Metro's Entertainment Editor Alicia Adejobi, who was surviving on just three hours of sleep a night, has shared the unconventional hacks that finally helped her achieve a full night's rest. After a week of testing methods recommended by a behavioural sleep specialist and incorporating new technology, she saw her sleep quality improve significantly, with her sleep score rising to 81 by the end of the trial.
The Problem: A Cycle of Poor Sleep
Alicia describes a punishing nightly routine of doomscrolling on TikTok until the early hours, often falling asleep on the sofa before 11pm and then waking around 2am to move to bed, where she would end up on her phone again. This pattern left her struggling to get up in the mornings, prompting her to seek advice from Behavioural Sleep Specialist Donna Fairley.
Fairley identified Alicia's habit as 'sofa surfing' and prescribed a 'golden hour' – using the 60 minutes before sleep to unwind with minimal activity to keep cortisol low, and only going to bed when ready to sleep. She also advised keeping a worry journal and repeating the word 'the' if tossing and turning in the night, a technique that 'stops the negativity coming in and breaks that train of thought'.
The Trial: Five Nights of New Methods
On the first night, Alicia set up a Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB alarm clock, which mimics sunrise and sunset with adjustable light and over 30 sound options. Despite the soothing rainfall sounds, she found that sleep anxiety proved too strong, and she only dozed off after about an hour without reaching deep sleep.
The second night introduced almonds, which contain magnesium, calcium, and melatonin. Alicia munched on a handful before her skincare routine and settled in bed at 10:30pm, and for the first time in a long time, she got a solid night of uninterrupted sleep.
By the third night, she added the Withings Sleep Analyzer mat, developed with sleep physicians, to monitor her sleep duration, snoring, interruptions, and sleep apnea (which she thankfully did not have). She turned on the sunset setting on her Lumie clock and drifted off seamlessly before it got dark.
The Results: A Sleep Score Improvement
On night four, Alicia woke to a sleep score of 80 after six hours and 16 minutes of sleep. The Withings app showed she fell asleep within 10 minutes, her heart rate variability was in the optimal zone for restorative sleep, and her deep sleep was good. She noticed a slight difference in energy levels and only needed one cup of coffee to function.
Night five combined almonds, sleep tea, and the Lumie, and added Luminette light therapy glasses, which emit white or blue light to mimic sunlight and align the circadian rhythm. Luminette recommends wearing the glasses for four to seven days to feel the impact. Despite looking like RoboCop, Alicia was excited to see if they helped.
By night six, her sleep score rose to 81, but a stressful day led her to use the worry journal as advised. Unfortunately, on night seven, writing down her concerns did not prevent them from returning, and her score dropped to 67, taking 41 minutes to fall asleep and waking twice. She then headed to the gym for an hour-long workout, using the sauna and steam room, which helped her fall asleep in 20 minutes.
Conclusion: A New Routine to Keep
After the week, Alicia concluded that some methods worked better than others – the Lumie clock and almonds were winners, while the worry journal wasn't for her. She noticed small improvements, including clearer skin, but the biggest change was her mindset. Two weeks ago she could stay awake until 2am on her sofa, but now she sees the benefits of being in bed by 10:30pm to naturally encourage sleep.
She plans to keep this new routine, noting that any habit is tough to break but that getting into good routines is key.
