Top tip if you're struggling to get to sleep...

Lie as close as you can to the edge of the bed and you'll soon drop off...

(Sorry).

A hot bath before bed helps you sleep

Many people have a lovely hot bath before bed, because they believe that it helps them sleep better. 

And they're right. 

It does.

But why is that?

Well, falling asleep is intrinsically linked to your internal body temperature. A hot bath increases your core body temperature by about 1°C - but it's not the heat of the bath that makes you feel drowsy.

Instead it's the cooling down and drop in your core temperature after a bath that's the real trigger for sleep. 

Top tip for a great night's sleep: Have a good old hot soak about an hour before bedtime - the rise and subsequent fall in your core body temperature should help you drift off in no time. 

PS - Why not try our gorgeous Deep Sleep Bath Soak by This Works to make that bath even more relaxing? 

What's that bleeding noise?

Noise is one of the primary disrupters of sleep. It can stop you going to sleep and wake you up once you are asleep.

Bad noise!

Some noisy things - like a ticking clock or a household appliance - you can do something about.

Other noisy things - like your offspring or the road outside your bedroom window - are more difficult to control.

Most people tend to get used to noise after a while and manage to blank it out.

Others don't take the risk and go to bed wearing earplugs...but they are not for everybody as they can be uncomfortable.

An alternative method to dodge noise is to use a technique such as imagery to distract yourself. Once you're  imagining "another place" (such as a beach on a beautiful summer's day), the brain manages to isolate itself from those pesky noises that have been bothering you.

Top tip for a great night's sleep: Use imagery techniques to make noise annoyances that you cannot control float away and disappear

Taking exercise will help you sleep better

We all know it. 

Many of us remain in denial about it.

But the cast-iron evidence points to the fact that it’s true.

Taking exercise is good for us.

And it’s no different when it comes to sleep. Research has shown that people who are physically fit and active have a better quality of sleep.

Now you don’t have to become a slave to the gym, but exercising just three times a week for 20-30 minutes will have a noticeable impact on the quality of your sleep. As well as your overall fitness and well-being. Anything that gets your heart pumping – walking the dog, swimming, a bike ride - should do the trick.

But take care to avoid strenuous exercise in the evening and certainly just before bedtime. Exercise temporarily arouses the nervous system and therefore, taken late in the day, can lead to problems achieving and maintaining sleep.

The bedroom might be the only place to keep the exercise bike, but don’t hop onto it just before bed!

Top tip for a great night’s sleep: Ummm...well...errrr, it's a bit obvious given the above but...take some exercise.   

You booze, you snooze...but not very well.

If you've had a few, the likelihood is that you'll fall asleep almost as soon as you turn out the light.

But our sleep patterns are such that you're actually not doing yourself any favours.

Boozing before bed interferes with the normal sleep process because it can send you straight into deep sleep. This means that you miss out on the first stage of sleep known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. 

When you're in deep sleep, your body restores itself, but as the grog wears off, your body slips back into REM sleep which is a lot easier to wake up from. Many people will wake up after just a few hours when they have been drinking. 

In the course of a "normal" night, you would normally have six to seven cycles of REM sleep which will usually leave you feeling refreshed when you wake up. But if you have been drinking, you may only have one or two cycles, which will leave you feeling drained and short of rest when you do wake up.

Top tip for a great night's sleep: Stay off the sauce...or at least give yourself a few hours off before you hit the hay. 

How can a piece of paper and a pen help you sleep better?

Many of us have busy lives - work, kids, socialising, doing that thing we've been meaning to do for ages but never quite seem to have the time for - and at times can feel overwhelmed.

And feeling overwhelmed is a guaranteed recipe for stress.

And stress can affect our sleep.

A simple and effective way to reduce worry at night is to write a list during the day.

Yes it's blindingly obvious, but often it's the simplest of things that make the difference.

Make sure your list is:

1. Specific and selective
2. Realistic and achievable

Hyper-organised, closet control-freak? Consider keeping a facsimile of a list of your lists in the bedside drawer...that should reassure you...

Top tip for a great night's sleep: Write a list of all the things you need to do and remind yourself that you "have a plan" if you start thinking about them at night.

Are you sleep deprived?

Falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow may not be a good thing.

Various studies have shown that falling asleep within 5-15 minutes is the ideal.

So if you conk out the second you close your eyes and your head hits the pillow, it might be a sign that you're suffering from chronic sleep deprivation - or in other words, not enough sleep.

Or perhaps you're just very drunk.

Top tip for a great night's sleep: Make sure you allocate sufficient hours to sleeping...and don't get blind drunk

Sorry, but a weekend lie-in does you no favours...

Yes it's annoying, but the fact is that a lie-in is more likely to make you feel groggy than better.

As we all know, the human body is an amazing thing - our natural body clock prepares the body for waking an hour beforehand by making sure that the right hormones are flowing, so you can hop out of bed at the appointed hour. Amazing. 

But the body can only prepare if it knows when you're going to get up. So if you mess it about getting up at 6.30am on a weekday and then 9.30am on a Saturday morning, your body has to readjust constantly - which can make you feel groggy. 

Top tip for a great night's sleep and avoiding grogginess on waking: Try to stick to a regular sleeping pattern and don't lie in at the weekend - it will help you synchronise with your body's natural rhythms. 

If you're tossing and turning at night, it's probably because you're too hot.

Did you know that if you're tossing and turning at night, it's probably because you're too hot?

Our bodies naturally rise in temperature during the day and then cool down overnight. But if you've got the central heating whacked up, or even at a comfortably warm 21 degrees, your bedroom will begin to feel hot and you'll become restless, thrashing about as you try to cool down.

The ideal bedroom room temperature is 16 degrees, so that you can lose temperature out of your head, whilst under the covers, a cosy 29 degrees is ideal.

A warm body and a cool head makes perfect sense to me...

Top tip for a great night's sleep: Keep your bedroom cool by turning off the radiator in the evening and by opening a window.