Given my current health issues, it should come as no surprise to hear that rest, and more specifically, sleep, is often at the forefront of my mind.
Recognising my sporadic sleep patterns left a lot to be desired, I’ve spent the last couple of months tweaking my bedtime routine until it’s perfect. Alongside drinking more water and {almost} giving up alcohol completely, these are the lifestyle changes that have made the biggest difference to my overall health and wellbeing.
Our master bedroom makeover is far from complete, but its transformation so far has definitely encouraged me to spend more time in bed. These days, I rarely stay up past 10pm and I’m much more focused on winding down before lights out.
Read on to discover my 5 top tips to help you get a good night’s sleep…
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Buy the Best Mattress You Can Afford
The first stage of our bedroom makeover took place last year. We tore up carpet, sanded the floor, painted walls and finally invested in a few key pieces of furniture. Having spent almost a decade sleeping on a seriously uncomfortable mattress, a beautiful new bed was top of our wish list.
After purchasing an upholstered bed from Next, we hit up Ikea for the very best mattress we could afford. 12 months later, we’re still thrilled with our purchase and can’t quite believe how much it’s improved the quality of our sleep.
As a general rule, if you wake up with aches and pains that disappear over the course of the day, you’re not sleeping as well as you did a year ago or your mattress shows signs of wear, it’s probably time to treat yourself to something new.
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Overhaul Your Bedding
Partnering with Christy over the last 18 months has been a revelation. Where I once thought high-quality bedding was simply ‘nice to have’, I now consider it essential. A high thread count and 100% Egyptian cotton really does make all the difference.
Last winter, we invested in a new duvet and this year, Christy kindly sent us a selection of pillows. They’re the perfect finishing touch and have made a huge difference to our overall comfort.
If your pillow’s polyester filling or foam is lumpy and bumpy or the feather down needs to be shaken vigorously to regain its shape, it may be time to overhaul your bedding too. You’ll find a good pillow will bounce back to its original shape and position if folded in half.
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Banish the Tech
I’ve known for a long time that scrolling through social media on my phone before bed isn’t particularly conducive to a good night’s sleep, but having finally banished technology from the bedroom, I’ve been genuinely surprised by the positive impact it’s had.
Without my phone, I find it easier to tune out stress and drift off to sleep. By replacing Facebook with fiction, I’m also back to books at bedtime which means my new routine is benefiting more than just my sleep pattern.
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Scent the Space
The Perfect Sleep Starter Kit from Neom’s Scent to Sleep range has been a life-saver and I rarely head to bed without burning the English lavender, sweet basil and jasmine candle. As well as helping me relax, it fills our bedroom with the most incredible fragrance.
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Invest in a Lumie Bodyclock
At the risk of sounding evangelical, introducing a Lumie Bodyclock into our bedroom is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. If you struggle with the dark winter mornings or suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder at this time of year, I can’t recommend this gadget enough.
For the uninitiated, it’s an alarm clock that wakes you with a gradually brightening 30-minute sunrise, so when you open your eyes you feel awake and refreshed. Waking up like this helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle and has even been shown to boost mood, energy and productivity levels for the rest of the day.
As well as the wake up sunrise, it also has a 30 minute sunset that works in the opposite way, helping you wind down ready for bed. I find this feature incredibly helpful, and along with the other things listed above, it’s helped eliminate the arduous hours I used to spend desperately trying to fall asleep.
- Does sleep come easily to you or do you need all the help you can get?
Love Audrey xxx
P.S. The Christy bed linen pictured above is from a past season, but you’ll find a range of stunning colours and patterns to tempt you in the current collection.
This is a collaborative post. Read my full disclosure here.
