Ideal if you’re looking for inspiration for your own soothing bedtime ritual…
Not another article on sleep hygiene, we hear your cry…or, did you just think it, inside that sleep deprived brain of yours? Too tired to tell? We feel ya.
But if you’re tired, so very tired, then rest (hmmm, perhaps not the right word) assured that you’re not alone; in fact, it was reported last year that one in three Brits are suffering from insomnia, with the other two thirds probably just too tired to fill in the questionnaire.
Like we said, we feel ya; some of us here at the IDEAL haven’t always been the best sleepers either, and are constantly tinkering our diets, daytime habits and bedtime routines in search of a good night’s sleep. To share some insight on what we’ve learnt along the way, here are 7 tried and test (it’s us; we are the testers) ways to prepare for a perfect night’s sleep.
Enjoy A Sleepy Tea
If you’re in need of a helping hand to get you off (editor: does that sound a little dodgy?) to the land of nod, look no further than a sleepy tea. Not only is a mug of the good stuff the perfect accompaniment to a bedtime read, but sleepy tea can also help foster a calming bedtime experience that promotes sleepiness in tandem.
Then, of course, there’s the ingredients, some of which are said to have a soothing, relaxing effect on body and mind. Modern research backs up these claims, with common inclusions like chamomile, valerian root and lemon balm shown to have some potential in inducing those Zzzeds.
If you want to try the ritual of a warming herbal cuppa before bed, here’s a few tried and tested recommendations that we’ve currently got on rotation…
– We’re fans of ‘Clippers Organic Sleep Easy Infusion’, which is a distinctive mix of cinnamon, chamomile, valerian and other natural herbs. The inexpensive bags have a great price point and are ideal for everyday use.
– Another inexpensive bag is ‘Night Sky Calm by Dragonfly Tea’. Its blend of chamomile, valerian and lemon balm, with a touch of lavender thrown in for good measure, is just dreamy. Genuinely, dreamy.
– We’re also huge fans of Teapigs’ ‘Snooze’ sleepy tea. While perhaps on the more expensive side of the sleepy tea spectrum, its natural mix of chamomile, sweet apple and ‘knock you out lavender’ really does deliver a calming cup of tea.
Read: A beginner’s guide to selecting the best loose leaf tea
Set The Mood
Not just for hotels, this one, but a quick tidy and a turndown can set the mood for relaxation and sleep at home, too. The main purpose of providing such a service is to ensure that guests feel the highest level of comfort before and during sleep.
Indeed, a turndown service is the hallmark of a luxury hotel, so why not bring this touch of luxury to your everyday? You will, of course, have to do it yourself, but you’ll be grateful when you slip into those carefully curated sheets.
So, make your bedroom environment more conducive to sleep with your very own turndown service. Start with turning on the bedside lights – low lighting creates the right mood for sleep and sets the tone for a gentle transition into night time. Draw the curtains, and fill a fresh carafe of water for your bedside table; you don’t want to be getting up in the night in search of water. Finally, turn down the bed, too, removing any decorative and extra pillows so you can slip under the covers effortlessly when the time comes.
A quick tidy up is also important. Let us introduce you to the ‘end of day clothes box’; if you don’t want your day’s outfit to go straight into the laundry basket, then this is simply a box to put the clothes you’ve been wearing at the end of the day, ready for wearing again tomorrow, instead of having them strewn all over the place.
If you don’t have much storage space, a bed with sliding storage could work for such an occasion. This brings us to our next point – pyjamas…
Pyjamas
For so many, a fresh pair of pyjamas signifies an important step in the day’s winding down routine and that all important transition from day to night.
But did you know that good pyjamas can actually help you sleep, too? Guy Meadows, Clinical Director of the Sleep school, tells Who What Wear that “What you wear can affect your sleep because of the role of temperature in sleep regulation.”
He continues to say that ‘’A slight drop in core body temperature at the start of the night helps us to fall to sleep, whilst a similar rise helps to wake us up in the morning. Having the right clothes can therefore help to regulate your temperature and ensure a good night’s sleep.”
Picking pyjamas to help support shut-eye is all about choosing the right kind, then. You need soft fabrics that let your skin breath and don’t chafe you during the night. What’s more, your pjs need to be loose; there’s nothing worse than skinny-fit sleepwear, after all!
