World Sleep Day: Your Guide to Recharge and Rejuvenate

We love to sleep. Undoubtedly. To drift off, slowly and deeply, as the world quietens around you, is indescribable. Does it happen every day, though?

Sadly, for many of us, it doesn’t. We hit the bed after promptly answering all notifications, and plugging in our phones to the charger. Sometimes, we keep scrolling until our body says ‘enough’. We’ve never quite paid attention to how we sleep, and yet wonder why we aren’t fully rested in the morning. This ends here and now.

We, at HiGRID care about your sleep. This World Sleep Day, we bring you all the info you need on your daily habits that hinder sleep and how you can significantly improve your sleep quality with simple, easy-to-do steps. We’ve put together this ready reckoner, so you can check every time you have a grumpy day or a sleepless night. Read till the end and bookmark this tab. You’ll thank us later.

4 Things That May Be Robbing You of Precious Sleep

Sleep time is when your body restores balance in your system. Your body needs at least 6-8 hours of sleep, regardless of age, to process the information it has received during the day, heal, troubleshoot and repair your body. 

Any disruption to the sleep routine can wreak havoc. If you’ve been having improper sleep, chances are you are not allowing your body or mind to rest or you’re feeding heavy stuff for them to process, or you’re going against your body clock. Let’s figure out what's robbing you of deep sleep.

You Have a Poor Sleep Routine

Are you one of those people to lower your AC temperature unreasonably low, before falling asleep? A slightly cooler room temperature is required to drift off, yes, we agree. But extreme cold or heat can have a reverse impact, it can keep you up for long. 

Listening to songs at a mild volume, to help you relax is okay until it’s done before 30 minutes of hitting the bed. If you keep listening to loud music, you’re stimulating your brain and it won’t rest for a while. 

Constant worry is also another reason that keeps most of us up. When we wind down for the day, we tend to recollect the past and worry about the future and existential dread gets the better of us. Allowing your mind to be grateful for sleeping is proven to cause faster and deeper sleep. 

If you have a strong room freshener or a scented candle on your nightstand, it may be a silent culprit in disturbing your sleep. Sometimes, the strong smell may even suffocate you when you’re about to snooze. 

You May Make Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices, Knowingly or Otherwise

Loading up on sugars, caffeine or alcohol before sleeping, thinking you are ONLY going to sleep is a grave mistake many of us make. These choices not only result in weight gain, but they are also responsible for keeping you up at night. 

Caffeine can make you alert, even when your body is exhausted and wants you to sleep. When you go against your natural clock and disturb the mind-body harmony, your system exacts a heavy toll on your health.

A couple of glasses of alcohol before bed may be allowed, as it helps you wind down faster. But, anything above that is a no-no. If you’re accustomed to showering just before bed, know that’s one of the reasons you’re unable to slumber faster. 

A sedentary lifestyle also lends a hand in keeping you awake at night. When your body has spent its physical energy, it would still like to keep you up. 

Recreation Before Bed

Watching a movie or a web series episode before bed is common now. There are two dangers involved: either you can be tempted to binge-watch, or when you finally decide to shut down the screen, you’ll still keep thinking about the movie and lose precious sleep.

Consuming any form of electronic media is only going to stimulate your brain. You get the same effect when you exercise rigorously, or dance a lot, just before hitting the bed. However, working out a few hours before bed will certainly promote faster, deeper sleep, naturally. 

If you lay in bed trying to sleep but need something to get you there, consider reading a physical book, or whip out your pen and journal and try to write down what you loved about your day. Anywhere you read about sleep, this tip is sure to be present, because of its high effectiveness to relax you.

Poor Sleeping Surface

An often overlooked aspect of your bedroom, but most critical to sleep quality is your mattress. An old, overly bouncy, hard, or sinking mattress that makes you want to wake up now and then, or causes allergies or body pain, can steal your sleep like no other. Visit here to know more.

When you start experiencing any prolonged back pain, allergies, neck or shoulder pain, constant morning drowsiness, or night sweats, it’s best to consider changing your mattress to a more comfortable, supportive and airy mattress. 

The deepest stages of your sleep cycle reap numerous health benefits. Undisturbed sleep, regardless of your sleeping position, is essential for your body and mind. When your mattress wakes you up, it can not only ruin your sleep rhythm, you’ll find yourself awake for a while, before falling asleep again. 

