In this week’s Sleep Diaries, a 40-year-old operations consultant struggling with her sleep asks Dr Ramlakhan for some advice.

A little about me:

Age: 40

Occupation: operations consultant

Number of hours sleep you get each night: 4-6 hours

Do you measure your sleep in some way (e.g. using your phone or wearable): no, but I use my phone as an alarm clock.

How much water you drink on average per day: 3 litres, luckily I love it.

How much caffeine do you drink on average per day: I only have one cup of coffee a day at 6am. I’m not drinking any alcohol now (I’m currently pregnant with my third child, due in February) and didn’t drink much before either.

Day 1

I finished work late after getting the boys to bed, so I get in bed at 11pm. I ended up waking up twice during the night and then get out of bed at 5am to do a gym session at 6am.

My day is spent doing the school run followed by a number of client meetings via Zoom. I manage to get dinner sorted and then do some work after the boys go to bed at 8pm.

“I rarely sleep through the night and I’m exhausted – how can I help myself get more?” A sleep expert answers your questions