So you've purchased your Gx Suspension Pillow and a Gx Wonder Cooler Undersheet and Pillowcase, what else can you do to give yourself the best chance of a great night's sleep. Here we list our top ten sleep tips to help you get to sleep and stay asleep: -
- It may seem obvious but avoid caffeine and nicotine. Both of these are stimulants and can take some time to be eliminated from your system - caffeine can take up to eight hours to wear off so try to limit your intake to mornings only.
- Avoid alcohol! A single nightcap can help you to relax but heavy drinking doesn't help you sleep, it works more like an anaesthetic - knocking you out. This is not the same as restful sleep as it stops you having the vital REM sleep.
- Develop a sleep routine - if you can go to sleep at the same time each night and wake at the same time each morning it will help tremendously. The body likes routine - so that luxurious lie-in at the weekend isn't helping, try and get up at the same time as you do in the week - it has the added benefit of making the weekend seem longer!
- Avoid exercising too late. Exercise is essential for general health and tiring your body out is a good thing so try and do 30 minutes of exercise per day but not during the two to three hours before you go to bed.
- Don't take naps after 3pm. Again it may seem obvious but a short nap later in the day can play havoc with your sleep pattern. Naps can be a good thing for catching up a bit of lost sleep, but make sure they are early in the day and only short - 10 minutes is enough to recharge the batteries.
- Avoid large meals before bedtime. The Spanish may eat at 10pm but they often don't go to bed before 2am so they have plenty of time to digest their food. Give yourself a good three to four hours after dinner before you go to bed. A post meal walk can also aid digestion.
- Keep your bedroom dark and cool. The body cools during the night as part of the sleep process and darkness increases the production of melatonin "the sleep hormone" that helps you get to sleep.
- Avoid gadgets in the bedroom. Televisions, laptops, tablets and phones can all disturb sleep, the blue light they give off has the opposite effect to darkness - it mimics daylight so the body produces cortisol, the stress hormone that also helps you to wake up.
- Relax before bed and perhaps take a soothing bath with herbs such as lavender and chamomile. The body cooling down after a bath can help you to feel sleepy.
- Finally, if you can't get to sleep, get up - lying awake in bed for more than a few minutes is stressful and counter-productive. Get out and go downstairs, or put a bedside light on and read a book until you feel sleepy again.