Top 5 Proven Hacks for Reposeful Sleep

We’ve cleared sleep disturbers out of the way. It’s time to inculcate habits that naturally prepare your body for rest, gradually take you through sleep stages and attune you to the natural circadian rhythm. 

#1 Eat & Shower Early-on

A light, fat-free, low-sugar meal is comforting to your body, and it can digest the meal easily. Eat quite early on, at least 2 hours before bed. The same goes for showering at night in warm water. Shower a few hours early, preferably before dinner, to prepare your body for a nice, deep sleep. 

Steer clear of caffeine. If you’re a fan of herbal teas, make yourself a mild cuppa tea and let it slowly relax your mind and body. The ingredients in herbal teas lower stress hormone, cortisol, and decreases anxiety or worries you ruminate about.

#2 Moderate Room Temperature

Keep a slightly cooler temperature and if the climate allows, keep your windows open. The cool temperature helps your brain release melatonin which is responsible for lowering your body temperature, thus setting you up for sound sleep. 

#3 Cleaner Sheets & Air Quality

It’s no news that cleaner spaces make us feel safe and calm. Studies say about 19% of people rest better when they sleep on clean, washed sheets. We recommend you get a mattress with a washable, eco-friendly cover, like the ones at HiGRID mattress, so you can wash your mattress cover at least 1-2 times a week and improve the air quality in your room. 

#4 Leaving Your Phone Alone

Try this one day. Switch off your WiFi, and put your phone in the living room, before you go to sleep. 

Cope up with the urge to text or scroll, by replacing your phone with a book, or by going through the photos on your wall, or album. Make a mental list of all the amazing things you've done that week. If you're still unable to sleep after 20 minutes of laying in bed, get up and do any activity that doesn't involve screens or vigorous movement. 

#5 Switch to a New Mattress

A crucial step for your health. Look for mattress options online. A new mattress can address many sleep issues you have, like air quality, comfort, back support and more. Choose wisely, compare options, check the return policy, and look for ratings before ordering a new mattress online.

5 Qualities to Look for When Choosing a New Mattress

The best mattress is one that takes your sleep quality seriously, like HiGRID mattresses. When you're browsing through options online, ensure you check for these 7 mattress qualities mentioned below, which are 100% present in every HiGRID mattress. 

Breathability

The top and transitional layers need to be made of materials that allow free airflow and don't suffocate you when you sleep on your stomach. You can find this quality in the cotton and viscose top cover of HiGRID mattresses and the Japanese patented technology used in the transitional layers, 2500+ air channels for unparalleled airflow.

Superior Comfort

Luxio Tech comfort technology used in HiGRID mattresses offers super soft tendencies right from the core layer to the top. The core is strong, so the mattress doesn't move with your movement, the cushiony layers are made of high-resilience foam that adapts to your body shape, doesn't sink too much and cradles you right, for feather-like comfort and deep sleep.

Hypoallergenic Sheets

The top layer is exposed to sweat, infections and other body fluids. It's necessary for the mattress to have a top layer that cleans itself, evaporates fluids, and steers clear of allergens. HiGRID prioritises this attribute in all its mattresses, to protect you from skin or respiratory problems. 

Temperature Regulation

As we discussed in detail above, you need a cool environment to drift off and stay asleep all through the night. HiGRID's mattress' Hyper-Elastic Polymers serve as grid-like structures to promote maximum airflow and give you a sleep environment that's 4-6 degrees cooler than the external temperature.

Body Support & Spinal Alignment

The polymers have another phenomenal quality of smoothening the sleep surface well and evening out the pressure, which aids in ultimate support to the entire body. There's no undue pressure on any body part, and those parts requiring special cradling, like the lumbar region, get focused, 2x comfort. 

What's more? HiGRID mattresses offer unique comfort and support levels for people with different needs. If you fancy a cloud-like sleeping experience, an orthopaedic mattress to care for your spine, or the best of both, the HiGRID mattress has one for all your needs. Get the UK's first and only smartGRID mattress, with superior quality and immense health benefits at unbelievably low prices here, at HiGRID mattress: the new way to sleep deep.