Written by Menswear Style in Health & Fitness on the 2nd September 2015

One of the worst feelings in the world is opening your eyes after a terrible night’s sleep. Whether it’s because you only had two hours kip or repeatedly found yourself waking up during the early hours of the morning, a lack of sleep can ruin your day and has many detrimental effects too. The recommended eight hours of sleep a day allows your brain to be alert and your body rested. Without sleep, your brain isn’t as responsive, which can cause you to make bad judgements or, even worse, suffer an accident. A lack of sleep can also cause various health problems including heart disease, diabetes and weight gain. However, a really good sleep can help you feel fresher than ever. Here are some simple tips with help from Mattressman to help you battle those miserable nights and drift off to sleep quicker than ever.

Be active and use up your energy 

It can be hard to find the time or motivation to exercise if you have a job that drains your soul as well as your energy, but being active during the day will certainly help you feel drowsy and fall asleep without a hitch. Regularly being physically active can help you sleep immensely. Studies have shown that if you get around 15 hours of exercise a week, one way or another, then your sleeping habits will greatly improve. You’ll feel sufficiently tired much quicker than those days spent just sitting behind a desk. Exercising too soon before your head hits the pillow might not be a wise idea, though, as your body and brain will still be wide awake from all of the activity.

Wake up earlier 

The classic - If you’re stuck in a rut because you’ve been falling asleep way too late, one of the quickest ways of sorting out your body clock is, simply put, to wake up earlier in the day. Getting out of bed a few hours earlier might be an emotionally painful experience to start with, but you can be sure that you will be feeling way too tired to stay up passed your bedtime. Give this a few days to kick in and you’ll find yourself naturally waking up and feeling ready to sleep at just the right times without any issues.

Pick the right mattress and bedding 

It should become abundantly clear in no time if you’ve picked the wrong type of mattress: you’re likely to struggle with getting a decent sleep almost every night and be prone to aches and pains. This is far from what a mattress is meant to do for your body and mind. A good mattress should ease tension in your joints and significantly reduce the likes of back pain and sleepless nights. Memory foam mattresses are known for helping people get to sleep. Originally constructed by NASA, the filling moulds to your body’s natural sleeping position so you are perfectly supported. 

Memory foam also lowers blood pressure and correctly aligns the spine, lulling you into a deep sleep every night. Although, if memory foam isn’t for you, pocket sprung mattresses are a great alternative that come with many of the same health benefits. Furthermore, the bigger stature you posses, the firmer support you’ll typically need. Therefore, make sure your mattress contains enough springs or the right depth foam to support your whole weight; otherwise you’ll be feeling uncomfortable and sleepless every night.

Darkness 

Sleeping in the dark isn’t for everybody, but sleeping with lights or the TV still on is much worse for you. Not only does it rack up a hefty electricity bill but it can stop your brain from thinking it’s time to go to sleep. Your biological clock reacts to changes in light; so when the lights go out, your brain knows it’s time to go to sleep and prepares itself for that. Without this change, you’ll find it increasingly difficult to fall asleep at the right time. If you’re a shift worker and don’t often sleep during the night, it’s a good idea to wear dark sunglasses on your way home from work to limit your exposure to Sunlight.

Stick to your bedtime routine 

It’s always tempting to play that extra match on Fifa or watch one more episode of The Walking Dead. But one game can quickly turn into an all-night marathon, and before you know it there’s just a few hours left until you have to get up again. Not sticking to your usual sleeping schedule can be a nightmare (pun intended). Sleeping in a irregular pattern, especially much later than you’re meant to, will put your brain out of synch and make it much harder to fall asleep at the right times; resulting in one of many restless nights.

In this guide to getting good a good night's kip we discuss How to Get to Sleep Quickly and Why it’s so Important.