Here is some advice from The Sleep Council
Stay warm in bed this winter and take advantage of the longer nights to refresh your sleep routine, is the advice from The Sleep Council.
Dark mornings and evenings can have lots of amazing health benefits including helping you get a better night’s sleep. Melatonin – the hormone that stimulates sleep – is produced when daylight starts to fade, which occurs far earlier during winter. So take advantage of the fact that your body will fall asleep earlier and stay asleep for longer.
However, with temperatures usually at their lowest during the early hours, the risk for many people is waking up shivering and being too cold to get a good night’s rest.
The Sleep Council has produced some top tips to help ensure we don’t turn into ice cubes during the night but stay warm as toast:
- Wear night clothes such as pyjamas or a large T-shirt to keep you cosy. Natural fibres such as wool, cotton or silk are better than synthetic materials.
- Have a warm bath just before you go to bed. This will raise your body temperature which in turn will also help to make you sleepy.
- Have a warm milky drink before bed.
- Try to take some exercise which will get the circulation going.
It is also worth looking at the bedroom, the bed and the bedding all of which play a part in keeping you insulated in the cold night air.
