How to Get the Perfect Night’s Sleep

Brought to you in association with
the mattress technology experts

Beds and mattresses

And so, to bed. Since you’ll be spending your sleeping time in a bed, it’s obviously going to be an essential element of getting a good night’s sleep. Yet many people don’t appreciate the importance of a properly designed and maintained bedframe, mattress and bedclothes.

Mattresses

Mattress technology has developed rapidly in recent years, and the traditional spring mattress is no longer the only type available.

• There’s no one mattress that is right for everyone – the essential factor in a mattress is that it should provide good back support. A good mattress reinforces proper sleeping posture and is comfortable as well as being good for your sleeping patterns.
• A mattress should support your whole body and keep your spine properly aligned whether you are sleeping on your back, front or side.
• When trying a mattress, look out for the pressure points which will be at the heaviest parts of your body.
• If you are sharing the bed with a partner, make sure you are both comfortable on the mattress.

There are many types of mattress using different support and comfort technologies such as smart gel, memory foam, innerspring and latex.

Temperature control

Temperature control is now understood to be crucial to getting a perfect night’s sleep. If we are too hot or too cold, the body will move unconsciously, with the result that the sleep cycle will be broken, potentially during the critical REM phase.

It’s well known that sleeping in a cool bedroom is desirable but what is less understood is that there are now technologies available to ensure that the temperature of the sleeping surface is also optimised, with a mattress that ensure you never sleep too hot or too cold as the active material removes, stores and then releases heat as your body needs it.

How often should you change your mattress?

There is no definitive answer, but most experts recommend every seven years. If you sleep on the same mattress for seven years, you will have used it over 2500 times, and that isn’t good from a hygiene point of view.

If you buy a £1,000 mattress and sleep on it every night for seven years, the nightly cost is less than 40p, so that puts the cost in perspective.

The real issue of course is support. Over time, any mattress will subside, and if the mattress is being used by a couple, it is likely to subside unevenly. While this is to be expected as fillings compress over time, if you leave the mattress unchanged for too long you will be storing up back problems and a poor night’s sleep for yourself.

Bed coverings

Other elements to consider if you want the perfect night’s sleep are of course your pillows and bed coverings.

The duvet or continental quilt is now easily the most popular type of bed covering – who wants to bother with blankets and top sheets when you can change a duvet in a minute?

There are all sorts of duvet fillings to choose from, including down, feather, silk, wool, microfibre and hollowfibre; as well as a range of weights from ‘tog’ ratings of as light as 1 tog for summer, to 13.5 tog for winter, the higher the tog the warmer you will be underneath it. Choose your duvet filling to avoid any possible allergies, and if your allergy is to dust mites, buy an anti-allergenic duvet and follow care instructions.

Pillows play an essential role in supporting the head, neck, shoulder, hips and spine, so shouldn’t be neglected.

Like duvets, pillows come with a choice of fillings, from down and feather to wool, cotton, synthetics and memory foam.

Choose a pillow which is comfortable but provides plenty of support, and if you have a particular sleeping problem, ensure you find a pillow to fill the gap between your head and the mattress (when on your side) to keep you in straight alignment. Memory foam is well liked because it remains supportive, and modern Gel Technology can also help to prevent overheating. 

So, we’ve looked at why sleep is important, what actually happens when we sleep, and the consequences of not getting enough sleep. We’re given you some sound advice on setting the scene for the perfect night’s sleep, preparing your body for sleep and making sure you have the right bed and environment to sleep in. We’ve tried to answer all the questions about how to get the perfect night’s sleep, questions that could keep you awake at night. So, now all that’s left to do now is to wish you a restful good night!