How to Elevate your Sleep
Good sleep is essential for our physical and mental wellbeing.
Read on for our tips to get a good nights sleep………..
Fresh sheets
Who doesn’t love the feeling of getting into bed with fresh sheets?! Whilst it can be a faff changing the bed, it is always worth it at bedtime when you sink into clean, fresh sheets. 78% of people surveyed said that they were more excited to go to bed if they had fresh smelling sheets. Try mixing up the laundry products you use to find the scent you like the best.
Limit caffeine from midday
A morning coffee is essential for lots of us to get us going in the morning. Did you know though that caffeine hangs around in your system for 10 hours?! Caffeine has a half life of 5 hours, which means that if you have a cup of coffee at 5pm, half the caffeine from that drink is still in your system at 10pm. This can make it more difficult for you to get to sleep. Try switching to other drinks which are caffeine free from midday to ensure the caffeine has left your system by bedtime. We love herbal teas such as chamomile.
Get out into the fresh air
Have you ever got to the end of the day and realised you have barely been outside? It is easily done when we have lives which revolve around screens and working in offices. Getting outside and breathing in fresh air has all sorts of benefits, not least that it helps you sleep more soundly. Build in pockets of time in your day to get fresh air. Take a quick walk round the block after your lunch or walk to the shops instead of driving. Those few minutes can make all the difference to how the rest of your day unfolds and will help you sleep better at night.
Go device free an hour before bed
This one is tough - I can hear the protests already! It really is worth it though. Devices such as phones and tablets emit blue light. Blue light supresses the secretion of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating our circadian rhythm (our body’s natural clock). Looking at screens before bed means our bodies are confused, thinking it is daytime and therefore we don’t have enough melatonin in our system. This makes it more difficult for us to get to sleep.
Try turning your phone off an hour or so before you plan to go to sleep or leave it in another room. We like to create a wind down ritual before bed to fill this time. It really is possible to spend time without your phone!
Create a wind-down routine
To fill the phone free time, try creating a wind-down routine or ritual. We like to take a bath or do some gentle stretching or yoga. We light our Sleep Candle and spritz our pillow with Sleep Spray before settling into bed to read a good book. Everyone’s ideal wind-down ritual will look different but the key is to do things that help you switch off from the day and relax. We find not looking at devices means we can go into our own world, without distraction or input from the outside world. When we use devices before bed, we are taking in and processing information. Our brains are working hard doing all of this. Allowing our brains the chance to slow down, signalling that sleep is approaching makes it much easier to drift off to sleep.