The art of sleep

I'm writing this from my desk at 2.25am. I should be sleeping, but I'm not. Sleep is such a beautiful, natural thing - yet so hard to get right. As babies we learn to sleep, and as we grow we are taught of how important those hours with our head against the pillow truly are for our development.

I wish I had a good sleeping routine, really I do. I want to be able to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at around 8am feeling totally refreshed and ready to start my day. Does that ever happen? Not a chance. Even with all the good will and intentions in the world I just cannot seem to do it. In fact, I could not tell you the last time that I went to sleep before 12am.

Maybe it's all the distractions that i harbour within the confines of my bedroom. Should I try a technology ban and turn everything off at 10pm - go back to the good old days with a mug of decaffeinated tea and read page after page of a new book until I my eyes become weary. Then blow out the zen-like candles and cocoon myself in my floral printed duvet?

Everyone says how good sleep is for you, and I do not doubt them for a second. I have lost track of all the times I've said "I need to get my sleeping pattern sorted". Do I ever get around to it? Shock horror, I don't.

It's not even that my brain goes in to overdrive and I have thoughts racing around my head, because I really don't. I just have an aversion to early nights. It's like I'm programmed a little bit wonky, surely I just need some re-wiring though? A few early nights to get me in to a good habit.

I am prepared to do whatever it takes to actually fall asleep at a decent hour and not waking up with the realisation that in fact the whole morning has disappeared and it is now 1pm. Yes, that's happened on multiple occasions. Could it be that I'm a student? Possibly, yes. But in 1.5 years I will no longer be a student and will be entering the wide world. I'll have early starts and busy, filled days - 2.38am (currently) sleeps will not allow me to function well with a 7am start.

So body, mind, sleeping fairy - whichever it is that controls my inability to sleep. Buck your ideas up, because this just won't do.

Okay. Let's give this whole sleeping thing another shot for tonight shall we? It's not as if I have to be up at 7am anyway. Oh wait. I do. Terrific.

5 things to do indoors on a rainy day

So we're in June, very soon to be July; why am I writing about things to do in the rain I hear you ask? The answer of course is the fact that I live in England. Therefore, even in the summer months, it's sensible to have an umbrella with you at all times and make sure that you can be fully entertained within the comfy confines of your home. So here's top 5 favourite things to do on those days where you really cannot face getting rained on.

5. Drink tea, lots and lots of tea. I find that this weather is as good an excuse as any to grab your favourite mug and indulge in a tea of your choice. Of course it could be both ordinary tea (my favourite's have to be both PG and when I want something stronger, Yorkshire tea), or herbal tea (Pukka's liquorice and peppermint tea has to be my most reached for at the moment), although I find that this weather requires a good sturdy mug of ordinary tea.

4. Watch films, and I don't just mean any films - I mean the ones that you've watched a million times over and yet never get bored of them. For me these films are Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, The Holiday and anything with Mary-Kate and Ashley in... don't judge me!

3. Binge on Netflix, having finished the Gossip Girl series, I'm now on the hunt for a new series to binge on - I'm thinking 'Orange is the new black'. I know a lot of people who really love it, so it's just a matter of time until I'm fully on that bandwagon. I used to feel guilty for watching things back to back - I've definitely started to embrace it now though.

2. Bake, and I mean anything. A few of my favourites are definitely pancakes, cupcakes, and nutella mug cakes (yes, I love da cake... Little Britain reference in there). There's just something so cathartic about making something that you can be proud of and then sample your delights, preferably with a mug of tea and watching Netflix of course!

1. Mid-day snooze, I don't have to explain why this is so amazing - there's something about falling asleep to the sound of rain against a window that just gets me every single time...

All this being said, this week is supposed to be gorgeous so just bare these in mind for those rainy days, which unfortunately will come around soon enough.