An expert from Buckinghamshire bed manufacturer, Hypnos, on how to ensure you can get high quality shut eye
A good night’s sleep is the ultimate investment you can make in your wellbeing, both physical and mental. Quality sleep boosts productivity and concentration, regulates emotions, and improves the immune function. Recent research has found that a good night’s sleep not only makes us feel energised, but is one of the best steps you can take to achieve healthy skin – repairing any damages, reducing fine lines, and making us look younger (source).
Renowned Buckinghamshire bed manufacturer, Hypnos, has been handcrafting beds and mattresses to help people get the best night’s sleep possible for more than 100 years. Here Hypnos’ resident sleep expert Natalie Pennicotte-Collier offers up some top tips:
Get into a bedtime routine
- Try to avoid tablets, smartphones, and technology before bedtime, and challenge yourself to switch them off or keep them in another room. Mental and emotional stimulation often keeps us awake and the blue-light that comes from these devices can also reduce levels of melatonin.
- Go to bed at a regular time so your body gets into the habit of knowing when to sleep. Start to wind down 90 minutes before bed and avoid napping during the day.
- If you can’t sleep after 15 to 20 minutes in bed, get up and do something else until you feel tired, but avoid light where possible. Try listening to some relaxation sounds and music, such as our sleep relaxation soundtrack.
Create better daytime habits
- Get outside in the fresh air in the morning. Natural daylight helps set your circadian rhythm, so your body knows when it’s time to sleep come night-time.
- Avoid caffeine and nicotine after noon where possible. We all metabolise caffeine differently and it can take several hours to fully process it.
- Be mindful of what you eat and switch to a lighter meal in the evening for deeper sleep. Try and finish your meal three hours before you go to bed and avoid alcohol and sugar. Choose food like warm milk and bananas, which contain an amino acid that helps our bodies to create serotonin, which promotes sleep.
- Exercise during the day to help you to drift off easily. Try and avoid exercising a few hours before bed as this will raise your heart rate.
Create the perfect sleeping environment
- Aim to keep your bedroom at the right temperature – ideally, to help you achieve deep sleep, your room should be 18°C. During these colder months, you can invest in a high tog duvet – 15 tog will help to keep you cosy. Alternatively, you could invest in an electric blanket or hot water bottle to help keep you warm.
- Avoid bright light and completely block it from entering the room. Consider black out curtains or an eye mask and start to dim the lights two to three hours before bedtime. This tells your brain to produce melatonin, which encourages sleep.
- Take a relaxing bath or read a book – these will both help to get your body prepared to drift into restorative sleep.
- Ensure your bed is comfortable and in good condition, your mattress should properly support your body.
Hypnos is a pioneer of sustainable and ethical bedmaking, with its beds and sleep experience found in the very finest and royal homes, palaces, and hotels. So, you can be rest assured that investing in a Hypnos bed means you’re investing in a quality, award-winning, sustainable product that will give you a restful night’s sleep for years to come.
Having manufactured luxury handmade beds for more than 100 years, Hypnos is internationally renowned as the expert in handcrafted pocket spring mattresses and divans. Combining traditional skills with constant innovation and using only the finest natural and sustainable materials, Hypnos has a reputation for making the most comfortable and sustainable beds in the world.
Hypnos was the first Carbon Neutral bed manufacturer in the world (having now been Carbon Neutral for over a decade) and both their factories have achieved FSC® and PEFC certification, ensuring timber is sourced from managed forests. In 2022, Hypnos’ long-running commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and creating truly sustainable sleep was again recognised with a prestigious ‘The Planet Mark – Carbon Neutral Certification’.
In 2022, Hypnos announced its partnership with the Eden Project, focusing on sustainable education and action. Hypnos will be working closely with the Eden Project to educate employees, retailers, and customers on sustainability. In addition, a charitable donation from the sale of each mattress from the new Origins Organic Collection will be made to the Eden Project to help combat the climate crisis, and create a wide range of community education, biodiversity, conservation and regeneration projects.
For expert sleep advice visit hypnosbeds.com, or visit in store at their Princes Risborough showroom at HP27 9RS
