Seven steps to sleep better

1. Set a wake-up time

Establish a wake-up time that you can realistically stick to every day.

You can allow yourself a one-hour sleep-in one day per week followed by a 30-minute sleep-in the following day. It is important, however, to stick to your set wake-up time the rest of the week.

Don't go to bed too early. Ideally, 85% of your time in bed should be spent sleeping.

2. Reset your body clock

Allow plenty of light into your eyes first thing in the morning to help your body reset its clock. A quick walk or eating breakfast outside should do it. If you need to have a nap, keep it to 5-10 minutes.

3. Reduce your anxiety about sleep

When you get up, find five minutes to write down all the unhelpful thoughts you may have had overnight about not sleeping. Perhaps you feel you can't do your job properly or that you are guaranteed to have a bad day if you don't sleep for eight hours. Challenge these thoughts and replace them with helpful ones, such as, “Sure, I will be tired and grumpy but I will get through the day as normal. And because I will be tired, I will probably get a better night's sleep tonight.”

4. Establish worry time

Bed is for sleeping, not for thinking and worrying. Set aside 30 minutes every day to go through your worries, plans and thoughts.