Hydration, regular breakfast give sound sleep

The festive season can be fun but also bring a lot of stress and sleeplessness. Don't skip breakfast and drink as much water as possible to sleep well.

You may start worrying about finding the perfect gift for your loved ones or over too many Christmas party invitations, and such thoughts can have a negative impact on one's sleep pattern.

Sleep expert Nerina Ramlakhan has shared advice on getting a good sleep this festive season, ensuring you wake up refreshed and energised when the big day arrives, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She said: "Organising and preparing for any big day or important event, such as Christmas, can be a daunting task. With a never ending list of things to do and a head swirling with information and thoughts it can prove difficult for anyone to switch off at the end of the day.

"Throw in additional stresses and strains of daily life and sleeping through the night can prove even trickier than usual.

Here are top tips to help restless sleepers:

- Minimise electronic equipment in your room: It may be tempting to buy Christmas presents online or search the web for inspiration before you retire to the bedroom but avoid spending time on laptops and smartphones in the 60 to 90 minutes before bed if you want to look and feel refreshed the next morning.

- Don't skip breakfast: While some of you may like to skip breakfast if you're in a rush, this can have an adverse effect and actually affect your sleeping pattern. You need to eat healthily and avoid skipping breakfast. People who eat breakfast produce more melatonin and therefore, sleep better. Include protein in your breakfast for an even greater effect.

- Be well hydrated during the day: Dehydration is a key cause of frequent waking or 'shallow' sleep. This will also keep you looking as well as feeling good, especially following your Christmas parties.

- Pen down your worries: Research shows that people who go to bed happy tend to sleep better. So deal with your worries before you put your head on the pillow. And if you can't let those worries go then get up, go to another room and write down all the worries in your head on a piece of paper. Then go back to bed and get as comfortable as possible.