Autumn Leek, Sprout & Barley Risotto with Soft-Boiled Eggs

This is a warming one-pan supper for a dark November evening: nutty pearl barley cooked slowly with leeks, onion and garlic, finished with shredded Brussels sprouts and cabbage, and topped with soft-boiled eggs and toasted hazelnuts. It rounds off this month's liver health series by bringing together several of the habits from my Top Tips: lots of plants, fibre from barley, beans and vegetables, and olive oil as the main added fat.

Leeks, sprouts, cabbage, kale and onions are all in season in the UK in November, so this is a good time to make the most of them. Each portion provides a whopping 15g of fibre, which is about half the 30g a day the NHS recommends.

Leeks, onions and garlic belong to the allium family, while sprouts, cabbage and mustard are all brassicas. Both families are known for their sulphur-containing plant compounds, which give them their distinctive flavour (and their cooking smells!). Researchers are interested in how these compounds interact with the body's own enzyme systems, including those in the liver. 

Finally, the eggs. Eggs are a good source of choline, a nutrient that contributes to the maintenance of normal liver function and to normal lipid metabolism. One egg provides around 147mg.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium leeks (about 300g), trimmed, washed and finely sliced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or ½ tsp dried
• 200g pearl barley, rinsed
• 1 litre hot low-salt vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 250g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and finely shredded
• 200g savoy cabbage or kale, tough stalks removed and finely shredded
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• Zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 30g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated (optional)
• 8 eggs
• 40g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Black pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pan over a medium-low heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft but not browned. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Stir in the pearl barley, then pour in the hot stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and partly cover. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender but still has a little bite. Add a splash of hot water if it starts to look dry.
3. While the barley cooks, toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until golden, then set aside.
4. Bring a pan of water to a simmer. Lower in the eggs and cook for 6½ minutes for a soft yolk, or 9 to 10 minutes for a firm one. Cool under cold running water, then peel.
5. Stir the butter beans, sprouts and cabbage into the barley. Cook for 5 minutes, until the greens are just tender and still bright.
6. Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the mustard, the lemon zest and juice, and the cheese if using. Season with black pepper.
7. Spoon into warm bowls. Halve the eggs and place them on top, then scatter over the hazelnuts and parsley.

Make It Your Own
Pearl barley contains gluten, so for a gluten-free version, swap for short-grain brown rice or buckwheat and follow the cooking time on the packet. For a veggie version, use vegetable stock and a vegetarian hard cheese.

Any leftover risotto will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days without the eggs. Reheat it until piping hot with a splash of water and top with freshly cooked eggs.

And if you're interested in more easy, nutritious recipes, why not head to the Recipe Index?

Top Tips for Looking After Your Liver

Over the last two blogs we have looked at what MASLD is, and at how sugar, saturated fat and alcohol each affect the liver. If there is one message to take from both, it is that your liver does not need a detox. What it responds to is the ordinary, repeated stuff of daily life: what is on your plate, what is in your glass and how much you move.

The encouraging part is that these habits are not unique to the liver. They are the same ones that support blood sugar balance, heart health and energy, so every change does several jobs at once. Here are eight evidence-based places to start.

1. Eat the Mediterranean Way
European liver guidelines recommend improving diet quality along the lines of a Mediterranean-style pattern. This is less about specific foods and more about the overall shape of your meals: plenty of vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils, wholegrains, nuts and seeds, extra virgin olive oil as the main added fat, regular fish and fewer ultra-processed foods.

You do not need Mediterranean sunshine to eat this way. A bowl of lentil and vegetable soup, roasted autumn vegetables with olive oil and herbs, or tinned sardines on wholegrain toast all fit the pattern. The NHS suggests at least two portions of fish a week, one of them oily, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines or trout.

2. Make Plants the Main Event
The NHS recommends 30g of fibre a day, yet most adults manage only around 20g. Closing that gap is one of the simplest ways to move towards the pattern above. Add beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads. Choose wholegrain versions of bread, pasta and rice. Include vegetables with every meal and keep unsalted nuts and seeds to hand.

A helpful way to think about it is to build the meal around the plants first and then add your protein, instead of the other way round.

3. Rethink What Is in Your Glass
Of all the dietary changes studied, cutting back on sugary drinks has some of the most consistent evidence behind it. In the analysis I described in my last blog, having seven or more sugar-sweetened drinks a week was linked with a 53% higher risk of fatty liver.

