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Sweet dreams are made of this. Tips for a better night's sleep.



With the changing of the seasons, and the resulting change of the clocks, many of us can feel a little off-kilter with our kip.


While we do gain an extra hour, the shift into darker, chillier days can impact a lot of our habits and routines, making us feel generally less energetic and more inclined to hibernate.


So, how can we best ease the transition and make sure we're getting the right kind of rest? Here's a few tips for better, more restorative sleep.


Make time


When we're juggling the stress of a busy job, children, social lives and other demands and responsibilities, sleep can slip to the bottom of the priority list. But letting a good night's rest fall by the wayside repeatedly can rack up a serious deficit that's bad for your health and wellbeing.


Making time in the evening to properly transition into bedtime is important. Whether it's a warm bath, half an hour diving into a good book, enjoying a skin care routine, journalling or unwinding with some soothing music, taking yourself from one state - the busyness of the day - to another - the relaxation of bedtime, will help you mentally shift into a more sleep-ready state.


Establish a solid routine


Routine helps to create an automatic programme for your brain to follow, without thinking. Taking the above steps, but also doing them ritually each night, helps to make a solid sleep routines second-nature.


Switch off


We all know it's bad for us, but many of us fall into bad habits at bedtime, choosing a little dopamine hit through social media scrolling. But that bright light (which suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone) and stimulating sounds can cause fractured sleep and a distracted mind.


Try to turn your phone off before bed or keep it in another room - and buy an old fashioned alarm clock so you don't have that excuse to fall back on for keeping your phone to hand!


Create the right environment


So much of what helps us sleep soundly relies on the right conditions. Temperature, light levels, comfort, space and scents all contribute to creating the right kind of environment for a restful night.


Make sure your bed provides the right support, your room isn't overheated (between 16 °C and 18 °C (60°F to 65°F) is optimum) and there's a lack of visual clutter to distract you. Certain smells, too, can help to create a calming atmosphere. Of course, we absolutely recommend lavender!


Watch what you eat


We all know the cliche about cheese and bad dreams, but there's some truth to it. What we eat can have a big impact on the quality of our sleep.


Certain foods, particularly those which are very spicy, can interfere with your sleep. Eating heavily meals before bed can put stress on the digestive system, keeping you restless throughout the night, while caffeine and alcohol provide too much stimulation. Eating a lot of sugar, too, can have a negative impact on your sleep patterns, thanks to the resulting blood sugar spikes and crashes.


Conversely, tryptophan-rich foods like milk, chicken, turkey and pumpkin seeds can all help to promote better sleep, thanks to the sleep-promoting hormones they contain.


Keep active


It can be temping to curl up and hibernate when the clock change, but staying fit and active through the darker months is vital. Try and incorporate walks outdoors, which will give you fresh air, vitamin D and the exercise needed to help you rest better at night.


Treat yourself to scent-sational sleep


We mentioned that certain scents can help to encourage better sleep and that's certainly true of lavender, which has been used for centuries to promote better sleep, as well as alleviating a host of conditions.


Our sleep ritual gift set is a great addition to your sleep routine, containing three essential lavender products to help you drift off - a linen spray to spritz on your pillow, slumber gel to apply to your pulse points, and our best-selling roll-on lavender essential oil - a brilliant on-the-go travel essential!



We hope you find some of these tips and tricks helpful! Sweet dreams!


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