We’re celebrating World Sleep Day by helping you clock in a good night’s sleep with these expert tips and tricks.
World Sleep Day on March 16 is an annual day that celebrates snoozin’ in all its glory. It’s also a chance to shine a spotlight on any unknown factors that may be hindering your sleep health.
While a healthcare professional will be able to provide you with the tools and advice on a clinical level, these expert tips below may be able to help you see sweeter dreams in the meantime.
Choose natural fibres
Clean sleeping is a thing, you guys. And when it comes to choosing your bedsheets, Pip Vassett, founder of In Bed, simply can’t stress enough the importance of opting for 100% natural fibres.
“While synthetic, poly-mix sheets may be a lot cheaper, sleeping in them essentially means you’re lying in man-made, plastic fibres, which makes for a pretty sweaty night’s sleep!”
Instead, she suggests lush linen or clean cotton sheets. “Linen is super breathable and is so soft and cosy to sleep in. It’s also eco-friendly and has natural anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic properties.”
“Cotton, on the other hand, is for the purists who love a crisp, cool feel when jumping into bed. But with cotton it’s important to ensure you’re not sleeping in sheets with too high a thread count – anything above a 500 thread count is too high for the Australian climate and means your sheets won’t breathe,” she says, adding that a 400 thread count is her ideal pick.
Natural fibres allow for optimal temperature regulation while you sleep. Picture: In Bed
Pop a plant in your bedroom
The mere presence of plants has a calming effect which helps to lower anxiety symptoms and stress levels, says horticulturist and psychologist Gavin Cole.
“Some greenery in the bedroom is said to help people sleep more easily and perhaps enjoy a better quality slumber.”
In addition, the scent of some plants is known to enhance sleep. Take lavender, for example.
“It’s associated with promoting drowsiness and a restful sleep and so is often found in pillows and pouches and used in aromatherapy.”
Improve your sleep by filling your bedroom with greenery. Picture: Adairs
Related: NASA says this indoor plant can prevent snoring
Invest in a quality mattress
A mattress is one of those ‘big’ purchases you make to symbolise the milestones in your life: Moving out of home, moving in with a partner, and upsizing when you have kids. Pair this with the fact that we spend a third of our lives sleeping, and you’re left with a pretty good reason to really give it some thought.
UK brand Simba just launched their high-tech mattresses Down Under – much to the delight of the sleep deprived. The Sleep to Live Institute took into account the body, profiling data of 10 million people to help formulate the Simba Hybrid – the brand’s highest-quality spring and memory foam mattress.
Five luxurious layers plus 2,500 vertical and horizontally moving springs ensure the best support possible, and quite literally the snooze of your dreams.
Matt Taylor, Australian managing director of Simba says, “Our mattresses are a complex layer cake of unique sleep surfaces tailor-made for you and your sleep partner.”
A quality mattress means the difference between a good sleep and a great sleep. Picture: Simba. Stylist: Heather Nette King. Photographer: Mike Baker
Look under the bed
Feng Shui consultant, Liz Higgins, stresses the importance of removing all clutter from your sleeping quarters to ensure a restful snooze.
“It is particularly important that you do not store anything under the bed as this is the energy you absorb while sleeping. If you do have a bed with drawers or one that lifts up, store clean linen there,” she advises.
Liz also advises that a bed head should sit flush to your wall. “This will provide you with a sense of support and security when sleeping.”
Other things to avoid include mirrors in the bedroom, and placing the foot of the bed in alignment to the door as this is known in Feng Shui as the ‘coffin position’.
You should be able to see all areas of your bedroom from your bed. Picture: Getty
Switch off
While we love a smart home just as much as the next modern family, psychologist Jacqui Manning says there should come a time in each day where technology takes a backseat.
Powering down from all devices in the last hour before you go to sleep is crucial for a restful slumber. Smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions all emit blue lights, which hinder your body’s natural production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
“Bedrooms in particular should be free of any electronics and should be considered a place to rest and rejuvenate,” says Jacqui.
Article repurposed from How to style your bedroom for a better sleep by Katie Skelly. Author at realestate.com.au.