European guidelines advise avoiding sugar-sweetened drinks. The NHS suggests swapping to water and keeping fruit juice and smoothies to no more than 150ml a day. Sparkling water with a slice of lemon or lime, a few crushed berries or some fresh mint is a good place to start, as are herbal teas, hot or iced.

4. Enjoy Your Coffee
Here is a tip most of us will be happy to hear! A UK Biobank study followed almost 495,000 adults for a median of 10.7 years. Compared with people who did not drink coffee, coffee drinkers had a 21% lower risk of chronic liver disease and a 49% lower risk of dying from it. The association was strongest at around three to four cups a day and was seen with ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee.

This was an observational study, so it cannot prove that coffee itself is protective, and European guidelines describe the evidence in the same cautious terms. But if you enjoy it, there is no need to give it up for your liver's sake. Just watch the syrups and sugar and keep it earlier in the day if it affects your sleep.

5. Move More, Most Days
Physical activity is recommended in its own right for reducing liver fat. European guidelines suggest more than 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, which is in line with NHS advice for all adults. Moderate activity includes brisk walking, cycling, dancing and water aerobics.

A 2023 meta-analysis of 14 studies put some numbers on this. Around a third of people in the exercise groups (34%) achieved a meaningful reduction in liver fat, compared with 13% of those in the control groups. The benefit was seen at around 150 minutes of brisk walking a week, and it did not depend on losing a significant amount of weight.

That last point is worth repeating. Movement appears to help the liver even when the scales do not change. If you are new to exercise or have a health condition, check with your GP first, then start small and build up.

6. Build and Keep Your Muscle
Muscle is one of the main places the body sends glucose after a meal, so maintaining it supports the metabolic health your liver depends on. As I mentioned in my first blog, people who have MASLD at a healthy weight tend to have less muscle than their peers.

The NHS recommends strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least two days a week, and Liver UK gives the same advice for people with MASLD. This does not have to mean a gym. Resistance bands, bodyweight exercises such as squats and press-ups, yoga, Pilates and heavy gardening are all examples. The NHS also advises breaking up long periods of sitting, so a short walk after meals or standing up for phone calls is a useful habit.

7. Be Honest About Alcohol
The NHS advises drinking no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days. Liver UK adds that two to three alcohol-free days a week are a good idea, and that if you have MASLD, alcohol can make liver damage worse. A 175ml glass of 12% wine is 2.1 units, so it adds up more quickly than many of us realise.

With party season approaching, a few practical habits help. Decide in advance which occasions matter to you. Measure what you pour at home. Alternate alcoholic drinks with something soft and put your alcohol-free days in the diary. If you have been diagnosed with a liver condition, or you are worried about how much you drink, speak to your GP.

8. If You Have Weight to Lose, Aim for Steady and Sustainable
Weight is a sensitive subject, and it is only one part of the picture. Where it is appropriate, though, modest changes matter. European guidelines recommend a sustained weight loss of 5% or more to reduce liver fat in people living with overweight. Liver UK notes that losing 5% to 10% of body weight can help control MASLD and may reverse some liver damage. For someone weighing 90kg, 5% is 4.5kg.

The word "sustained" is important. The habits above are designed to be kept up, which a crash diet is not. If you are already a healthy weight, the same guidelines still recommend diet and exercise to reduce liver fat, so the first seven tips apply to you too.

And remember, MASLD usually causes no symptoms, so it is easy to overlook. The NHS advises seeing your GP if you think you could have it or are at higher risk, for example if you have type 2 diabetes, PMOS, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. If you have already been diagnosed, the NHS says you should have check-ups at least once a year.

It is also worth mentioning any supplements or herbal products you take. Liver UK advises always talking to your doctor or pharmacist before trying supplements, as some can harm the liver.

Start with One Thing
You do not need to do all eight at once! Choose the one that feels most achievable this week, whether that is a daily walk, swapping a fizzy drink for sparkling water, or adding a tin of lentils to a stew. Give it a few weeks to become routine before adding another. Small, consistent changes are far more useful than a perfect week followed by nothing.

If you would like something delicious to begin with, my final blog this month is a liver-friendly seasonal recipe.

Need Some Support?
If you have been told you have MASLD, or you are concerned about your liver, your GP should always be your first port of call for testing, diagnosis and monitoring. Alongside that medical care, personalised nutrition and lifestyle support can help you work out which of these habits to prioritise and how to make them fit your life. Why not book in a free call?

