Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy wealth and wise, were the words quoted by Benjamin Franklin.

But when something keeps you awake at night or wakes you too early in the morning the solution never seems to be that easy.

Most of us can relate to this, based on evidence the NHS says that in the UK one in three of us are counting sheep and tossing and turning nocturnally. This can have a big impact on our physical and mental health especially if we let this situation carry on for a long period.

So, what is keeping us awake? Bad food choices, alcohol, or are we needlessly worrying?

In times of uncertainty, little niggles start whirring around our sleepy heads, crawling out from within our sub-conscious minds with no appreciation that you have had a long day, you are tired and that the issue that keeps coming into your mind, you do NOT want to deal with at 2.am in the morning?.

You know you need sleep, approximately 8 hours, in fact, some people need more. A bad night’s sleep will leave you feeling irritable, grumpy and unable to focus properly the next day. This will affect your working performance and general well-being. Can you see a downward spiral happening here?

Seriously speaking if you let this go on for too long you could be facing serious potential problems later such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Scary stuff, right?

So what has been worrying you lately that could help you sleep better at night?

Your job, the kids, your relationship, the car, the house insurance. What is going to happen to your family if you die, not to mention Aliens landing, your hair falling out and the funny pain you have developed in your big toe. How silly our worries can be when we are tired and exhausted.

As a lifestyle traveller, my biggest worry is what will happen to me if I have an accident when I am abroad. I am though, one of those people who love the thrill of uncertainty, sometimes I refuse to plan where I am going as I like to see where life takes me.

My friends accuse me of being a health nerd, so I rarely get ill, but I also try not to do dangerous things. The chances of something happening to me is minimal. Unfortunately, I have met up with fellow travellers who have not been so lucky. A good friend of mine recently got bitten by a scorpion in an unfortunate place, I won’t go into detail, but he ended up spending a week in a Thai hospital. He, fortunately, had travel insurance. That could have so easily been me

Never say that won’t happen to me, Life has a funny way of proving us wrong.

As bad as I am at planning, I do take out travel insurance because I want to feel safe when I am far from home. Feeling insecure about my health needs would keep me awake at night.

We all crave a security blanket; the need comes from our childhood. When we feel insecure it can play havoc in our minds stopping us from falling asleep.

Whatever is keeping you awake at night, make a note of it and start dealing with the issue. If left too long there will likely be consequences. You deserve to rest easy. Benjamin Franklin was right, there is a lot to be said about being healthy wealthy and wise.