Why is a great night's sleep so important?
There's nothing better than a good night's sleep to feel refreshed in the morning. Its the best feeling! Not only is it a feeling, there are proven health benefits that come with getting a good rest at night.
Aside from the obvious benefits of rest and recharge, getting a good night's rest is essential to improving our health. Studies have shown that a good quality sleep is important for our immune system and helps support healthy brain function.
Over the last few decades, the amount of sleep and the quality of sleep have both declined, thanks to constant dings and reminders from our phones - a study by National Institutes of Health shows. Life has never been more fast paced, so we wanted to take a moment to slow down and give you some proven tips to get a better night's sleep.
1. Avoid the devices
Sounds obvious, but we're prone to checking our phone that one last time before going to bed! Exposure to blue light that our devices emit in large amounts is one of the main causes of disturbed sleep. But we need phone alarms to wake us up in the morning - so, here are some suggestions:
- Install an app that blocks blue light, these are available for both iPhone and Android
- Avoid watching TV at least 2 hours before bed
- If you have your phone next to your bed for your alarm, turn it upside down so you can't see the screen. This helps avoid the temptation to check your notifications, not to mention the light from the screen disturbing your sleep
2. Take a melatonin supplement
Melatonin is one of the key hormones that signals your brain when its time to relax and go to bed. So, these supplements are a great sleep aid and often used to treat insomnia. Mr Vitamins have a great range available online.
3. Essential oils can help you relax
Essential oils like Lavender and Vetiver are commonly used in aromatherapy and are believed to promote calmness and wellness. They're also known to help with anxiety according to studies.
Our Bedding & Mattress spray is a great way to ensure a great night's sleep. Spray it over your bedding, pillows, sheets and linen 5-10 minutes before you go to bed. It has a unique blend of essential oils including Lavender oil from France for its calming properties, Vetiver oil from India for its sleep aiding and stress relieving properties. We also infuse Blue Gum Eucalyptus oil from northern New South Wales made right here in Australia for its antibacterial properties.
Studies show that Neem oil, called the Tree of Life in India helps to fight bed bugs and lice. It has also been used in Ayurveda for thousands of years is.
4. Make your bedroom comfortable
Many factors help to make your bedroom comfy - temperature, noise, a comfy mattress and pillow, the list goes on.
Essential oil diffusers are a really nice addition to any bedroom. The right blend of essential oils can make it easier to breathe. You can choose an ultrasonic diffuser like the ones from Biome, they atomise water and essential oils. Because there's not heat or burning, it preserves the oils' original structure. Some of these also act as a night light!
5. Exercise and dinner time
Eating late at night can affect the natural release of melatonin and interfere with your sleep. This has also been proven in medical research.
Exercise is one of the best ways to improve not just your health, but also your sleep. Randomised controlled trials and research shows that exercise almost halved the time it took to fall asleep!
While exercise is beneficial, doing it too close to bedtime doesn't help. This is because of the stimulatory effect of exercise which increases alertness, awareness and hormones like adrenaline.
As you may have noticed, we research and topics we write about and link to relevant research in our posts. You can always learn more by following the links.
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