Sleep: how to achieve it

Getting to sleep isn’t a problem, it’s staying asleep that I’m finding hard these days. I’ve reached the age where my children no longer wake me during the night, it’s now hot flushes and the dawn chorus. Reaching the menopause has really affected the quality of my sleep and I wake up often in the night, finding it very difficult to get back to sleep. I am not an expert, and I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know but these are the things that have worked for me.

Creating habits and rituals helps to establish routine, and routine make me happy. Once your body has begun to understand your bedtime routine it will automatically begin to wind down. I know that for me personally I need some calm quiet time to relax before I go to sleep.

No coffee after 4pm. This includes espresso martinis.

Eating well is important, a large meal later on is going to lead to a night of very disturbed sleep, add alcohol into the mix and I know I’m going to be awake most of the night.

Exercise is usually the answer to most problems, it took me forty years to work this out! A long walk or run each day not only helps to tire me (who am I kidding? I’m always tired!) it grounds and calms me and helps me to work through any worries which are on my mind.

A bath in the evening will raise your body temperature, the rapid cooldown period afterwards relaxes you and has been medically proven to promote a deeper sleep. Now you can’t have a bath without using all the luxurious bath products, what would be the point? I love a really oily bath, with candles burning and sumptuous body lotions to leave my skin smelling delicious afterwards. Recently I have been using Neom Organics scent to sleep range. I light the candle whilst I’m soaking in the bath, then massage the facial oil into my skin after applying my night cream. I finish off with a spritz of their pillow mist. Honestly, I’m so relaxed by this point it’s an effort to get into bed. The essential oils, including English Lavender, chamomile and patchouli, in their products help me achieve such a deep sleep.



Next we need to think about the bedroom. This room needs to be a comfortable and relaxing room, it needs to be tidy and not a place where you would normally work. My room is painted in a deep turquoise which is tranquil and soothing. It’s an old house with single glazing so believe me it’s never too hot. We have heavy floorlength velvet curtains to keep the drafts, and the sunshine, (during the summer months out). There are lots of lamps ensuring that I don’t have to turn the big light on and that the lights are low when I head to bed! I like bedlinen to be made out of natural fibres, and lots of layers so that when I wake up in the middle of the night sweating cobs I can easily cool down. I have been a long time fan of Christy home; their bedding has a luxurious feel and each collection is available in a thread count of 180 or higher. The geometric design of this Urbis bedlinen is inspired by Christy’s Manchester heritage and the music floor of the cities Town-hall. This peacock shade was an absolute must have for my bedroom don’t you agree? I have complimented it with their Jaipur throw in ink and piles of cushions, which we have to throw on the floor before we get in. This room really does feel like a safe haven, a cocoon, all the different textures which are layered together create drama and a luxurious vibe.

https://www.christy.co.uk/urbis-bed-linen-peacock

I love a posh pyjama or nightie. These days they’ve got to be made of natural fabric and loose to cope with the menopausal night sweats. This pretty Damsel night shirt from Wallace Cotton is just perfect and what Instagram is bedroom would be complete without the Insta slippers of dreams from Onaie? When they are not placed carefully next to my bed, they are just the thing for posing on doormats and tiled floors.

No phones near the bed, when you are lying there wide awake during the might the temptation to read the whole internet is all too real. Once you’ve picked it up to check the time before you know it you’re googling lists of past coronation street characters, important dates in September and Matt Baker. I am not going to lie and say that we do not have telephones in the bedroom, because we all know the first thing that everybody has to do when they wake up in the morning is to scroll through Instagram, but I plug it into charge of the other side of the room and I have it switched on to do not disturb. We also choose not to have a TV in the bedroom.

(Actual screen shot of the Google search history on my phone).

So that’s it, having a good night sleep is so important to me, and something which recently has become difficult to achieve, it’s something I’ve had to work at. I am really lucky to be working with some brilliant brands to give you the chance of achieving the perfect nights sleep to; Head over to my Instagram post to be in with a chance of winning;

A set of Urbis bedding from Christy Home,

A damsel night dress from Wallace cotton,

A three wick scent to sleep candle and sleep spray from Neom Organics,

A pair of moccasins slippers from Onaie.

Those were my top tips for getting to sleep now I’m going to give you a list of things that keep me awake.

The bastard cat coming in and padding on my bladder to wake me up.

Boy races driving past in the early hours with very loud music which shaking the windows.

Foxes fighting.

Noisy owls.

Snoring husbands.

Indigestion.

Invasive thoughts about Matt Baker, past characters in Coronation Street and important dates in September.

Sleep tight .