Whether or not you’re already having trouble sleeping, you may not be doing everything you can to ensure you get a good night’s rest. Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping you get the highest quality of sleep possible, learn the five hidden factors influencing your sleep and the steps you can take to get the most healthful, uninterrupted rest possible.
5 Things That Affect Sleep
1. Temperature
One of the most influential aspects of getting a good night’s rest is your body temperature. Even the healthiest individuals will experience lower quality or heavily disturbed sleep if their core body temperature fluctuates too high or too low.
Being too warm while you sleep is associated with less REM sleep (deep sleep) and more wakefulness during the night. Which, simply put, means you aren’t fully relaxing and resting while you sleep. Being too cold doesn’t have as much impact on sleep stages; however, it has been shown to affect an individual’s cardiac autonomic response during sleep.
2. Light
In the list of things that can affect your sleep, right behind temperature is lighting. Lighting can directly affect your sleep by making it harder to fall asleep (blue light from your phones & gadgets especially). Once you do fall asleep, any light coming into your area can influence your internal clock and make you sleep for less time than your body actually requires.
3. Mattress & Pillows
Even though sleep is one of the simplest ways to positively influence and improve our health, people consistently underestimate the impact their mattress and pillows have on their sleep and undervalue the difference quality can make. Sleeping on the best bed and pillows you can afford will ensure you’re doing everything you can to improve your health by recharging and relaxing your body each night.
Does a mattress affect your sleep quality? Yes, if your mattress is too firm or too cold it may have lost its comfort or supportiveness. People also often ask “is it better to sleep higher or lower?” - which, the answer is no, it’s the quality of your mattress affecting your sleep. Consider upgrading the mattress or at least purchasing a mattress topper to revitalise the mattress you have.
The same goes for your pillows. When was the last time you fluffed them? Do they still maintain the shape and support they had when you first bought them? If not, it may be time to try a padded pillow protector or a brand new pillow.
4. Bedding
An often overlooked but important aspect of comfortable sleep is adjusting your bedding with the season. For most people, this means adding blankets, using different sheets, or changing their comforter. But it doesn’t have to be such an ordeal. Ideally, you’d use a summer duvet with a lower tog rating in the warm months and a heavier duvet with a higher tog rating in the coldest months.
Do you sleep under a duvet? What’s great about duvets is they simplify the seasonal changes you have to make to stay comfortable in your bed. They can still give you the soft embrace and snug “weighted”, or heavy duvet, feeling so many people like about heavier bedding but without the added heat of many blankets.
5. Allergies & Sensitivities
More people are affected by skin sensitivity and allergies than they think. Often it’s not until someone tries a hypoallergenic, totally breathable duvet or pillow that they realise how much better and more restful their sleep is without all the chemicals and allergens in traditional, low-cost bedding. Whether you opt for a soft, anti-allergy material or supple silk fabrics, you’ll notice a stark difference in the quality of sleep you get.
Don’t settle for one more night of imperfect sleep. Visit our catalogue to learn more about available options for all your bedding needs.
