Sleeping Well: The Real Luxury

I love socialising with friends; eating out; visiting the local pub; and all these things make life worth living.  But, when I’m not out busy going out, I do really enjoy having an early night.  There’s nothing to beat the feeling of sliding in between fresh, clean bed sheets and knowing you can just doze off into the land of nod.  For many though that’s not so easily done because things get in the way of falling easily to sleep.

For me the key thing is to have the right environment as I find that helps me get a good night’s sleep are these:

A Good Mattress

You can’t beat a good quality, natural mattress as a great start on getting a full night’s sleep.  A good base can make such a difference.  You need to pick out the right sort of mattress for your sleeping style e.g. side sleepers will generally need a softer mattress than those lying on their backs.  Another key consideration should be the materials used in your mattress as choosing one made from natural, non toxic products will help your health and well being.  Make sure you replace your mattress reasonably regularly as old mattresses aren’t good to sleep on.

Pillows and Duvets

Picking out pillows and duvets to suit you as a sleeper will have a beneficial effect on the quality and amount of your sleep.  A well made pillow that offers the right sort of support for you is key.  Another consideration is a duvet that provides the right amount of warm for you as you snooze.  I generally have a summer duvet, a winter duvet and a lightweight cover for the hottest nights of the year. Again it’s worth changing these regularly.  If you suffer from allergies you’ll need to ensure that your duvet or pillows aren’t making things worse.

Bed linen

Good quality bed linen is key too.  Sleeping on a sheet that has a high thread count is a pleasurable experience and feels much smoother.  Some people prefer to sleep on silk sheets or use bamboo bed linen to the usual cotton. Cotton is very variable and there are many different types and grades of cotton.  It pays to do your research before buying and it’s worth visiting a store so you can feel the fabrics yourself.

Darkness

Sleeping in a darkened room makes a great difference to my sleep.  It doesn’t just help me fall asleep, as I feel it helps me stay asleep for longer too.  I use blackout blinds and curtains together to cut out as much light as possible.  If you have appliances on overnight, try to limit to those that don’t have a light to show they are on – if you are shutting out light from outside the room, you don’t want to introduce more light from within in the room.

Once you have the sleeping environment right, you should find that you sleep better straight away.  You may have to tweak things to get the perfect combination.