5 ways to sleep better this winter

Enjoy more peaceful nights with these 5 ways to sleep better this winter. As while many of us can’t wait to snuggle into bed on a cold winter’s evening, the reality is, having a cosy night’s sleep soon turns into an uncomfortable, groggy nap and the days of a solid eight-hour kip can seem like just a dream. Sleep specialist and psychologist Chireal Shallow shares advice to sleep soundly this winter.

Choose natural fibre covers 

When it’s cold, we want to wrap up cosy and snuggle into bed and keep warm. But being too warm – especially if we have the heating on or are sensitive to heat – can impact on the quality of sleep by making us feel uncomfortable, overheated or lead to troubles regulating the right temperature for optimal sleep. Having natural fibres on our bedding helps to regulate our body temperature and ensures a good night’s sleep.

Place a humidifier or bowl of water in the room 

In the winter, the air is cold so we often have the heating on, which can impact our skin and breathing. Keeping the air moist allows us and our skin to breathe and helps us feel at ease. Sleep apnoea and difficulty sleeping due to trouble breathing is one main factor in poor quality sleep. We can improve the quality of our sleep by improving our air quality.

 Wake up with a light 

This time of year the mornings are dark, it’s often hard for us to wake up, and when we do, we can feel groggy and lethargic. One way to avoid this is to use a lamp that gently wakes us up by getting lighter slowly. It mimics the natural light of dawn so we wake feeling fresh and ready for the day.

Have a good routine 

Avoid TV and devices at least an hour before bed, have a warm, milky, caffeine-free drink, and dim the lights or light candles to provide a relaxing environment. If you are particularly troubled when drifting off to sleep, add Potter’s Nodoff Plus Mixture to your routine. This has been expertly formulated with sedative and relaxant herbs including passiflora, Jamaican dogwood, hops and valerian to promote natural sleep.

Eat wisely

Our eating habits can adjust when the weather changes and we tend to reach for more high fat and high carb foods. This has an impact on our body rhythm and sleep cycle as we introduce particular hormones into our system that can interfere.