How to recover from a sleepless night

Try as we might to get a good eight hours of shut-eye every night, there will always be times when we have to go to work not feeling our best - whether we were kept awake by worries, an ill-advised midweek night out, or just stayed up playing games and lost track of the time! If you find yourself in this situation more often than you'd like, it can indicate a bigger problem: long-term sleep deprivation can harm your health, your concentration and your mental well-being, and it's a good idea to speak to your GP about it. But if you're just feeling the effects of a late night, here are a few tips to help you recover: Get active It may be the last thing you feel like doing, but even a little light exercise will get your blood flowing and help you to feel more alert naturally. Consider walking all or part of the way to work - combined with deep, slow breathing, this will gently energise body and mind. Regular stretching and staying on the move as much as you can during the day keeps the effect going. Eat the right stuff Stay away from anything too heavy: fresh fruit and vegetables are what you need when you're recovering from a sleepless night. Oranges, bananas and pineapple are all high in energy and should be eaten at regular intervals throughout the day. And keep an eye on the coffee - caffeine may offer a temporary fix, but ultimately it'll make it harder to sleep later on. Let there be light If you have a lamp or another way to turn the lights up at your workplace, use it - the brighter environment may seem unpleasant at first, but it will help you to stay alert. Even if you don't have a lamp on your desk, stepping out into the sunlight every so often will have the same effect! Don't take on too much Lack of sleep affects you more than you might realise, and trying to multi-task is likely to make things worse. Your concentration and working memory are impaired, so if possible take things easy until you have a chance to catch up on some real sleep. It's also important not to drive if you're not 100% sure you're up to it - switch to public transport or walk instead.