9 Tips for a Better Sleep
2021 Aug 19th
You deserve the best rest you can get. With these top sleep tips for your mind, body, and bedroom, you can look forward to longer and lovelier slumbers.
Getting healthier sleep is one of the easiest ways to enjoy a healthier life. Having a bad rest can affect every part of your day, from your productivity to your general mood, and it’s easy to fall into terrible sleeping patterns if you don’t think about what’s causing you to sleep poorly.
With this in mind, you should absolutely be putting time into improving the quality of your sleep. These nine sleep tips for your environment, mind, and body at night will help you get the snooze you deserve, and ensure that you wake up feeling well-rested and ready to take on the day!
Perfect Places To Rest Your Head
The first place you should be thinking about for healthier sleep is your sleeping space itself. The place you rest your head is home to all sorts of things that’ll affect you while you’re asleep, and if the room itself isn’t the comfiest, there’s tons you can do to cozy it up.
- Don’t Be Too Hot, Don’t Be Too Cold
Falling asleep becomes a challenge if you’re too hot or too cold, as you’ll either need to bundle yourself up or keep throwing your covers off. The best sleeping temperature is around 17-18°C, and there are all kinds of ways you can improve your bed to ensure you hit this temperature.
If you run hotter at night, a mattress pad like the MLILY® 2" Gel Memory Foam Topper can cool you down with its unique Ice Fiber cover and ventilated gel memory foam. If you run cold, duvets like the Cachet Hungarian Goose Down Duvet can heat you up with its insulating goose down fill and baffle box construction.
- Don’t Let The Light In
Even when it’s dark outside, your room might not always be as dark as you need it. Your brain will naturally want to stay awake if it’s bright out, and it needs time in the dark to begin generating melatonin 一 the sleep hormone! 一 to help you enter deeper states of sleep.
Beyond just turning out the lights, blocking outside light with blackout drapery, or by covering any devices or clocks that might glow at night can darken your room as much as possible. If you still need the lights on, you could instead cover your eyes with a smooth, breathable Silk Eye Mask that’s gentle on the skin.
- We Love A Little Weight
Many people love to sleep with some extra weight on top of them. The right amount can alleviate insomnia or late-night anxieties keeping you awake, and give you a warm sensation of being held or hugged, causing you to fall asleep far deeper and much faster than under a light layer or cover.
One of the best ways to find this feeling is by using a weighted blanket or quilt from our Weighted Collection, which provides deep pressure stimulation for extra comfort and support. Our weighted blankets even be dressed in a fleece cover for some extra soft protection, or layered with a fuzzy Wool Blend Blanket if you'd like a little sweater-style warmth with your weight.
Put Your Mind At Ease
What’s happening inside your mind as you sleep is just as important as your environment. No matter how comfortable your room is, you’ll have a harder time falling asleep if you’re feeling stressed, strained, or distracted, so it’s worth taking time to ease your thoughts before bed.
- Find Some Songs To Sleep With
Your brain hardly just shuts off when you go to sleep, so having some music playing at night can make winding down far easier. Songs with lyrics might risk waking you up, but gentle nature noises and instrumental music can create a more pleasing background for falling asleep in.
- Your Phone Can Wait Until Tomorrow
As mentioned earlier, your brain won’t be able to fall asleep if you’ve got too much light shining in. This is what makes using electronics in bed quite dangerous, as most LED screens give stronger lights at closer distances than most standard light bulbs, and even natural sunlight.
If you want or need to use your devices late, always lower the brightness (or put it on ‘night mode’). Otherwise, it’s strongly recommended that you put your devices away an hour before bed 一 either on a nightstand or in our convenient Bedside Felt Pocket 一 to give your eyes a break! - Get Your Thoughts Out
Making sure your mind is at ease is only the beginning to getting a better sleep. If you find yourself overthinking late at night about the day ahead or the day you just had, it’s hard to relax, and any thoughts in your head will only get worse if you’re feeling poorly rested.
One of the healthiest ways to keep stressful thoughts out is to get them out, either with friends or by yourself. If you don’t feel comfortable talking through your thoughts with others, try writing them in a journal in short, clear sentences, so that you can look back on them after a good night’s sleep.
Sleep Is A Full-Body Experience
You might think sleep is about giving your body a rest, but sometimes your body will simply refuse to enter a restful state! Thankfully, there are several things you can do (and some to avoid!) for your body to get it set for sleep.
- Watch What You Consume Before Bed
Food or drink before bed might seem nice, but be careful not to ingest something that will get in the way of your rest. The key things you should avoid consuming before bed are stimulants like pop and coffee, which perk you up before leaving a heavy crash that’s hard to sleep through.
At the same time, you should also avoid liquids like alcohol and tea, since they can wake you up for frequent trips to the washroom. Healthier foods before bed can be much more beneficial, such as fresh fruits like kiwis that can even help produce happiness hormones! - Soft Scents Lead To Sounder Sleeps
Your sense of smell is one of your body’s most powerful tools, and it’s just as valuable when it comes to getting a good sleep. Gentle aromas like lavender, bergamot, chamomile, and more can activate the pleasure centers in your brain that produce sleep and happiness hormones.
Many of these comforting scents can be found in our Balance Essential Oil Mists, which winds you down with an air of lavender, clary sage, bergamot, and frankincense throughout your room. The same fragrance can be found as a laundry scent booster in our Linen Love Laundry Scents
- Get Dressed Up For Lying Down
The last thing you can do for your body to help it get ready for sleep is to dress it in clothes that you’ll never wear anywhere else. Putting on dedicated sleepwear help your body recognize it’s time for rest – whether it’s a nice set of pajamas or an oversized shirt from an old concert.
If you need some extra comfort, this is also a great reason to give yourself a little extra luxury with your nighttime setup. Feeling cozy from head-to-toe will get you get into a pure state of relaxation, making them the perfect outfit to tell your body it’s time to unwind.
If you need a little extra advice for getting a better sleep, you can book a free virtual consultation to learn more about our product solutions and enjoy the fulfilling sleep you deserve after a long day.