We all want to know how to get better sleep at night and in this post I’m going to give you the best tips and tricks to do so.

Very quickly, before we jump right into the article, we have to say that there are an awful lot of myths surrounding sleeping better being published every single day. The team at Optml have created their very own resource on the myths that affect your sleep.

Regular Sleep Schedule

A regular sleep schedule will help you sleep better the longer you stick to it. This is because it programmes the brain and internal body clock to go to sleep at the same time every night so it knows when to

The average adult needs between 7-9 hours of sleep every night. So by knowing what time you have to wake up you can find out what time you should be in bed for. It’s also important that you wake up at the same time everyday this way you create a routine that your body will be used to.  

Ensure you Relax Before Bed!

Making sure to relax before bed is a very important part of your sleep. There’s a number of ways you can relax, here are our favourites:

• A nice warm (not hot) bath will help your body get to the ideal resting temperature.

• Relaxing exercises, like yoga, can help relax your muscles but make sure you don’t exercise too vigorously as it could give you a new burst of energy.

• Relaxation CDs are good because they use a carefully narrated script, calming music and sound effects that relax you.

• Reading a book before bed helps you sleep as it distracts your brain and it keeps your eyes off of screens

• Avoid using electronic devices an hour before going to sleep because the blue light from the device can negatively affect your sleep. It’s recommended to read a book instead.

The Sleepstation website also provides some useful information on helping you sleep.

Make your Bedroom a Sleep Sanctuary

In this modern day, your bedroom is used as a multi-purpose room. You sleep there. You watch TV there. You use it as a games room or a home office in some cases.  

What I’m trying to say is that you use your bedroom a lot and that actually has an impact on your sleep. Ideally, you want to ensure your bedroom is only used for sleep! This way, your brain becomes programmed to start making you feel tired and releasing the right hormones whenever you enter this room and lie down.

You also want to ideally keep the temperature in your room between 18°c and 24°c.

Throws and Bedspreads

One of the best tips I can give you when it comes to improving your bedroom and making it a "sanctuary of sleep" is investing in high-quality throws and bedspreads. Not only will these look amazing, but they will also add crucial elements of comfort to your bedroom, ultimately aiding you sleep better every single night!

They come in a wide array of different colours and we're able to ship them (for free) to most of the UK Mainland!

Sorry for the shameless plug, but we had to!

Increase Bright Light Exposure (During the Day)

In your body, you have a natural clock which is known as your circadian rhythm. Your Circadian rhythm is what is what tells your brain, body and hormones when it’s time to go to sleep and when it’s time to wake up.

Sunlight and bright light exposure will improve your daytime energy as well as your night time sleep quality by keeping your circadian rhythm healthy.

Ensure your Bed is Comfortable

I know this sounds quite obvious but I cannot stress the importance of making sure your comfortable. If you’re not comfortable, you can’t relax and if you can’t relax you can’t sleep. To ensure your mattress is always doing it's job of supporting your body and keeping it comfortable, we recommend you replace your mattress at least once every 8 years, consider the type of mattress that is suitable and comfortable such as a latex mattress and you should change your bedding every 1-2 weeks.

Don't Consume Caffeine After 4pm

This one is subjective to you as a person but a general rule is, don't consume caffeine later into the day. Caffeine can stay elevated in your blood for 6-8 hours. Obviously everyone has a different sensitivity to caffeine so you might be able to have it later in the day whereas other people should stop drinking it earlier.

When caffeine is consumed late in the day it can stimulate your nervous system and may stop you from naturally relaxing.

Temperature

When trying to sleep you don’t want your room to be too hot or to be too hot under the duvet or bedding set you have on your bed.

If you're too hot, it’s harder for your body to lose heat at night and this will disrupt your sleep. This also works the same way if you’re too cold, your body has to work harder to keep you warm which will disrupt your sleep.

To get the best sleep you need to look at 2 factors, Air temperature and nightwear. So if you need to wear socks but leave your window open, do it.

Having a partner can also complicate things because odds are they’ll need different conditions to sleep optimally and having a partner in bed also changes the temperature under the covers due to there being two people radiating heat, instead of one.