Sugar, Alcohol and Your Liver

In my last blog I explained why fatty liver has a new name, MASLD, and why it has far more to do with metabolic health than most people expect. The natural next question is one I hear in clinic all the time: "So what is it in my diet that is doing the damage?"

Some people are convinced it must be sugar. Others quietly worry about the wine. And a quick search online will tell you that what you really need is a liver detox. The honest answer is more nuanced than any of those. No single food is responsible, but some things clearly matter more than others. Let's look at what the evidence shows.

Is Sugar the Problem?
Sugary drinks have the most consistent evidence against them. A 2019 analysis pooled 12 studies involving more than 35,000 people and found that those who drank sugar-sweetened drinks had 39% higher odds of having a fatty liver. The risk rose with the amount: it was 14% higher in people having less than one drink a week, 26% higher at one to six a week, and 53% higher at seven or more.

Studies like these can only show a link, so trials are helpful here. In one six-month trial, 47 adults living with overweight drank a litre a day of either regular cola, milk, diet cola or water. Liver fat rose markedly more in the regular cola group than in any of the others, as did the fat stored around the abdominal organs.

Why drinks in particular? Sugar in liquid form is very easy to consume in large amounts and does little to fill us up. As I described in my last blog, the liver can turn surplus carbohydrate into new fat, and sugary drinks seem to be a particularly efficient way of encouraging it to do so.

Does That Mean All Sugar Is Bad for the Liver?
Not quite, and this is where the headlines tend to go wrong. A meta-analysis of 13 controlled feeding trials in healthy volunteers looked specifically at fructose, the sugar most often blamed. When fructose simply replaced other carbohydrates and total calories stayed the same, there was no effect on liver fat. When it was added on top of the diet as extra calories, in very large amounts, liver fat went up. The authors concluded that the effect may owe more to the excess energy than to the fructose itself.

In other words, context matters. The NHS advises adults to have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, which is roughly seven sugar cubes. Free sugars are those added to food and drinks, plus the sugars in honey, syrups, fruit juices and smoothies. The sugar found naturally in whole fruit, vegetables and milk does not count, and the NHS is clear that we do not need to cut down on these. So, there is no need to fear a piece of fruit. Juice and smoothies are a different matter, and the advice is to keep these to no more than 150ml a day.

The Fat That Surprises People
Sugar gets most of the attention, but saturated fat deserves some too. In a 2018 trial, 38 adults living with overweight were given an extra 1,000 calories a day for three weeks. The extra calories came from saturated fat, unsaturated fat or simple sugars. Liver fat rose in all three groups, but not equally: by 55% with saturated fat, 33% with sugars and 15% with unsaturated fat.

This was a small, short study in which people were deliberately overfed, so it does not tell us what happens on a balanced diet. It does suggest that the type of fat matters to the liver as well as to the heart. The NHS recommends no more than 20g of saturated fat a day for women and 30g for men.

Where Does Alcohol Fit In?

As I mentioned in my last blog, the new terminology recognises that metabolic health and alcohol are not an either/or. Many people have a bit of both, and the evidence suggests that the two do more than simply add together.

A Scottish study published in the BMJ followed more than 9,500 men for a median of 29 years. Among men drinking 15 or more units a week, deaths from liver disease were around three times higher in those of a healthy weight, seven times higher in those who were overweight and almost 19 times higher in those living with obesity, compared with healthy-weight men who did not drink. The researchers concluded that weight and alcohol amplify one another. The study only included men and began in the 1960s, but the pattern is striking.

What about lighter drinking? A Finnish study of more than 8,000 adults with a fatty liver found that 10 to 19g of alcohol a day, roughly one to two and a half UK units, was associated with double the risk of advanced liver disease compared with lifelong non-drinkers. The same study found fewer cardiovascular events among drinkers who had never smoked, which shows how difficult alcohol research can be to interpret. For the liver itself, though, the direction was consistent: the more alcohol, the higher the risk.

So, what does the guidance say? The NHS advises men and women not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days. For reference, a 175ml glass of 12% wine is 2.1 units and a 750ml bottle of 13.5% wine is 10 units. NICE asks clinicians to explain the importance of staying within these limits to people with MASLD.

