Orthopedic beds and mattresses

Sleeping tips

There is no way to ensure a good nights sleep, particularly for anyone in pain or suffering from insomnia. There are however a number of steps that can be taken to aid a good and restful nights sleep.

Sleep advice aimed at helping you get a good night's sleep

• Always sleep on a good quality bed. If your bed is old, check it for firmness, lumps and other physical faults.
• If you have back ache of any kind, consider buying an orthopedic bed, or an orthopedic mattress to supplement your existing bed.

If you continue to have sleeping problems, consult you doctor and follow the suggestions below.

• Ensure that your bedroom is a comfortable relaxing place and one that induces sleep. Try not to use it for other purposes like a study, or for watching TV.
• Make sure that daylight cannot enter your bedroom during your sleep. Black-out curtains are an option if you have a south facing window.
• If you wake up during the night, resist the urge to get up and make a drink. Tea and coffee will make getting back to sleep more difficult.
• Avoid eating heavy foods or drinking caffeine for at least two hours before you go to bed.
• Avoid napping during the day, this will only make getting to sleep at night more troublesome. If you feel you have to nap, do so for no longer than 20 minutes.
• Try to let your mind go blank once in bed. Keeping active thoughts going stimulates the brain and produces the opposite mental state to that required for sleep.
• Try to have a regular bed time and “get up time” so that your body clock follows a routine.
• Try to prepare for sleep with a regular and relaxing pre-sleep ritual. This could involve reading, turning the volume down on a TV 20 minutes before you retire to bed, or simply thinking calming thoughts.
• Do not be concerned if you feel that you are lacking in sleep hours. The brain can benefit significantly from only 4 hours of sleep and staying in bed for more than 8 hours does you no additional good.
• If you wake up during the night, try to establish why (and at that exact moment). Did you have a nightmare, were you too hot or too cold, or were you disturbed by a noise. Is there any active measure that you can take to eliminate the cause before your next night’s sleep.