How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Experts say we’re meant to be getting 8 hours a night. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember the last time I had un-interrupted slumber for that many hours!

Especially at the moment. The Coronavirus pandemic is creating a lot of anxiety for many people, affecting our sleep and zapping our energy.

Getting better sleep could just be a few tips away – here are some ways you can turn things around

Environment is everything when it comes to getting a good sleep. Temperature is key, with experts recommending you set the thermostat to 18 degrees Celsius. Lower than you thought? The body’s temperature needs to drop by a couple of degrees for sleep to be initiated. A high core temp means our brains struggle to switch to sleep mode or create good quality sleep. If you don’t have air conditioning, use a fan, wear minimal bed clothes, use a light bed cover and open the windows to help stay comfortable.

Remove the clutter from your bedroom and ensure it’s a peaceful environment with minimal devices and mess.

Whether you’re streaming the latest Netflix series or rapidly falling down a social media rabbit hole, the gadgets in our lives can have a huge impact on our sleep if we’re using them before bedtime.

The continual news cycle at this time can have a detrimental impact on our wellbeing as well as our ability to sleep.

Studies have shown that the blue light that comes from our screens keeps us up at night. While some technology does have settings to alter the light to a duller hue, your best bet is to avoid your technology altogether for at least an hour before you hit the hay.

You should also be limiting how much news you’re watching throughout the day. Choose to watch just one news program a day or limit yourself to a 10-minute window for checking news headlines.

While that glass of wine (or two) with dinner may be calming initially, it could have the opposite effect later in the night and wake you up. Coffee is a culprit here too – try easing your intake throughout the day and cut yourself off from the caffeine from about 3pm onwards. There’s a reason why we give kids warm milk before bed. It, and herbal teas such as chamomile, can get you relaxed for a more peaceful sleep.

Pick your thing. Whether it’s reading a good book, doing meditation or listening to calming music, find something that helps you wind down before bedtime even if it’s just for half an hour. Some people swear by a hot bath – this works so well because a bath brings the circulating blood to the surface of the body, which is one of the quickest ways to drop core body temperature (see tip 1).

Your sleep may be affected by the cleanliness of your mattress. An unclean mattress can cause a number of common reactions such as itchy eyes and skin, flu-like symptoms and difficulty sleeping.

Most people don’t realise it but their mattress is home to millions of dust mites, bacteria, fungus and mould spores feeding off your dead skin and body oils, affecting your ability to sleep. Mattress protectors don’t stop the contaminants from penetrating the mattress. Not only are we sleeping in this microscopic metropolis we are also breathing in the excrement of the dust mites!

The good news? An E-Dry Healthy Mattress Clean will thoroughly clean your mattress, remove contaminants such as dust mites, bacteria, fungus and mould spores and leave it smelling of lavender. It may be worth trying if our tips above aren’t improving your sleep!