Liver UK notes that if you have MASLD, drinking alcohol can make liver damage worse. It suggests staying within 14 units with two to three alcohol-free days each week, and stopping completely if you have advanced scarring or cirrhosis. European guidelines go a little further and say that people with a fatty liver should be discouraged from drinking alcohol at all.

My reading of this is that 14 units is an upper limit, not a target, and that for liver health less is better. If you have been diagnosed with MASLD, your GP or liver specialist is the right person to advise on what is appropriate for you.

The Bigger Picture
When you put these studies side by side, a pattern emerges. Excess energy matters, whatever its source. Sugary drinks and saturated fat appear to be the least liver-friendly ways of taking in that excess. Alcohol adds to the load, particularly alongside excess weight.

This is why guidelines focus on the overall pattern of eating, not on single nutrients. European guidelines recommend improving diet quality along the lines of a Mediterranean-style pattern, limiting ultra-processed foods that are rich in sugars and saturated fat, and avoiding sugar-sweetened drinks. They also recommend regular physical activity to reduce liver fat.

Body composition is part of the picture too. For people living with overweight, the same guidelines set out targets: a sustained weight loss of 5% or more to reduce liver fat, 7 to 10% to improve inflammation, and 10% or more to improve scarring. For people of a healthy weight who have MASLD, diet and exercise are still recommended to reduce liver fat.

What About a Liver Detox?
It would be lovely if a tea, a juice cleanse or a capsule could undo all of this, but the evidence is simply not there! Liver UK states that no complementary or alternative medicines have been shown to treat or prevent MASLD, and that they can sometimes harm the liver. 

I have written before about why detox diets don't work, and the liver is a very good example. If you have a liver condition, it is always worth talking to your doctor before starting any supplement.

So, What Actually Matters?
Not one villain, but a handful of everyday habits: how often sugary drinks feature, how much saturated fat and ultra-processed food is in the mix, how much alcohol you drink, and whether your overall pattern of eating and moving is supporting your metabolic health. None of this requires perfection, and none of it requires a detox. In my next blog, I will turn all of this into practical top tips.

Need Some Support?
If you have been told you have MASLD, or you are concerned about your liver or your drinking, your GP should always be your first port of call. Alongside that medical care, personalised nutrition and lifestyle support can help you turn general healthy-eating advice into realistic changes that suit your life. Why not book in a free call?

Fatty Liver Has a New Name
What Is MASLD and Why Does It Matter?

Perhaps a routine blood test showed that your liver enzymes were "a bit raised". Or maybe you had a scan for something else entirely and the report mentioned a fatty liver, almost in passing. Many of my clients come to me with this exact story, usually followed by the same puzzled question: "But I hardly drink, so why is my liver fatty?"

That’s a good question, and the answer explains why the condition has recently been given a new name. What used to be called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, is now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. It is quite a mouthful (Liver UK helpfully points out that MASLD is said as one word, rhyming with "dazzled"), but the new name tells us far more about what is actually going on.

Why Did the Name Change?
In 2023, liver specialists and patient groups from around the world agreed on a new set of terms. The old name had two problems. Firstly, "non-alcoholic" described the condition by what it was not, rather than by what was driving it. Secondly, most of the people who took part in the consensus process felt that the words "non-alcoholic" and "fatty" carried stigma.

"Steatotic" simply means that fat has built up inside the liver cells. "Metabolic dysfunction" points towards the cause, which lies in how the body handles and stores energy. The more serious, inflamed form of the condition, previously called NASH, is now called MASH.

The UK is following suit. In July 2026, NICE renamed its guideline to use the terms MASLD and MASH, and the NHS website currently uses both the old and new names. So, if you see NAFLD on one letter and MASLD on another, they are describing the same thing.

So, What Exactly Is MASLD?
A healthy liver contains very little fat. MASLD is the term used when excess fat has built up in the liver and there is at least one sign that metabolic health is under strain. Under the international definition there are five of these signs:

• carrying extra weight, particularly around the middle (a waist measurement above 80cm for women or 94cm for men is one of the markers used); 
• raised blood glucose, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes; 
• raised blood pressure; 
• raised triglycerides; 
• and low HDL cholesterol.

If that list looks familiar, that’s because these are the same features we talk about with insulin resistance and heart health, hence the new name.

It is also pretty common. A large review published in 2023 estimated that around 30% of adults worldwide are affected, and the figure was closer to 38% in the most recent studies it included. Liver UK estimates that MASLD affects about one in four adults in the UK, and the NHS notes that many people have it without realising.

