How I get much needed beauty sleep!

Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.

Thomas Dekker

Despite the protests of my friend Viv, I do actually work quite hard, I also have a busy brain and the combination of both, accompanied by many years of unsociable shifts means that, sometimes when I get into bed at night I am just overtired and I struggle to relax. Without a good sleep though, I become the biatch from hell so, over the years, I have tried various techniques and practices that help me simply nod off. Having the perfect bedroom environment, for me, is essential. These may not work for you but honestly, they’ve made the world of difference to me so, if you’re having trouble sleeping what have you got too loose by giving these five ideas a go! Get an alarm clock – I bet you weren’t expecting that! Well, an alarm clock is a great thing. Not only does it wake me up in the morning but crucially it means I leave my phone out of the bedroom. This means I am not tempted to start surfing when I should be sleeping, which let’s be honest, can lead you down a rabbit hole of screentime. An alarm clock has no alluring screen or message pings and you can get on with the important job of winding down and sleeping, safe in the knowledge that it will wake you up only when you want to be woken up! There’s tons of research around this, especially looking at the body clocks of teenagers, which demonstrates social and psychological problems of keeping a phone by the bed, let me tell you, the findings also apply to those of us, *coughs* a little older! Get some blackout blinds – I know a lot of people consider blackout blinds something just a child needs but actually they are just a genius solution for all of us who long for a great night’s sleep. Living in the city there’s always loads of light pollution so for me darkness really makes a difference blackout blinds are a God send! Get yourself a fabulous mattress – For years I did what I think most of us probably did, I waited for the sales and then bought which ever bed was comfiest with the biggest discount – Wrong! Do your research, I read that a mattress with an open-cell top layer helps keep you cool as you sleep and provides bounce. I’m loving the bounce – no, not for those reasons, dirty mind! The article I read went on to talk about the density of the foam, a mattress with a high-density memory foam supports pressure points. After reading the article, I went out and bought a mattress with the attributes that I felt would suit my sleeping style and habits. Let me tell you since I have slept on this mattress my joints have felt a lot less stiff in the mornings. I have also definitely felt more comfortable which is due to the transition layer which allows for even weight distribution. It feels so supportive and it has really given me some excellent sleep. A good mattress is so important and the one I have is brilliant I LOVE it. Get some decent ear plugs – when I was training and living in halls, I thought I would die from lack of sleep, the constant banging of doors and flushing of toilets and chatter just wore me down. Eventually I resorted to sticking bits of tissue in my ears, it improved my sleep but left my ears red and sore, eventually I moved to foam ear plugs which cured the soreness. There’s loads on the market however, the ones I use are actually designed for swimming, they’re super comfy and I’m very rarely awoken by external noise – I’ve not tested it however, I’m sure I wouldn’t sleep through the smoke alarm – perhaps I should test it! Get a fabulous duvet – I think for a perfect nights sleep you absolutely need the perfect weight duvet. Personally, I like quite a heavy duvet in the winter, something that feels as though I’m being snuggled and a lighter than light one in the summer. Again, do your research, don’t just pick one off the shelf at M&S, I bought mine from a place called Soak & Sleep, it was a little pricey however, I figured that as I spend about 30% of my life in bed, it was a good investment – honestly, I couldn’t be happier, one of the best investments I’ve ever made! So, there you go, I could add more, like great air quality, (I’ve just bought an air purifier, I’ll report back with the verdict!), a lavender essential oil on my pillow, beautiful Egyptian bedding and a stash of amazing books by my bed however, this would then be a very long blog post!