This time of year can put a strain on anyone's sleep. You're on holiday; bedtimes are pretty lax not to mention the sun won't be making its descent until about 9pm for the next 6 months. I think a late and somewhat less-than-sober night’s sleep might just be excused. Thing is the holidays don't last forever and eventually the lack of sleep is going to hit you like a freight train especially when suddenly the wakeup call is 7am and not 11.
Believe it or not lack of sleep is absolutely detrimental to your health. Whether is 6, 8 or 12hrs the fact is you need enough of it or your brain and your body won't be able to function properly. At Canningvale we’ve been in the business of getting a good sleep for over 40 years so we think we know what we’re talking about.
Yawning in the middle of important meetings is not the worst thing lack of sleep will get you - shocker, I know. Not getting enough zz's affects your level of concentration, cognitive awareness, emotional and mental stability, memory and normal brain functions, *takes deep breath* Immune health, cellular repairing ability, complexion, energy levels and the body’s ability to process energy, life span, cardiovascular health, creativity, stamina, attention span, metabolism, stress levels etc.
So basically you need it like air and water.
Step 1 to a better sleep: Be Comfortable.
It’s not enough to just drop where you fall and wait for sleep to take over. If you sleep on a concrete slab you will not have a good sleep. The problem arises when you’ve convinced yourself that the concrete slab you’re sleeping on is actually alright, y’know not that bad, a bit old but full of character!
Your sheets have holes in them, you’re mattress protector ain’t protecting nothing and the mattress itself is on its last spring’s. You won’t believe the difference changing even one of these things will make. I know I don’t need to tell you a good mattress is a lifelong investment and quite frankly there is room for its own article explaining the where, how, who, what and why’s of a new mattress so we’ll leave that for another time.
You need a mattress protector.
Sheets. Arguably you don’t need them, but just, like, maybe have some. Just incase her Royal Highness comes to stay. For a good sleep you need to factor in the temperature, which means warm cozy sheets in the winter and light breathable ones in the summer.
If you’re too hot or too cold it will affect your quality of sleep and you’re ability to sleep in general. Canningvale has quite the collection of light weight sheets at the moment as summer has come to Australia with a vengeance. We have our Sogno Linen Collection of sheets and quilt covers that are half linen and half cotton. Linen has high air permeability and heat conductivity properties - that means, it’s breathable. Also retains warmth in the winter and keeps you cool in the summer. It’s extremely absorbent as well it can absorb as much as 20% of its weight in moisture before feeling damp.
Overheating during sleep will reduce the amount of time you spend in REM sleep and therefore the overall quality of your sleep. So throw off that doona, open a window and sleep easy.
Step 2: Maintain a regular sleep cycle.
If you know you have to start work, or school starts back in about a week’s time maybe don’t stay up until 3am watching Desperately Seeking Susan, 8 rosé’s deep in lace spandex screaming In to the Groove until the cops are called (again). Something tells me the Monday school run will have you feeling a little less Vogue and a little more Hung Up if you know what I mean.
Interesting to note that going cold turkey won’t necessarily work for you either. If you’ve pulled all nighters for the past two weeks then the day before you have to get up early you go to bed at a reasonable hour chances are you will wake up groggy and walk around like a zombie for the rest of the day. Your body needs time to adjust to the sleep cycle so while yes you got more sleep than you usually do, you are still in catch up mode.
You need to adjust your sleep cycle a week in advance or at the very least 3 days in advance. I know that when I first started working getting up at 6am was the most impossible thing in the world, especially after months of 3am Madge sesh’s. But after a while your body will regulate to your sleeping pattern, on weekends I loved sleeping in until 2pm – now my body is up at 8am on the dot, I literally cannot sleep past 10am. And it would actually take me a week to set my body up for later nights and later sleep ins.
The fact is going to sleep and waking up at the same time ensures you get adequate rest. If you’re used to irregular hours, try sticking more closely to a sleep schedule. After a week you should start to feel tired around the same time every night, and you may even find yourself waking up before your alarm sounds. It will freak you out. (It still freaks me out "Body, what are you doing? Go back to sleep. Time is not even awake yet. Stopppppp.")
Step 3: Create a restful environment.
Now the main function of a bed is for sleeping, much in the same way the main function for a bedroom is to house sleepers. Ask yourself this. Is there a pin-ball machine in your bedroom? Is there a washing machine in your bedroom? If the answer to either of these was an enthusiastic 'Yes!' then you’re either 10 or living in student accommodation. If the answer was no, it was because you knew when organizing your bedroom that those are two things that don’t belong in a space conducive of quiet rest and a deep REM cycle.
The aim is rest and relaxation so try keeping the distractions to a minimum. If you keep electronic devices near your bed, try moving them to the other side of the room and setting yourself a time to ‘switch off’. Phones, tablets and computers, whilst essential in this day and age for pretty much everything can keep you up longer and your mind over stimulated. Answer those emails, have a last scroll through Facebook, put the phone on silent, set an alarm, plug it in and turn it face down. You do not need to see Jan from the Parent association mentioning you in a comment on the ‘Kittens of the World’ page at 12am. Goodnight Jan.
4. Invest in a silk pillowcase
So, this may not help you fall asleep, but it’ll definitely improve it! Sleeping on one of Canningvale's Beautysilks Silk Pillowcases (with an anti-slip cotton reverse) helps your skin to maintain its natural moisture levels. And the super low friction of silk means you can say goodbye to bed hair. What’s more, silk is naturally hypoallergenic, so you can also wave farewell to dust mite, fungus and mould allergies!