"But I Hardly Drink"
Your liver is the body's main processing hub for both fat and sugar, and this is where insulin comes in. When cells become less responsive to insulin, known as insulin resistance, fat tissue releases more fatty acids into the bloodstream and many of these end up in the liver. At the same time, the higher insulin levels that accompany insulin resistance encourage the liver to make new fat of its own from surplus carbohydrate.

That does not mean alcohol is irrelevant. The new classification recognises that metabolic factors and alcohol can both contribute in the same person, and there is now a separate category for exactly that. 

Can You Have MASLD at a Healthy Weight?
Yes. In a large analysis of studies from 24 countries, around 40% of people with the condition were not living with obesity, and almost a fifth were classed as lean. European guidelines note that people of a healthy weight who have MASLD tend to have more insulin resistance, more fat stored around the abdominal organs and less muscle than their peers. Genetics play a part too.

Hormones are relevant too. The NHS lists PMOS (formerly known as PCOS) and being over 50 among the factors that make MASLD more likely. A 2023 analysis of 12 studies found that women who had been through the menopause had around 2.4 times the odds of having a fatty liver compared with women who had not. These were snapshot-style studies, so they cannot prove cause and effect, but for midlife women and those with PMOS it is one more reason to keep an eye on metabolic health.

Why It Is About More Than Your Liver
The NHS describes four stages. Most people only ever have the first, where fat has built up but the liver is not damaged. In a smaller number of people the fat triggers inflammation (MASH), which can lead to scarring (fibrosis) and, eventually, cirrhosis.

The wider picture matters just as much. A meta-analysis of 36 studies involving 5.8 million people found that those with a fatty liver had a 45% higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events. Another, covering more than 500,000 people, found just over double the risk of going on to develop type 2 diabetes.

These are observational studies, and researchers are still debating how much of the extra risk comes from the liver itself and how much from the risk factors that travel with it. Either way, cardiovascular disease, rather than liver disease, is the leading cause of death in people with MASLD. That is why a fatty liver deserves to be taken seriously as an early signal about metabolic and heart health.

How Is It Found?
Usually by accident. According to the NHS, MASLD does not usually cause symptoms, although some people notice tiredness, feeling generally unwell or discomfort under the right side of the ribs. It tends to come to light when blood tests or a scan are done for another reason.

It is also worth knowing that normal liver blood tests do not give the all-clear. NICE specifically advises clinicians not to rely on routine liver blood tests to rule the condition out. If your GP suspects MASLD, they will ask about alcohol, check your weight and waist measurement, and may arrange further blood tests or an ultrasound scan. They may also check for scarring, for example with a blood test called the ELF test, which features in NICE guidance.

If you recognise yourself in any of this, or you have type 2 diabetes, PMOS, raised blood pressure or raised cholesterol and have never had your liver checked, it is worth a conversation with your GP.

The Encouraging Part
The NHS is clear that healthy lifestyle changes can reduce the build-up of fat in the liver and help repair damage or stop it getting worse. Unless the condition has progressed, these changes are usually the only treatment needed. Its advice is to eat a healthy, balanced diet, be active for at least 150 minutes a week, lose weight if you are overweight, keep alcohol to no more than 14 units a week and not smoke.

European guidelines add that, for people living with overweight, a sustained weight loss of 5% or more is the target recommended to reduce liver fat. New medicines for more advanced disease are also being assessed for NHS use, and these are a matter for your GP or liver specialist.

What you will not find in any of this guidance is a liver detox, a cleanse or a miracle supplement. What matters is the everyday pattern of how we eat, move and live, and that is exactly what I will be covering in the rest of this month's blogs.

Need Some Support?
If you have been told you have MASLD, or you are concerned about your liver, your GP should always be your first port of call for testing, diagnosis and monitoring. Alongside that medical care, personalised nutrition and lifestyle support can help you turn general healthy-eating advice into realistic changes that suit your life. Why not book in a free call?

Top Tips: 8 Evidence-Based Habits for Better Sleep

If your sleep is not brilliant, you have probably been given plenty of advice already.

Go to bed earlier. Put your phone away. Buy blackout curtains. Stop drinking coffee. Meditate. Take magnesium. Don't eat after 6pm. Get up at 5am. Somehow relax more.

