In our Destination Comfort series, we will look at the snuggest ways to help you reach your goals. Let us dive into one of our favourite cosy activities – sleep!
While some people consider bedtime the end of the day, we consider bedtime as the start of tomorrow. The best way to have a great day is to have a good night’s sleep! In our opinion, bedtime should be made into a ritual you enjoy and should be the cosiest time of the day. To achieve the most productive and nourishing sleep we need to feel safe, secure, and comfortable.
What can you do to get a good night’s sleep?
Winding down to sleep begins in the early evening by slowly reducing stimulation. This means:
- Avoid caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee.
- Stop eating a few hours before you head to bed.
- Avoid blue light devices such as the TV, mobile phones and tablets.
Getting ready for bed
Make your bedtime a ritual you enjoy. Brew a cup of calming chamomile tea. Perhaps enjoy some light reading, or a wind down playlist available on apps such as Headspace, Calm and Spotify. Allow yourself some me time to relax a little from your day.
Get yourself ready to get into bed and head to the land of nod. For us there are two key things we need in bed to help us drift off – a pair of cashmere socks and an eye mask.
Why wear socks to bed?
There seems to be two firm camps on wearing socks to bed – the ‘yeses’ and the ‘no ways’. We are firmly in the wearing socks to bed gang, and we are delighted that the medical world is too. This means that being cosy in bed socks really does help you get to sleep and get a better-quality sleep.
There is science behind wearing socks in bed, which has been brought to the forefront by Doctor Jess Andrade via the platform TicTok. Doctor Andrande explains that creating toasty toes leads to a good nights sleep as the warmth boosts circulation by enlarging the arteries, also known as vasodilation. This signals to the brain that it is time to sleep and helps you to drift off.
Why should I wear an eyemask?
Unless you are lucky enough to live in the middle of the countryside we are all affected by light pollution. Add to that the additional LED lights from electronics in our bedrooms, there are endless distractions for our brains.
By wearing an eye mask to bed you are able to block out the light in your immediate surroundings helping your brain receive the signal that it is dark and it’s bedtime. Trust us, try it and see how much more soundly you slumber!
