If you've had a bad night's sleep these 5 hacks will get you through the day

Yahoo

16-07-2025

A bad night's sleep can strike for any number of reasons. A fussy child who won't settle, stress about looming work deadlines, motorbikes racing by at 3am…
What doesn't tend to vary is how awful you feel the next day, particularly if you're facing a jam-packed schedule of meetings, appointments and life admin.
To feel rested and recharged, the NHS recommends we get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but stats suggest that almost one in five people in the UK aren't getting enough.
When you're short on sleep, it's tempting to call in sick and retreat under your duvet for the foreseeable – but you don't need to cancel your plans entirely. Some simple tips and hacks can help you feel more energised, focused and human.
When you're struggling to keep your eyes open at your desk, it's tempting to make regular trips to the office coffee machine to fuel yourself on strong espresso.
While it's true that caffeine has a stimulant effect on the brain, increasing alertness and focus, a 2017 review found that drinking too much too late in the day can cause you to fall asleep later, sleep fewer hours overall and have less satisfying sleep.
To avoid sleepless nights becoming a vicious cycle, load up on strong coffee early in the morning and have your final cup at lunchtime, to avoid caffeine interfering with the next night's kip.
Sweating through a round of burpees is probably the last thing you want to do when you're already tired, but a strategic sweat session can keep you feeling energised when you're flagging.
This is because exercise increases endorphins, feel-good neurochemicals in the brain that boost energy and mood. Research has shown that endorphins rise an hour after exercise, so a well-timed lunchtime workout can help you to navigate the tricky 3pm slump.
Vigorous movement also increases blood flow around the body, which boosts oxygen circulation, supporting energy production. If you can't stomach the idea of an all-out HIIT class, even a gentle yoga class can help.
After a bad night's sleep, leaving the curtains closed and logging onto your laptop in your pyjamas might be tempting. But this can actually make things worse. Why? Because our bodies manufacture energising vitamin D from natural sunlight.
When sunlight – specifically UVB rays – interacts with a cholesterol derivative in the skin, it initiates the production of Vitamin D3, which plays a vital role in energy production. Studies have also found that sunlight regulates our internal body clock, helping to stimulate more of the calming hormone serotonin, which can ease feelings of irritation after too little sleep.
Whether it's walking the dog in the park or taking a quick stroll to your local coffee shop, a dose of morning sunlight could make all the difference to how you feel during the day.
Napping at the wrong time of day or napping for too long can backfire, so if you're desperate for a quick sleep, you'll need to time your naps properly.
Following a study exploring napping as a strategy to keep pilots alert throughout their shifts, space agency NASA determined that the ideal length for a nap is 26 minutes. The researchers concluded that this exact amount of sleep could minimise the effects of inertia while avoiding the groggy feeling you often get from longer nap times.
The 1995 study found that participants who napped for 26 minutes experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 36% increase in job performance.
Carbs are our bodies' main source of energy, so skipping out on bread, pasta, fruits and vegetables when you're already tired could be making things much worse.
That said, not all carbs are made equal. Simple carbs, like French fries, sugary cereal and doughnuts, are made from just one or two sugar molecules, so your body can easily break them down and absorb them. While you might get an initial energy boost from these tasty treats, you'll typically come crashing down and feel worse than when you started.
Complex carbs are your best option when you're short on sleep. They have more sugar molecules and fibre than simple carbs, so they take longer to break down, giving you a slow release of energy throughout the day.
Good examples of complex carbs include:
vegetables like sweet potatoes and butternut squash
breakfast oats
wholegrains like quinoa
cheap and cheerful fruits such as apples and frozen berries
Read more about sleep:
How to stop scrolling in bed as night-time phone use linked to insomnia (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
Tips for a better night's sleep as bad rest linked to memory loss (Yahoo Life UK, 8-min read)
Lifting weights and 12 other ways to sleep better as you age (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)