Trouble Falling Asleep? 7 Tips to Help You Nod Off

Published on 20 March 2018

Posted in Blog

We are Bed Hire and we are the nation’s bed and sleep experts, hiring beds out to companies, organisations and homes across the UK. We’re here to help you get a good night’s kip and one of the key moments that people struggle with this is the moment between when your head hits the pillow and your finally doze off.

You may be surprised to know that there are a number of things that can help you (or prevent you) from getting to sleep, and below we’ve listed some tips that tap into these factors:

Force yourself to stay awake

Doing this when you actually want to sleep will make your body crave the thing you are depriving of it. Think of it as a sort of reverse psychology for sleep troubles.

Get out of bed and do something

If you can’t sleep, getting up and focusing on something such as a book or a puzzle will not only make you tired, but it will stop you associating your bed with being awake (and thus help you associate it with just sleep).

Hide The Clock

If you’re the sort of person who watches the minutes tick by in the middle of the night, or can’t help but check the time – remove the temptation. You will get to sleep faster if you are not stressed about how little sleep you are getting and just relax.

Cool It

Sleeping in cooler temperatures is better for us, and often overheating is a problem – so turn down the thermostat. If you struggle getting out of bed in the morning in a cold room, have a dressing gown handy to keep you toasty when it’s time to rise and shine.

Get Warm and Get Full (Or Both!)

Having a warm shower before bed has been shown to send you off quicker, as well as having a carb-y snack before bed. Double up the warmth by eating or drinking something warm and filling. Dairy especially has been seen to help people nod off too, so perhaps opt for some warm milk and honey or a nice hot chocolate.

Listen to music, a podcast or neutral noises

Drift off to the sound of a relaxing album or the droning voice of a podcast host. Alternatively, you can play a soundtrack from Youtube or other apps that offer neutral and relaxing sounds such as wave movements, rain droplets or jungle sounds.

Have a Face Ice-Bath

If your sleep troubles are due to being stressed, one of the best ways to snap yourself out of a spiral is to have a 30 second ice-face bath. In the middle of the night, a cold water sink will do, but get your head in and give your brain a hard reset. Doing this triggers an involuntary response that lowers both you heart rate and blood pressure, and is called the Mammilian Dive Reflex. After this, you can enjoy heading back to bed with a more relaxed physiology and mental state.

We hope some of these tips help you this evening when you head to bed, and if any of our techniques above work for you too, do let us know! Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us if you need bed hire.

Back to News