Creating the Perfect Sleep Sanctuary | Tips for Better Sleep | Ad

I've mentioned a few times before about my struggles sleeping and how I've used various products to help me get more sleep. Since I wrote those posts, I've still struggled to settle into a proper sleeping pattern, or wake up refreshed. Having been diagnosed with Chronic Migraines and suffering from whiplash and various other back issues following a go-karting accident in April 2018, my disrupted sleep hasn't quite gotten back to normal yet. I've invested in an incredible iGel mattress and pillow set, I take tablets for my migraines which knock me out (sometimes), got blackout blinds, purchased a mist diffuser with essential oils to aid sleep, and have even started going to bed earlier. Most of all, I've found it's really important to get your surroundings right and ensure your sleep sanctuary is just that.. a sanctuary.

Working from home a few days a week requires quite a lot of motivation, as well as the ability to get out of bed to start working at 9am, despite being at home in pyjamas. On the days I do go into the office, I need to get up early to catch the train, so a good night's sleep is essential to #WakeUpReady for the day ahead. Getting out of bed it legit the hardest part of my day. 

To get my bedroom slumber perfect, I have to have my bedroom clean and tidy. Crisp white sheets, cushions and blankets in a neat pile beside the bed and my mist diffuser's mood lighting on calming red, emitting soothing lavender into the air allowing me to drift off to sleep. When your bedroom is untidy or unclean, it doesn't create a very relaxing environment, for me, my mind would constantly be thinking about that piece of clothing on the floor, or that pile of laundry that's not done. Even if the bed sheets are a little overdue a change, creating a peaceful environment is absolutely essential when you're trying to clear your mind. Even on top of all the life stuff, work, family stresses and other thing that play on the mind right when you're trying to sleep, having messy surroundings leads to a messy mind. 

I've tried all the natural sleeping aids, from wearing an eye mask to taking herbal remedies such as Kalms Night* tablets. They come in two types - one where you take 4 tablets a few hours before sleep and one where you just take one per night. The tablets, which contain Valerian Root Extract, offer a helping hand for people like me who experience poor sleep. The ingredients they contain are soothing and encourage a refreshing, restful night's sleep. They should allow you to wake up fully energised and ready for the day ahead. Unlike my migraine tablets, they wont leave you drowsy the next day, which would be ideal! I've taken these quite a few times in the past and always keep a bottle handy just in case I can't sleep. With luck, once my sleep is sorted, my headaches and migraines might start disappearing.

Complete darkness is essential for me. Even the tiniest little LED light on my phone wireless charger has to be covered up. Having our bedroom in the roof means we have hard to reach skylight windows. Having such windows makes it difficult to ensure that the room is completely cut off from outside light so that I can sleep. To help me achieve complete darkness, I turned to Bloc Blinds* for help. Being so high up, my skylight window is impossible to reach, even standing on a chair every morning would make it very impractical to open and close every morning and evening. They very very kindly offered up their solar powered blackout blinds for me to install. Finding my window's size code on the side of the frame, I chose my fabric colour and put in the order. Fitting it was so easy too and literally took about 5 minutes and it comes with a very sleek remote that I've affixed to my bedside table so I can easily open and close the blind when I want, to help block out all outside light to help me sleep. As my bedroom has an en-suite, I also have a PVC blackout blind on the skylight window in there so that if one of us visits the toilet during the night, we don't wake each other up with light coming through from the window. Having these blinds really does help my sleep and it also helps create that perfect sleep sanctuary that's so vital in achieving a blissful slumber.

Calming colours can immensely affect your mood and by result, your sleep. I love my bedroom to be neutral and calming so have opted for greys, blushes and golds in decor and accessories. We're not allowed to paint our walls yet as we've got to wait for the house to settle, but I can't wait to get my hands on some Farrow & Ball shades of grey on my feature wall and add some more warm accents of gold when we eventually replace the lights above the bed. My ultimate goal is to add a projector above the bed to project onto the wall opposite. Screening Harry Potter in Ultra HD in 82" with fairy lights and dim lighting is the ultimate goal and an ideal way to unwind and destress before bed.

Cutting the caffeine is one more thing I am trying to do before bed. I usually drink several cans of diet coke a day - I know, it's bad - but I try and stop any form of caffeine after 6pm. Cutting this out stops my brain being so active after the stimulation of caffeine and allows me to switch off.

Clearing my schedule has become my most important task when trying to get more sleep. I used to come home from work, log straight into my laptop and start working on other projects and blogging. My brain activity was constant, never ending and it massively affected my stress-levels and ability to get a good night's sleep. Allowing your brain some time to rest is vital to a healthy sleep pattern as it gives your brain time to concentrate on more important things - your body's health and regeneration. While you're asleep, your brain helps heal any cuts, bruises, illnesses and other ailments, helping your white blood cells flow around the body and repair any thing that needs repairing.

I'm going to be trying to keep to a regular routine and going to bed at the same time each night to see if it makes a difference to the way I feel and ability I have to get up in the mornings.  Lack of sleep can have a negative affect on your general wellbeing and health, not to mention your productivity levels throughout the day. If you're feeling a bit worse for wear, take a look at your sleep patterns and see what you can do to make your sleep sanctuary the perfect place to drift off to sleep so that you're ready to face the day ahead in the morning.