the age of 25 can get advice from our confidential helpline – call free on 0808 802 5544. Lines are open Lines are open 9.30am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday. You can also access webchat and email advice via the website visit www.youngminds.org.uk
• Knowsley Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) works with young peopleup to the age of 18 who have emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties which are causing difficulties in their school, family or social life. Speak to your GP, health visitor, social worker or school health advisor who will be able to refer you into this specialist service.
• AMPARO - support for anyone affected by suicide. Find out more by calling 0330 088 9255 or visit the website
• SOBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide) – exists to meet the needs and break the isolation experienced by those bereaved by suicide.  Find out more visit the website
• Papyrus - For Children and Young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide, or anyone concerned about a young person. Find out more by calling 0800 068 41 41 or visit the website www.papyrus-uk.org

Other useful resources

• Every Mind MattersEvery Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk) Expert advice and practical tips from the NHS to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.
• Stay Alive app is a pocket-sized suicide prevention resource which provides accessible support including a safety plan and LifeBox where people can upload images or videos that remind them of their reasons to stay alive. The app is designed to help both those who are having suicidal thoughts and those who are concerned about someone else and is available for free on both iOS and Android devices.

The NO MORE Suicide website offers clear and immediate support options for those who may be in suicidal crisis, or people who are concerned someone else may be considering suicide.

Creating a safety plan can help keep people safe when suicidal thoughts arise. It’s a useful way to offer hope in finding a way forward. The website has safety plan templates which can be downloaded, completed and kept in a safe, memorable place to refer at a time when thoughts of suicide may occur.

Stay Alive app

Like the No More Suicide website, the app provides accessible suicide prevention support. The app has both a safety plan and LifeBox, where people can upload images or videos that remind them of their reasons to stay alive. The app also directs people to local help and gives people the tools to start a conversation about mental health and suicide.

The Stay Alive app, which is available free on iOS and Android devices, was developed by charity Grassroots and has several key features including:

• Information on how to access local crisis services in the Cheshire & Merseyside area
• Quick access to UK national crisis support helplines
• A safety plan that can be filled out and used if a person is in a crisis and needs to keep safe
• A ‘life box’ which allows a user to upload photos from their phone to remind them of reasons to stay alive
• Fact-based reasons for staying alive;
• Strategies for staying safe from suicide
• Supporter resources for when you are supporting someone who is suicidal
• Suicide myth-busting

Think Wellbeing offers free NHS therapy for people in Knowsley with common mental health problems like anxiety or depression, to help you change the way you feel by changing the way you think. It includes online therapy or a 6 week wellbeing course.

When you have your first assessment appointment with a member of our team, you will have plenty of time to talk through the two options in more detail to help you decide which one is right for you.

Most people find that online therapy or a wellbeing course is all they need to feel better, but if you still need extra help after completing these, we will then offer you face-to-face, one-to-one therapy with one of our specialist therapists.

Visit the Think Wellbeing website for more info.

Looking after your mental health is just as important as looking after your physical health. Your mental health goes through ups and downs and can be affected when you face difficult or challenging times.

The 10 ways to wellbeing are simple, actions and activities which if done regularly can make a real difference to how you feel and cope with the stresses and demands of life.

When to get help from your GP

If problems with your mental health aren’t going away and are affecting your daily life or causing you distress, talk to your GP or practice nurse and they will be able to refer you for free NHS specialist support.