A doctor on This Morning has shared the perfect time to exercise to overcome problems with sleeping.
Thursday's edition of ITV's flagship daytime programme was hosted by Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary. The two were joined by Dr Ellie Cannon after reports earlier this week showed cases of insomnia had doubled across the UK since the pandemic.
The medical expert shared tips to help the 20 million people in Britain, who claimed to suffer from insomnia. Dr Ellie urged anyone suffering with the condition to remain calm.
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She said: "You have to start to think what am I doing in that hour before bed. What time is my alarm set for? Schedule and organise it in the same way you'd think about your diet or your exercise. Actually structure it and not worry about it too much.
"One of the things with insomnia is that people worry about it in the day. This worsens in the night and then you're in this terrible sleep cycle."
Dr Ellie said there isn't a specified amount of hours people should aim for to get a good night's sleep. She added: "If you wake up feeling refreshed then you've had enough sleep. It is what is right for you.
"You don't need to count the hours and counting hours is one of those things that can worsen insomnia because people get into a panic about it."
Dr Ellie said the important thing to overcome insomnia is to create the right environment, physically and emotionally, to fall asleep. She added: "Some really basics are to make it quiet and use earplugs if you live in a noisy place or sleep with a snorer.
"Use an eyemask and make it dark. If you don't have blackout blinds then an eyemask is great.
"No TV before bed, no phone in the bedroom. If you're a worrier put a notepad and a pen by your bed so when you're worrying about things you can write it down. It sounds so simple, but if our kids weren't sleeping then this is what we would tell them to do."
Dr Ellie also added that people who struggle to sleep should exercise before lunch. She said: "Exercising after lunch is too stimulating and too wakeful for the body."
Dr Ellie also recommended people to get fresh air, daylight and eat regularly meals to overcome sleeping issues.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV & ITV Hub
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