Here at Prestige Beds, we understand how hard it can be to get to sleep or to stick to strict bedtimes to allow for those essential 8 hours of rest. And it’s no surprise to anyone that between 30 and 48% of the population struggle with insomnia. So this is why this week we are focusing on the importance of getting to sleep faster, and showcasing the most effective ways to get to sleep.
Sleeping at regular times
Looking at the clock and realising you need to be asleep right away can be the worst feeling, and it’s also the worst thing to do to your sleep schedule. It’s important to set a regular sleeping schedule, you can do this by simply figuring out the time you need to be asleep and then working out how you can get 8 hours of sleep in.
Also, It’s always important to set these times regularly, making sure that you try and stick to this time every night as it allows your body to truly understand your sleep clock.
Winding down before bed
Before you go to bed, its incredibly important that you are in a relax mindset and environment. And there are a few ways you can achieve this:
- Relaxing music, try searching for a ‘relaxing’ playlist on your favourite streaming platform and let your mind and body escape into a relaxed state.
- Try searching for an app that has been specially designed to help you fall asleep better, the NHS have a great ap library for this, check it out here.
- Turn off any devices an hour before bed, by removing any screens before bed you are helping your body get rid of any influence from blue light. Blue light suppresses the body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. While this may be helpful during the day, it becomes unhelpful at night when we’re trying to sleep.
- Organise your thoughts. Have a go at making some ‘to-do list’ this helps set your mind in focus before bed. This removes any distractions around you and can help you withdraw any mind racing thoughts.
Make your bedroom sleep-friendly
According to experts, there can be a multitude of things in the bedroom that can weaken the association between sleep and your bedroom. And these will all distract your mind from the idea of sleep.
Things such as TV’s, Gadgets (lighting up the room), noisy machines and even bad mattresses can all disassociate your mind from the idea of sleep. If you feel like your mattress is distracting you from the idea of sleep then you might need to look out for a few signs.
- You start to wake up in the middle of the night feeling uncomfortable or have dreams that involve physical pain. This may be because of the feeling of springs pressing against ur body.
- It takes you a while to find a comfortable position before you fall asleep. This may be because the fillings inside your mattress have compressed to a great amount causing lumps and bumps that make your body feel unnatural.
- You feel aches and pains in the day, especially in the neck or back. These usually start to occur in the early hours, you may wake up with these first thing in the morning.
If you start to notice any of these happen then it’s time for you to look for a new mattress. Unsure of where to start looking? Check out our latest bed guide here.
Track your sleep
It may be a good idea to start tracking your sleep, it could uncover important pieces of information about how you sleep. Such as how long you sleep for, the quality of sleep you are getting and it may also help you to find better ways of waking up the next day.
You can simply start tracking your sleep through a multitude of different apps that are readily available on your phone or smart device.