1. Disconnect in the evenings or weekend
At least a couple of hours before going to sleep, if you can, turn off your phone, set it to aeroplane mode and avoid watching the news which can be a source of anxiety.
Try to stay away from social media and unwind so that you can get a full night's sleep and feel refreshed.
If you can afford to, try to have a day, perhaps on weekends once a week or every few weeks, where you disconnect from 24-hour news, social media spam and information overload.
It can be worthwhile to set that specific time as a time to do nothing. Give yourself some time to just let your mind wander. You might find that your mind starts working out solutions to problems that you didn't have time to think about, or you could have a creative spark!
Some people even practice dopamine fasting to give their mind a break. We didn't try it, but the concept is interesting.
2. Reduce your caffeine intake and avoid drinking alcohol.
If you drink a lot of coffee, or a lot of tea, then try to avoid doing so past noon. You could also try switching to decaf or something with lower caffeine content like matcha. See if this has an effect on you: some people metabolise coffee very quickly and have very little side-effects, others will notice a big difference and might feel less anxious.
Similarly, if you drink regularly it could be worth keeping that to a minimum for a while to grant your body all the benefits of a drink-free period. We know it can be difficult if you have social engagements, but we encourage you to try this. Again people are affected differently by alcohol, so you may or may not see a huge difference in your specific case but there are health benefits for everyone to keeping alcohol unit intakes to a minimum.
3. Sleep, Meditation and Exercise
This is a triple combo that works really well. Exercising during the day will help you immensely and can help with regulating sleep too. Even simple fitness such as planks and other static holds if you can't do intensive exercise! Our physio consultant also suggested doing some routine stretching in the dark before going to sleep as well.
Meditation always seems to be waved around like a magical solution, it is in fact just very efficient to bring back your focus to the present moment and letting go of things which are out of your control. By focusing on the now, you can appreciate your own thoughts and shed some light on how you feel.
A lot of meditating is to do with breathing exercises, which are great ways to stay calm and collected. If you suffer from insomnia it may also help you fall asleep.