For Rosa, sleep isn’t just rest — it’s health, calm, and peace of mind. She has been with us for 20 years, and every night, she knows she’s never alone. Thanks to our Waking Nights Support Workers, Theresa and Barbara,  someone is always awake if she needs help, and a bell in her room gives her extra reassurance.

“I need about eight hours,” Rosa says. “If I have five or four, three, I might have a fit, because lack of sleep sometimes sets my fits off.”

Rosa experiences seizures, so having support at night is vital. “They calm me down with water and keep me calm,” she explains. “Nothing worse than somebody panicking.”

Over the years, Rosa has developed her own bedtime routines to help her unwind. Calming music or mindfulness tracks help her relax. “I listen to classical music before I go to sleep. That usually calms me down,” she says. Music has been a lifelong comfort, from nursery rhymes as a child to artists like Adele and Norah Jones today.

Writing down worries in a diary before bed is another key habit. “I write a diary before I go to sleep, so I don’t have to worry about anything,” she explains. Talking things through with her key worker, Felicity, also helps.

Rosa avoids screens before bed and keeps her routine simple. Her advice for anyone struggling to sleep? “Not overthink before you go to sleep. Just relax and listen to mindfulness or relaxing music.”

When she gets the rest she needs, the difference is immediate. “If I have eight hours, I feel brighter and jollier and wide awake,” she says.

For Rosa, good sleep is about calm, routine, and support. This World Sleep Day, her tips — relaxing music, writing down worries, and switching off screens — remind us that sometimes the simplest habits are the most powerful.