Female Focus
Page 39
Home & Garden
The science of sleeping well
How bed surfaces affect your sleep The feel of your mattress, pillows, sheets, and pyjamas affects the quality of your sleep. Your mattress should be comfortable and supportive so that you wake up feeling rested, not achy or stiff. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not necessarily better to sleep on an extra firm mattress, so use your body as a guide for what feels best through the night. The same applies to pillows: soft or firm is a matter of preference, but think about replacing pillows when they become lumpy or shapeless. The type and number of pillows you use depends in part on your sleeping position. Temperature plays a big role in quality sleep. Mattress materials, as well as the fabrics on your bed and your body, deal with heat differently. For example, many people find memory foam comfortable, but some materials can trap heat and make it more difficult to sleep in warmer months. For pyjamas and sheets, it may help to choose a breathable cotton fabric so that you don’t overheat.
When to buy new pillows Give your pillows the once-over for lumps and sags. When you sleep, your pillow should support your head and neck, allowing them to stay in a neutral position (without craning or
awkwardness) while you sleep. Many doctors recommend replacing pillows every two years. In the meantime, keep your mattress and pillows clean. Wash your mattress cover in hot water. You can also dust the mattress itself with baking soda to draw out moisture and vacuum it up a day later, or wash with a product such as upholstery cleaner. Most pillows are washable, or can be run through the dryer on high temperature to kill dust mites.
Make your bed for better sleep We tend to think of making our beds as a routine morning chore, but it turns out the ritual may be more meaningful than that. The results of a recent Bedroom Poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that many people believe clean, neat and comfortable elements of the bedroom environment are important to getting a good night’s sleep. Not surprisingly, over 90 percent of people said a comfortable mattress and pillows are important to the sleep experience. But more than three quarters of people also believe that the comfortable feel of sheets and bedding are important to a good night’s rest, and 62 percent said that a clean bedroom makes the difference. People who reported making their bed in the morning were 19 percent more likely to get a good night’s sleep every
night. It’s not clear why this is, but perhaps there is a connection between feeling good about where you sleep and your tendency to sleep through the night.
Turn to page three to find out where your closest Yorshire Linen Co. shop is.
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