What Happens When You Sleep and How Your Bed Can Help

We spend around a third of our lives asleep. Some of us don’t get enough of it and some get too much, but why is it so important? Sleep is the time where our brain and body can carry out important tasks which help the body cope with day to day life.

During sleep, a number of functions take place and without these the body struggles, which is why when we fail to get enough sleep, we feel tired, irritable and are more prone to accidents and vulnerable to illness.

While you rest overnight, your brain is often far from it. The cerebral cortex which is the thinking part of the brain rests but the brain’s ability to learn and process is maintained by sleep. This is why when you are suffering from a lack of sleep, it can often seem like you’re working on autopilot and are prone to irritability, unclear thinking and trouble dealing with unexpected situations. All things that can make your working day harder and productivity low. During the first few phases of sleep, the cortex activity drops by 40% but during later stages the brain becomes highly active.

During sleep there are five different sleep cycles and during deep sleep, rapid eye movement occurs. During this time, the eyes are moving quickly for up to 30 minutes at a time and this is repeated every 90 minutes. REM is when dreaming occurs but temporary muscle paralysis prevents us from acting out or dreams. However a person can change their sleeping position around 35 times a night!

Sleeping process. Source: Intropsych

Sleep is hugely important for health and the body. While you’re asleep, heart rate and blood pressure fall by 10%. People who have between seven and eight hours of sleep a night have the lowest rates of heart disease, while insomniacs have a 45% higher risk of heart attack. 

Sleep also releases growth hormones which boosts muscle mass and repair for cells and tissues. A lack of sleep can disturb the ability of the immune system to fight infection and make the body vulnerable to viruses.

The digestive system provides a regular supply of energy and is a key source of glucose which is constantly burned up when it is releases energy for muscle contraction, nerve impulses and regulating body temperature. The digestive system slows down overnight, which is why eating late at night isn’t recommended and can lead to morning bloat. 

With all the things your body needs to achieve overnight, it’s clear to see why sleep is so vital to the human body. Which is why it is so important to ensure you get enough of it and have a suitable bed to support your chances of getting enough sleep. People who have old or unsuitable mattresses have much more trouble getting to sleep as well as experiencing back and neck problems because their body is not properly supported. Rather than being supported and able to relax, muscles could end up trying to compensate the pressure and end up working harder - leaving you feeling tired and achy in the morning. 

A memory foam mattress topper can be a great way of improving your sleep and comfort

 It’s important to find a mattress that is comfortable and suitable for you and everyone is different, which is why you need to have the time to test mattresses out. Everybody is different and you need something that is suitable for your body. When shopping for a mattress spend around 10 minutes on each bed and really test how comfortable it is. Do you feel supported yet comfortable? If you’ve had your current mattress over seven years, then it’s time to upgrade!

A New Year, A New Home

A new year is a time for new starts and finally getting to the jobs you put off the previous year. It’s important to begin the year with a fresh start and get all unfinished business out of the way – ready to face the year ahead with nothing hanging over you.

Perhaps you’re moving house and need to kit out a new place or you finally want your house to look finished, there is no better excuse than to start at the beginning of the year – particularly with the January sales in full swing!

Purchasing those extra finishing touches like extra furniture and decoration can help your home feel complete and finally bring aspects of your personality to the home – making it a reflection of you and somewhere you can really feel content and comfortable.

The New Year often means a deluge of sales in the shops, particularly in the furniture market, and is the ideal time to kit out your home for less. For those on a budget, now is the ideal time to finally make those purchases you’ve been putting off and make your house a home.

Organisation is key to a happy and content home and introducing storage options is one of the best ways to create a clean and calming living space. Having dedicated areas ensures you can find everything you need when you need it and avoid those frantic searches when you’re running late.

Bedrooms are usually the least organised rooms of the house and investing in some key furniture can usually make a real difference to getting everything sorted and feeling complete. Perhaps you’re living out a suitcase or have everything organised into disorganised piles – now is the time to get organised and start the year with a fresh attitude and room design.

Investing in a sturdy and roomy wardrobe is the first step to helping with organisation and ensuring your clothes aren’t hanging off every available surface. They’re a great way to try and ensure your clothes remain crease free and out of the way as well as allowing you to browse through and remember everything you have.

A chest of drawers come into their own when it comes to organisation and a great idea is to have each drawer dedicated to a different item of clothing. For example, a drawer for underwear, a different drawer for pyjamas and another for t-shirts – so that when it comes to getting ready everything is in its own place.

A dressing table is a great treat if you have the room and can make hair and make-up in the morning much less of an ordeal. It can help make a plethora of hair and beauty items and products into a functional space that makes rushed mornings and evenings much less of an ordeal as well as much more comfortable!

You can also give rooms throughout the house a fresh new look by replacing curtains and carpets. You’d be surprised how much it can brighten the room and make a difference – giving a fresh feeling to the house. While old weathered carpets and curtains can begin to look dull and unloved – investing in a new style or colour or even just a new version of a previous design can make all the difference to your home and provide a noticeable difference guests will praise.

With the New Year a time of fresh starts and resolutions, make it your resolution to finally get your home looking how you want it.

How to Create a Calming Bedroom to aid a Restful Night’s Sleep

The bedroom is the most personal room of the house and as such should reflect your personality and personal tastes, but at the same time it is important to create a calm and restful room which promotes a calm and restful sleep.

To achieve a peaceful space, it’s important to think carefully about design and what you can do to make the area welcoming. Here are some tips for creating a soothing bedroom space:

Colour plays an important part: 

 The colour you choose to decorate your room with plays an important part in how you feel within it, colours that are over stimulating could be keeping you from getting as much sleep as you’d like. Opting for colours such as pale grey, blue, green and yellow are some of the best for getting a restful night. Surprisingly, grey is one of the colours of the moment for bedroom design and is being seen across the interior design world. By opting for a light grey and tying it in with white and silver elements, you can avoid the colour looking too drab or depressing.

Source: crazyleafdesign

Choose the right bed: 

A bed is an important investment, we use it almost every day for around six to eight hours a day or more,  so it’s not a piece of furniture to skimp on. Therefore, when buying a bed, be sure you buy a sturdy quality

comfortable bed with the right mattress for you. When buying a mattress, be sure to try it out in the store and don’t be shy to get really comfortable and work out what kind of firmness works best for you. If you share a bed with a partner, this is also a good time to test the bed is big enough for the both of you. You should be able to lie side by side, arms behind your head with elbows out without touching.

Source: expertdrivers

Put thought into your bedding: 

It’s important to invest in a duvet or bed covers that give the right balance of keeping you warm but allowing your body to breathe. When choosing a design, opt for something calming such as a neutral geometric design.

Source: madeinchina

 

Make the room as dark as possible: 

Invest in blackout curtains to help make the room as dark as possible – particularly if you live on a built up street or city. Blocking out those streetlights can make the world of difference and stop sunlight in the morning waking you up too early. The darker the room is, the better you will generally sleep. 

Source: bouclair

 

Invest in bedside lamps: 

Dim light at bedtime helps you wind down and allows your eyes to rest and get ready for sleep. Reading by dim light can also help you feel sleepier if you’re having trouble sleeping and is much more suitable than watching TV before bed which can leave you overstimulated and disturb sleep.

Source: homeydesigning

Brighten up the room with a large canvas: 

While you opt for a neutral room, it’s important to have some focus so it doesn’t become too plain. A large canvas can help break up the room and make the bedroom feel more welcoming. A canvas of a landscape or destination you practically like could help you feel more relaxed and stir up happy memories. 

Source: uprinting