How To Create a Soothing Bedtime Routine

Your mental health goes hand in hand with a good night’s sleep. 

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is movement. Moving more for our mental health. Making changes to your daily routine.

But what do you do once you’ve stopped moving?

A restful sleep has the power to refresh, reinvigorate and relax you. The solution: a regular, soothing bedtime routine. 

Don’t sleep on this chance to establish a nightly ritual.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2024

As spring blooms and summer sun peaks through the clouds, you’ll likely feel a boost in your mental health. Combine this with getting outside, walking, or just moving that little bit more often and you’ll increase your energy levels and boost your self-esteem. 

Another simple solution for these rewards? A quality sleep. 

After all, you want to maintain what you’ve achieved. Keep levels of stress and anxiety at bay. Regulate your emotions. Give your body time to recover and heal.

Mental Health: Symptom and Contributor

Attentive, alert, energetic. Confused, low, difficulty managing daily challenges. The difference between a good and bad night’s sleep.

Any mental health condition, from depression to eating disorders, can affect your sleep. In turn, poor sleep impacts your mental health. Common sleep problems include:

Insomnia: The most common sleep disorder, affecting almost 1 in 3 people in the UK. Finding it hard to sleep, waking often, or even waking too early can cause anxiety, irritability, and a lack of concentration. 

Narcolepsy: Suddenly falling asleep at unexpected or inopportune moments. Drowsiness can make even daily tasks exhausting, making it difficult to regulate patterns and form a routine to combat the condition.  

Sleep Apnoea: When your breathing starts and stops during sleep, interrupting long periods of slumber. Symptoms include tiredness, mood swings and headaches due to lack of rest.

Sleep problems can be caused by stress and worry, physical or mental health issues, or changes to routine (such as travel). The overwhelming thoughts that come with anxiety can make it hard to sleep, while depression could lead to oversleeping or insomnia. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can cause nightmares, while mania may mean you’re too energetic. 

Of course, these symptoms aren’t mutually exclusive. At Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Co., sumptuous support and unparalleled comfort motivate our craft. Sleep is a necessity. But indulgent sleep shouldn’t be a luxury.

How to Improve Your Sleep?

• A regular relaxing routine: unwinding each night in a restful environment will signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep. Possibly one of the most significant factors, keep your bedroom dark, cool and quiet to stay asleep for longer. 
• Regular exercise: aligning with this year’s Mental Health Awareness theme, regular exercise releases energy and endorphins. Your body temperature will rise and then cool, inviting slumber.  
• Avoid stimulants: Caffeine and alcohol are stimulants. They block the sleep-promoting chemical adenosine, causing you to stay awake and alert. Avoiding these drinks too close to bedtime can prevent this. 
• Avoid screens: Avoiding screens just before or while you’re in bed promotes it as a place of sleep. Devices’ blue light can stimulate anxiety. Our suggestion? Read a book or listen to a podcast to drift off. 
• The right mattress: For cushioning cosiness that will envelop you in peaceful slumber, the right mattress is essential. Consider contouring pocket sprung support and test which tension’s right for you. 
• Natural fibres: Breathable and moisture-wicking. Prevent perspiration and discomfort with natural fibre bedding such as wool, cotton and linen. Adapting to your body temperature, these sustainable materials will soothe your sleep throughout the seasons. We may be biased, but if in doubt, choose wool.

The Right Routine

Our step-by-step to create a soothing bedtime routine. Fall eagerly into bed each night. 

1.lFirst and foremost, dedicate your bedroom to sleeping. Your brain’s association with rest rather than recreation will invite sleep easier and quicker.

2. Your bedroom environment is the foundation to your sleep. How you curate it can determine its length and quality. Think a cool and dark distraction-free retreat. 

• Keep it clean and decluttered for comfort and calming thoughts. 
• If it’s too hot, a fan will cool and stimulate airflow. Its white noise blocks out distracting sounds. 
• Dimmer, warmer light, such as candle- or lamplight, indicates daytime is over. (That includes the blue light from your devices.) Banish the bombarding influx of information and decompress. 
• Time for the soft touch. A cocooning mattress and fresh bedding will entice you to bed.

3. Believe it or not, some foods and drinks promote sleep. Opt for these in place of ‘oh just one more’ glass of wine or cup of coffee. 

• For food: cherries, bananas, kiwi, and nuts can do the trick. 
• Avoid bloating beverages: try chamomile tea, water or even a rich dark hot chocolate.

4. Calming activities dissipate tension. Read that paperback you’ve been meaning to get round to. Relax tired muscles in a hot bath. Meditate with gentle stretching or free your thoughts with journaling. 

5. Lying awake at night? Listen. Soothing sounds, mellow music and ambient noise will soften your surroundings. Perfect to cover sounds of traffic, noisy neighbours or still silence. 

6. Associate aromatherapy to encourage slumber. Scents to note include jasmine, rose, cedarwood and, of course, lavender.

Establishing a regular soothing bedtime routine is integral. However, you should avoid too much- the average person needs between 7 to 9 hours of sleep. A routine takes on extra importance when the clocks change or you’re facing jet lag whilst travelling.

Our Tip: make early adjustments. Gradually alter the times of your routine to ease into those bigger changes. Say goodbye to sluggishness and welcome the day re-energised.

Lavender

Lavender is a fragrant herb used for centuries to combat health issues. It’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Even the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians prized lavender as an ingredient for herbal remedies. The result: faster, deeper, longer sleep. 

Integrate Lavender into your Routine:

• Infuse with candles and diffusers
• Spritz its scent with pillow and room sprays
• Bathe in bath salts and luxe lavender oils
• An eye sleep mask is your lavender alternative
• Not just reserved for your clothing, dried sachets softly release fragrance

Sleep can be easy to compromise on- if you’re worried about work, or busy with family life. Mental health awareness affects us all. Good and bad mental health can affect us all.

Remember: a good sleep boosts your immune system. It manages hunger. And it improves concentration. 

Prioritise time for rest. Embrace the abilities of a good night’s sleep.