Before long, getting a good night's sleep can start to feel like another full-time job.

The good news is that you do not need a perfect 27-step bedtime routine. Sleep is influenced by what happens throughout the whole day, and some habits appear to matter considerably more than others.

Here are eight evidence-based places to start.

1. Give Your Body Clock Some Regularity

It is tempting to focus entirely on getting eight hours of sleep, but researchers are increasingly interested in another aspect of sleep health: regularity.

Going to sleep and waking at wildly different times from one day to the next can create a mismatch between our behaviour and our internal circadian clock.

A 2025 systematic review involving 59 studies found fairly consistent associations between greater sleep-timing irregularity and poorer cardiometabolic and mental health outcomes. Some large prospective studies have also linked highly irregular sleep with greater mortality risk, even after taking sleep duration into account.

This suggests that sleep health is about more than simply accumulating a certain number of hours.

If you want one practical anchor, focus on your wake-up time. Try to get up at roughly the same time most days rather than continually shifting your schedule backwards and forwards.

2. Get Outside During the Day
Your brain needs clues about what time it is, and light is one of the most powerful signals it receives.

Light reaching the eyes is detected by specialised cells that communicate with the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the brain's central circadian clock. This helps coordinate rhythms in alertness, body temperature, hormone secretion and sleep.

Bright daytime light, particularly earlier in the day, helps reinforce the difference between biological day and night. By contrast, spending much of the day in relatively dim indoor light and then exposing ourselves to bright light late into the evening can blur those signals.

Get outside. Have your morning coffee in the garden. Walk to the station. Take a short walk after breakfast. Step outside during your lunch break.

Outdoor daylight is generally much brighter than normal indoor lighting, even on a cloudy British day. And you gain the added benefits of moving your body at the same time.

3. Move Your Caffeine Earlier
This is one of the changes most worth experimenting with if you struggle to sleep. Caffeine blocks the action of adenosine, one of the chemicals involved in building sleep pressure during the day.

A systematic review and meta-analysis found that caffeine reduced total sleep time by around 45 minutes on average. It also increased the time taken to fall asleep, increased waking during the night and reduced deep sleep.

The researchers estimated that a coffee containing around 107mg caffeine would need to be consumed approximately 8.8 hours before bedtime to avoid reducing total sleep time.

It does not mean everyone needs an 8.8-hour caffeine curfew. Run your own experiment. If you normally have coffee at 3pm, try moving your last caffeinated drink to lunchtime for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

And remember that caffeine can also come from tea, cola, energy drinks, chocolate and pre-workout supplements.

4. Exercise, But Don't Worry Too Much About the Perfect Time
Regular physical activity is one of the most useful lifestyle habits for health generally, and there is good evidence that exercise can also support sleep.

A large 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis included 200 randomised trials involving more than 23,000 adults and found improvements in subjective sleep quality with exercise.

But when should you exercise? For years, people with poor sleep were routinely told not to exercise in the evening. The research is more nuanced.

A new 2026 systematic review comparing morning with evening exercise included 25 studies. Overall, it found no clear advantage of morning over evening exercise for most sleep outcomes. So, if the only time you can exercise is at 6pm, there is probably no need to abandon it because somebody told you all evening exercise is bad for sleep. But if a hard 9pm HIIT class leaves you buzzing at midnight, however, listen to your own response.

The best exercise time is likely to be one that you can maintain and that works with your sleep.

5. Notice What Alcohol Does to Your Sleep
Alcohol can be deceptive. A drink may make you feel relaxed or drowsy, which makes it very easy to conclude that it helps you sleep. But feeling sedated is not the same as having normal, restorative sleep.

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 studies found that alcohol disrupted normal sleep architecture, including delaying REM sleep and reducing the amount of REM sleep. These changes were found even following relatively low amounts of alcohol and became greater as alcohol intake increased. 

If you regularly wake during the night, feel hot or restless, or wake feeling unrefreshed after drinking, try comparing alcohol-free and drinking nights. Your own pattern can be surprisingly revealing.

6. Give Your Evening Meal Time to Settle
Research into chrononutrition, or how food timing interacts with our circadian rhythms, is developing, but there is not yet enough evidence to justify rigid meal-time rules for everyone. Studies of time-restricted eating and sleep have also produced inconsistent findings. 

There are, however, simple practical considerations.

A very large meal immediately before lying down may leave you uncomfortably full and can be problematic if you experience reflux or indigestion. Look at the pattern across your whole day.

