We are thrilled to welcome author, speaker, and teenage brain specialist Nicola Morgan to the blog to discuss with Alison King two books, The Awesome Power of Sleep and Be Resilient. Also known as the Teenage Brain Woman, Nicola is the author of over 100 books including the best-selling Blame My Brain which was shortlisted for the Aventis Prize. In 2018, Nicola was awarded the School Library Association’s prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Information Books and her recent titles demonstrate her continued passion and enthusiasm for the wellbeing of young people.

What prompted you to write The Awesome Power of Sleep?

I'd written about it before in several other books but there's so much to say - and so much new science - that I knew it deserved a whole book. Also, it's such a major part of wellbeing - and the part people often ignore or think they can't affect. Plus, teenagers actually ask for advice on sleep - it's the commonest topic for questions when I do a talk in schools, presumably because at any given moment on a school-day, so many teenagers are feeling dreadful because of sleep deprivation. My book can solve that! 

What’s your favourite piece of advice for young people who struggle to get a good night’s sleep?

Stop worrying about it - worry is the enemy of sleep. So, when worry is threatening to prevent sleep, train your mind to go down a different path. I have various ideas in the book but in a nutshell your mental topics should be any combination of exciting, wonderful, beautiful, relaxing or boring but never worrying, frightening or self-critical. I sometimes make lists in my head when I'm trying to sleep - just make sure it's not a list of worries...

When you were researching the Awesome Power of Sleep, what was the most surprising piece of information you uncovered?

This is a complicated fact so pay attention! First, understand that each night-time sleep has a complex pattern which involves more deep sleep near the start and more dream sleep near the end. You would think, then, that if you have a really late night, perhaps going to bed at 2am, your sleep pattern would be the same but starting later. No: your brain detects that this is not the beginning of the night, even though it's the beginning of your sleep, and it goes straight into the usual pattern for the second half of the night. So, you lose relatively more deep sleep and deep sleep is critical for restoration and how you feel physically next day. 

Which key piece of information would you like readers to take away from this book?

Your evening routine is key to how easily you will fall asleep. It directs your brain towards earlier sleep and earlier sleep is what most of us need, bearing in mind that we can't usually affect our getting up time. And this is really good news because you can have a lot of control over your evening routine. Further details can be found in The Awesome Power of Sleep.

Be Resilient was written at the beginning of the first lockdown in 2020. What effect did lockdown have on your productivity as a writer?

At first, good, because all my events disappeared, and I had masses of time for writing (and lots to write - and having lots to write makes me write more.) Then my daughter, son-in-law and six-month-old grandson came to live with us for six months, so I turned into a multi-tasking superwoman trying to be all things to all people and my writing suffered (but I'm not complaining because it was amazing!) 

You introduce the concept of Heartsong in Be Resilient. Can you tell us firstly what it is and secondly, what it means to you?

Heartsong is a moment or state when your heart feels light, and you are getting real pleasure from what you're doing or from a thing that has happened. I guess it's "happiness" but it's a bit purer and more golden than that. It can come from big things or small things. Sometimes it comes from things you can't affect - such as when someone says something unexpectedly nice to you. But the important thing about heartsong is that you need to know ways you can make it happen and notice it when it does, because sometimes you have to take steps to get it. I had heartsong yesterday when I picked the first corn on the cob from my garden and grilled and ate it with olive oil and pepper. I get it when I am fully engaged on a piece of work and I forget the time but the words have flown. I get it when I laugh with a friend or I'm peaceful on my own, when the sun comes out and there's warmth on my shoulders, when I drink a first sip of rosé wine on a Friday evening, when I eat my favourite creamy chocolate or inhale sweet pea scent in my garden.

If you don't have any heartsong in your life, that's a very bad position to be in. Your mental health is very low at that point because you are unable to feel pleasure in anything around you. You might need someone to help you find heartsong and acknowledge it. Even if very bad things are going on, you still deserve and need those moments of joy, but it can be very hard to admit to feeling joy when the bad thing is happening. Not long ago, I lost my sister after a five-month illness. I found it very difficult to allow myself to enjoy any moments during that time, but I knew it was important because you can't actually live without heartsong. So, go and find it and enjoy it - you owe it to yourself. Literally. 

You mention journaling as a useful activity, and I know many people agree. Do you have any advice for people who struggle to know where to start and what to write?

I don't actually do it myself - perhaps because I'm writing all the time anyway so it's not a tool I need? But I think the blank page is a scary thing so buying a journal with prompts could be the answer for many people. I have seen and like the HappySelf journals - they are very good quality (nice paper helps journaling!) and therefore not cheap. On the Be Resilient page of my website there's also a free activity involving a 12-sided dice that you write prompts on, and there's a list of suggested prompts. Or you could just decide to write three things that went well each day. 

When building resilience, what is the single most important thing for the reader to remember?

That no human is completely resilient - everyone bleeds, everyone hurts - but that we can all learn to become more resilient. We all learn from everything that happens to us but sometimes what we learn is negative and makes us weaker - Be Resilient shows you how to learn and grow stronger from everything.

Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?

I'm writing Ten Ways to Build a Brilliant Brain for publication in 2022. 

What are you currently reading?

I'm reading I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell (and various other things by her, including the beautiful picture book, Where Snow Angels Go) because I'm interviewing her at the Edinburgh International Book festival. I know!

A big thank you to Nicola Morgan for the interview, to Alison King for conducting this and to Nina Douglas for the opportunity.