How to get a good night’s sleep
The summertime, and in particular the days around the summer solstice, can be an especially exhausting period for those of us who need lots of sleep. With sunset taking place as late as 10:20pm in the far north of the UK, and sunrise occurring just 6 hours later, good quality shut eye can often be hard to find. Throw a heatwave into the mix, and you have the perfect recipe for a restless night.
The National Sleep Foundation, a leading authority on the subject of sleep, states that the average adult requires around 7 – 9 hours of quality sleep to remain healthy, with school-aged children requiring even more at 9 – 11 hours. So what can you do to ensure you and your loved ones don’t end up turning into tired and emotional zombies over the summer?
Keep your bedroom cool
When we say cool, we don’t mean trendy! However stylish your bedroom may be, it might not currently be the optimum environment in which to help you sleep. As we reach bedtime, our body temperature actually starts to drop a little, so an overly-warm bedroom will affect your body’s natural cycle.
One common misconception is that a warm bath and a mug of cocoa will help you relax and make you sleepy. In fact, the opposite is likely to be true. A much better alternative is a nice, cool shower just before bedtime.
Some obvious ways to keep your bedroom cooler, are keeping windows open (although this may not be practical if you live on a busy street, or in a ground floor room), or using a fan to create a through draught. Some other methods you may not have considered are keeping your loft hatch open during the day, to allow hot air to escape into your roof space, and using venetian blinds on your windows to filter light, rather than curtains which have to be either opened or closed.
Choose the right bed for you
Your bed is arguably one of the most important things you will ever invest in, so it pays to take time and effort when choosing. Spend a little extra, and you’ll appreciate it in the long run.
As a general guide, your mattress should be replaced every 8 years and needs to be the correct firmness and size to accommodate you and any partner you share it with. If you are heavier than average, chances are you’ll require a firmer bed. If you are lighter than average, a softer bed is probably more suitable. However, if your bed is too firm, you’ll end up feeling like you’ve slept on a board. Too soft, and you simply won’t get the support you need, so make sure you test a range of mattresses beforehand.
For added comfort, many people have turned to memory foam mattresses or mattress toppers. But do bear in mind, memory foam isn’t a very breathable material and could leave you feeling too warm.
Block out light
Light has a very powerful effect on our bodies and is most strongly felt when the world around us is meant to be dark. Artificial sources of light, including streetlights, lamps or even the lights on our electronic devices, can all send signals to the brain, which in turn reduce the amount of sleep hormones travelling round our bodies.
This is where our fantastic range of blackout roller blinds come into their own. With a wide choice of colours, you can keep your bedroom looking chic and stylish, whilst the high quality blackout material completely shuts out any artificial or natural light from the outside. So when sunset comes around, as early as 4:20am, you can just sleep on through. What’s more, a roller blind will help keep your room cool and dark during the day when you’re not using it.
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