b'FEATURED ARTICLEIndeed, some of the more famous occupational disasters5.What are some other tips for good suchastheAirFrancecrashin2009,theChernobylsleepNuclear Plant disaster, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion have been found to beHow we sleep at night is often very dependent upon how a direct result of operator fatigue. we spent our day. To get the best sleep possible we do need to prepare both our mind and body for sleep.Sleep, or lack thereof also significantly impacts our physical health. In the short-term, getting the sleep we need on aTo prepare the body we need to:regular basis optimises our immune function and makesGet up at the same time every day.us less vulnerable to cold and flu infectionsa relevant consideration in our current world. In the long term, sleepExercise for at least 20 minutes per day (a walk at deprivationincreasestheriskofdevelopingachroniclunchtime is good)illness. People with chronic sleeplessness are more likelyNot have caffeine after middayto suffer from:Refrain from alcoholdepression,Not sleep during the day (a nap of 20 minutes is OK)certain types of cancer,Eat only a small meal at night and especially no big cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressuremeal within three hours of bedtime.and heart disease,Not exercise within three hours of bedtime (this will metabolicdiseases,suchasTypeIIdiabetesandalert the body)obesity, and dementia and cognitive decline.To prepare the mind we need to:As described above, make sure to deal with the issues 4.What should people do toof the day during your wakeful hours. adequately prepare for a good sleep? Set an alarm one hour before bedtime. At that time:Researchindicatesthatoneofthemajorcausesofturn off all technologysleeplessness is anxiety. This doesnt imply a pathologicaldim the lighting in the roomstate,butrathersimplythatweareworriedaboutwarm-hot showersomething. When we have a busy day we often dont haverelaxation exercise.time to deal with some of the stresses and worries that occur. But if we dont deal with these during the day, whenEnsurethatthebedandbedroomenvironmentis we go to bed and try to sleep our mind will immediately goconducive to sleep, meaning it isto these issues. As soon as we do this our mind becomesquietalert and we cannot get to sleep. On the other hand, it may be that we are so tired that we will actually fall asleep quitecoolquickly only to wake up a few hours later to immediatelydarkstart thinking about these issues. absolutely no technology. Happily, implementing some simple steps may significantly improve the ability to sleep for many of us.If you have had a busy and stressful day make sure you factor in some exercise - maybe walk the dog or get off the bus one stop earlier. When you get home devote some time, no longer than 15 minutes, to thinking about the issues of the day and perhaps write them down, along with any potential solutions, in a book. Importantly, when you finish, close the book, and put it away. Not only are you physically putting aside your worries, but you have now managed to deal with your concerns, rather than waiting until going to sleep. And, as always, good sleep practices are a must for good sleep.78 FACE 2 FACE MAGAZINE'