Bedtime Skincare
We love to delve into our bedtime skincare routine, luxuriating in the process as much as the result. It also represents a symbolic marker that the day is done, as you clean away its accumulated dirt and prepare for a night of rejuvenation. Rather than give you the redacted version here, we’ll let you in on some of our top skincare secrets by redirecting you to our tips on how to refresh your skincare routine, IDEAL for a glowing complexion.
Aromatherapy Via Pillow Spray & A Roller Ball
The link between aroma and relaxation has long been documented. In fact, many essential oils have been used in aromatherapy to help with stress relief for generations, with studies crediting lavender oil, bergamot oil and lemongrass essential oil as being particularly potent forces in the world of soothing smells.
If you’ve read IDEAL Mag much before, then you’ll know that we’re huge fans of taking a relaxing bath before bedtime. Indeed, aromatherapy oils such as bergamot, lavender, roman chamomile and marjoram dropped in a warm bath, just before bed, can be really soothing and get you geared up for sleep. However, for the sake of saving water, this isn’t something we can do every night.
To get our fix of these oh-so relaxing smells, a spritz of pillow spray can nurture a chilled out, sleep-conducive mood. Chamomile and lavender scents are particularly evocative of peace and tranquillity, and are also found in roller balls, which can be applied to pressure points like the wrists and temples to promote relaxation.
Read: The quintessential guide to relaxing aromas for every room in your home
Find A Soothing Story
For many of us, as soon as our heads hit the pillow, we’re asleep. However, for the unfortunate few (well, not that few) amongst us, the opposite happens. As soon as our weary head meets the soft, sumptuous pillow, that wonderful fog of slumper disappears. Suddenly, we’re thinking of a faux pas that we made seven years ago, or wondering if we left the fridge door open, or even whether we forgot something from our online Asda shop.
Instead, before you turn off the lights, why not recall the great sleeps of your childhood and find a soothing bedtime story to enjoy? There are plenty of bedtime stories for adults on podcasts apps and in audiobooks, specifically created to help you fall asleep.
Meditation apps like Headspace and Calm also offer relaxing sleep casts and sleep stories, respectively, which mimic the comfort of a childhood story. The latter app boasts guest readers ranging from the dulcet tones of Matthew McConaughey to the soothing voice of Mandy Moore, all the way to hearing Harry Styles narrate your nodding off. It’s not often you get to bed down with one of them, hey?
Modern Solutions To Sleep Problems
Gone are the days when counting sheep was our only recourse against those frustrating nights of tossing and turning. These days, science has gifted us with some rather clever ways to help us drift off to dreamland, and we’ve been testing them out (someone’s got to do it, right?).
At the forefront of sleep innovation is red light therapy (RLT), which, unlike the sleep-disrupting blue light from our phones and laptops, actually helps regulate our circadian rhythm – that’s your body clock to you and me. Studies suggest that exposure to red light before bedtime can increase melatonin production (your sleep hormone), with just 20 minutes of exposure making a noticeable difference to your slumber quality.
The tech world hasn’t stopped at lighting, mind you. Smart sleep tracking has revolutionised how we understand our night-time habits, with everything from rings to under-mattress devices monitoring our sleep cycles and waking us at the optimal moment (no more jarring alarms when you’re in deep sleep, thank goodness). These clever bits of kit can even sync with your smart home, adjusting your room’s temperature and lighting throughout the night for optimal kip conditions. And speaking of temperature, the latest cooling mattress toppers and temperature-regulating duvets are doing their bit to help maintain that perfect sleep environment.
Beyond the gadgets, there’s a whole world of sophisticated soundscapes that make your old white noise machine look positively prehistoric. We’re talking brown noise, pink noise, and even ‘binaural beats’ – special sound frequencies that supposedly help your brain ease into sleep mode. Some of the latest sleep apps create personalised soundscapes that adapt to your heart rate and breathing patterns, though if you’re anything like us, you might find that your gran’s tried-and-tested bedtime cocoa still does the trick just as well.
After all, in the pursuit of perfect sleep, it’s worth trying anything once… except sleeping upside down like a bat, that’s where we draw the line!
The Bottom Line
Routine is crucial to your body clock getting into the right rhythm for sleep, and such predictability will inevitably lead to a more relaxed, replenished and rested version of you. If you’re struggling to catch your daily 8 hours, then we hope you find some solace in some of the above tips. Good night!
