Transform your bedroom into a sleep room.

Sleep hygiene is an approach to dealing with issues and problems with sleep such as insomnia. It includes a range of healthy habits, lifestyle choices and planning to help enable the best night’s sleep possible.

Most of us sleep in a bedroom which should be the most relaxing room in your home. However, there’s lots of ways in which they aren’t always the most appropriate area to facilitate good quality sleep. We’ve compiled some handy tips to help you make your bedroom a sleep room.

Stay strict with usage
A bedroom should only be used for sleeping, a pre-sleep routine and intimacy with a partner. This is a key rule for healthy sleep habits, as it’s important to ensure your brain only associates the area with relaxation. Try not to use your bedroom as a thinking space or an area for activity.

Move your electronic device chargers
The light from mobile device screens is bright enough to interfere with your internal body clock and the usage of them stimulates your consciousness rather than eases it. We’re all used to having power points in awkward places in hotel rooms and it seems an inconvenience, but actually, it helps you sleep without distraction. Move your device chargers so that they aren’t in reaching distance of your bed to avoid the temptation of switching on and tuning in.

Choose the right mattress
They’re not the most exciting purchase, but mattresses are single-handedly the most important part of your bed set-up. It needs to have the right balance of comfort and support to suit you and must be of a big enough size for you and a partner to sleep on with room to move. Whilst a firm mattress may feel good, you need to make sure it’s not firm enough to cause you unintentional damage. You should be able to slide a hand between the mattress and your back when lying down – but firmly, not with too much force.

Mattresses should be replaced about every 8 years but if that’s an option for you, you can invest in a mattress topper. There’s lots of types of these on the market now, including memory foam, heating and cooling options.

Keep your bedding high quality
It goes without saying that your bedding and pillows need to be clean and comfortable. The range of bedding available is vast, spanning almost every price range imaginable. Whilst you don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on comfortable bedding, it’s worth investing in a set that isn’t bargain-basement material in order to select a fabric that can help regulate your body temperature.

Cotton is the softest, durable and breathable material but it can be difficult to find 100% cotton products. Silk is ideal to sleep in during hotter weather, and for those with allergies. Avoid polyester and satin if you can, as they’re not particularly breathable and therefore won’t regulate temperature well.