If breakfast is tiny, lunch is eaten at your desk and you arrive home ravenous, it is hardly surprising if most of your food ends up being eaten in the evening.

Aim for satisfying meals containing protein, fibre-rich carbohydrate, vegetables and healthy fats, rather than relying on an arbitrary rule such as "no food after 6pm". Just try and finish your meal around 3 hours before going to bed.

7. Create a Wind-Down Signal, Not a Perfect Routine
Your brain cannot necessarily switch instantly from answering emails, watching an exciting television programme or sorting out tomorrow's problems to being ready to sleep.

An evening transition can help. A bit like the bedtime routine that we put together for babies and children. That might mean dimming some lights, having a shower or bath, reading, stretching, listening to music or practising a relaxation exercise, having a cup of sleepy tea.

So, choose an evening routine that feels calming and achievable. You do not need to perform it perfectly for your body to sleep.

8. Know When to Stop Trying to Fix It Yourself
This may be the most important tip of all. If you occasionally have a poor night's sleep, that is normal.

If you have been struggling for months, sleep problems are affecting your ability to function during the day, or you are becoming increasingly anxious about sleep, another supplement or stricter bedtime routine may not be the answer.

It is also important to investigate possible underlying causes. Speak to your GP if persistent sleep problems are affecting daily life. Seek medical assessment if you have symptoms suggesting sleep apnoea, such as loud snoring, pauses in breathing, gasping or choking during sleep, frequent waking or severe daytime tiredness.

Restless legs, pain, menopause symptoms, anxiety, depression, some medications and other medical conditions can also interfere with sleep.

Poor sleep is not always a sign that you are doing bedtime badly.

Start with One Thing
Perhaps the biggest mistake we make with sleep is trying to optimise everything at once.

Instead, choose one change. 

Then give yourself enough time to see whether it actually makes a difference.

Because sleep is not something we can force. Often, the most useful thing we can do is create the conditions that allow our biology to get on with it.

Need Some Support?
Sleep, energy, stress, food and lifestyle habits often overlap. If you are struggling to work out which changes are actually relevant to you, personalised nutrition and lifestyle support can help you look at the bigger picture. Why not book a free health review?

Autumn Chicken, Squash & Chickpea Traybake

This is a simple autumn traybake featuring chicken, butternut squash, chickpeas and seasonal greens – perfect for an easy midweek dinner with plenty of protein, fibre and colourful plants. And bonus - there is not much washing up afterwards!

It also fits nicely with this month’s sleep theme. Chicken, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds and yoghurt are good sources of tryptophan, an essential amino acid used in the pathway that produces serotonin and subsequently melatonin, which is involved in regulating our sleep-wake cycle.

Chicken and chickpeas also provide vitamin B6, which is needed for the conversion of 5-HTP to serotonin. 

This meal also gives you a satisfying combination of protein, fibre-rich carbohydrate, healthy fats and a variety of plant foods, making it a great everyday autumn dinner. Plus, it’s delicious! And perfect for those darker evenings.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g skinless chicken thigh, cut into large chunks
• 600g butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
• 200g cavolo nero or kale, tough stalks removed and roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 to 10 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 20g pumpkin seeds
• Black pepper

To serve:

• 150g thick Greek yoghurt
• Small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Squeeze of lemon
• Black pepper

Method

• Heat the oven to 200°C fan.
• Place the squash and red onion in a large roasting dish. Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil, half the sage and the smoked paprika. Season with black pepper and toss everything together. Roast for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix the chicken with the remaining olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and remaining sage.
• Remove the tray from the oven and add the chicken and chickpeas. Toss gently with the vegetables and return to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through and the squash is tender.
• Add the cavolo nero or kale for the final 5 to 7 minutes, turning it through the vegetables until softened.
• Mix the Greek yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon, parsley and black pepper.
• Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the traybake, scatter over the pumpkin seeds and serve with a spoonful of lemony yoghurt.
• Enjoy!

Make it even more October
For pudding, try warm cinnamon pears with Greek yoghurt and pumpkin seeds.

Simply slice ripe British pears and poach gently with a splash of water and a pinch of cinnamon until soft. Serve warm with thick Greek yoghurt and a scattering of pumpkin seeds.

And if you're interested in more easy, nutritious recipes, why not head to the Recipe Index to see what else you can cook?