Top tips to help you get a good nights sleep

Getting a good nights sleep is everyone’s life goal, and it isn’t always easy or straight forward. I constantly feel TATT (how medical professionals refer to people telling them they’re “tired all the time”) and I’m sure most of you, if not all of you, can relate to that! I was sent a wonderful box of goodies which aid a good nights sleep, including Benenox Overnight Recharge, to try out and review so I’ve put together my top tips on how to get a good nights sleep.

The lovely sleep box I received was in aid of National Sleep Week to encourage people to understand tips on how to get a better nights kip. According to research, we spend a whopping third of our lives sleeping, can you believe that?! It’s a process we all need to allow our body to repair and recover, so it’s frustrating when sleep is broken or prolonged because you can’t seem to drop off. New research suggests that simply getting eight hours a night (that would be lovely in itself!) isn’t enough and we need to help our body with more to help get a decent sleep. So these are some tips on getting a good nights sleep.

Understand your sleep cycle

Sleep cycles last around 90 minutes and we go through an average of five during the night. Stage one is a light sleep during which it is easy to wake, whereas stage two our eyes movement stops and our brains slow down. Three and four sees our brain waves decrease extremely and this is the deepest sleep. Tips to get your sleep cycle back to a normal rhythm include:

• Stick to a routine to give your body a cue so it knows when it’s time to fall asleep.
• Make the mornings light so your body clock knows when to wake
• Keep the nights dark, so your body clock knows when to sleep
• Make sure your room is a comfortable temperature
• Get rid of any noise or light distractions (including phones and screens)
• Use a night time sleep aid, such as Benenox Overnight Recharge,* a vitamin supplement to help you sleep and battle low energy levels the following day

Switch off

The increasing use of smart phones and tablets means our brains are rarely without a blue light screen in front of it. As a result, our brains hardly ever switch off and do nothing, which is important before going to sleep as the brain will see the light from your device and think it’s still daytime and to be awake. We’re all guilty of scrolling through social media and getting lost in the abyss of Instagram at 11pm, but it really isn’t good for your brain and your sleep!

Relax before bed

Making sure your brain gets some relaxation time before bed not only aids a good nights sleep, but also makes sure you’re being kind to your body and looking after yourself both mentally and physically. Some good pre-bed time relaxation techniques include:

• Having a hot bath or a shower and use lavender or other essential oil products to aid sleep
• Reading a book
• Practising gentle stretching routines
• A short meditation
• Jot down any worries in a notebook so they’re not rattling around in your head (they’re for tomorrow’s you to worry about)
• A short mindfulness programme such a Headspace which you could also do whilst lying in a Space Mask*, a warming relaxation mask (you can find a full review here)
• Having a relaxing cup of night time tea such as the Clipper Snore & Peace Tea*
• Lighting a relaxing candle like the lavender scented Bee Fayre Bee Calm Scented Candle*.

Invest in good quality bedding

Your body is your temple and it’s important that you treat it that way. Given the amount of time we spend asleep, it’s only right that you’re comfortable. A good mattress is one of the key foundations to a good nights sleep and reduces the risk of poor posture and back pain and waking up as a result. If you have allergies, make sure your pillows and bedding is hypoallergenic and your bedding is washed frequently. There’s no better feeling than getting into freshly washed bed sheets!

Don’t snooze

I’m so guilty of this myself, but snoozing your alarm in the morning is not good for you. It’s so tempting to say “just five more minutes” and hit the snooze button, but you body gets confused if you keep going back to sleep and waking up every five minutes, so it’s better for it if you get up to one alarm and only one. Another tip is to put your alarm at the other side of the room so you have to get up to switch it off (it sounds cruel, but it will wake you up in a much better way!)

During the day

• Don’t drink too much caffeine
• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated
• Gentle exercise can help you sleep that night, even a walk after dinner can help
• Don’t eat your dinner too late, give your body time to digest it

Benenox Overnight Recharge

Benenox Overnight Recharge is a natural blend of honey (which boosts glycogen stores in the liver), Vitamin B6 (which reduced tiredness and fatigue) and Sustamine (which is a dipeptide form of L-Glutamine that supplies a combination of pure L-Glutamine (an amino acid for stimulating muscle protein synthesis) and L-Alanine (an amino acid needed for rebuilding glycogen stores) and can be absorbed quickly).

It helps to supplement your body’s stored energy levels to support a good quality sleep and leave you feeling recharged the following day. It helps to reduce tiredness and fatigue, support mental function and maintain normal energy production.

It has a strong honey taste, with a little added lemon and ginger but it isn’t unpleasant and it’s a very easy liquid to take before bed. You can get it from Tesco and Amazon for £12.49.

Along with my bottle of Benenox, I was given a tracker to note down everything that I ate and drank each day of the week and my sleeping pattern to see how it improved with the use of Benenox the following week.

My results: 

I started taking Benenox before bed and I genuinely feel like it made it easier to get up in the mornings! Taking it every night proved difficult as I’m very forgetful, but generally putting it on my bedside table reminded me to take my 15ml dose. I’ve found I haven’t needed three cups of coffee a day, one in the morning has usually sufficed so I think it has helped to put a bit more of a spring in my step!

Do you have any other tips for a good nights sleep? I’d love to know your tips in the comments!

Thanks so much for reading!

*Products received for free in return for a blog post. All opinions honest and my own.

*Post contains affiliate links.