How to Get the Best Out of Your Sleep

A good night’s sleep. For some of us, it can be as elusive as that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Even if we are right next to that comfy bed all day long during this COVID-19 quarantine and lockdown.

Everyone knows that sleep is important for good health because we need the rest to repair our mind and body. But not everyone gets enough of it because of work and other worries during these unprecedented times.

When counting sheep doesn’t help, here are some advices and devices to achieve much-needed quality shut-eye when we’re stuck at home.

Sleep on it with: Advice from a sleep expert

Founder of The Insomnia Clinic Kathryn Pinkham has four fab tips on catching some Z’s.

Don’t Spend Too Long in Bed

Sleep later to sleep better… if you’re taking a long time to fall asleep. It could be that you’re going to bed too early so try cutting your time spent supine. That way, you will crave more sleep and get to dreamland faster.

Stop Clock Watching

Make sure you have no time to look at the clock every time you wake up.

This could be because you’re anxious about the next day, or just monitoring how much or how little sleep you’re getting. Instead, relieve any pressure you may feel by setting your alarm for the morning. 

Don’t Lie in Bed Awake

If you can’t fall sleep, get out of bed. Lying in bed awake can lead to frustration and a subconscious linkage between your bed and feelings of stress.

So leave the bedroom and do something relaxing, like read a book in another room. Go back to bed only when you’re tired.

Manage Your Thoughts

Turn off before you turn in. At bedtime, clear your head of all thoughts by writing them down, or they may keep you awake. It is a therapeutic solution for busy minds.

Sleep on it with: An LED light, storytelling app or a very soothing blanket

Lights Out with Dodow

The Dodow is a device that projects a ring of blue LED light onto the ceiling that shrinks and expands. But fret not, it won’t remind you a casino or theme park. Instead, it is said to improve your natural sleep patterns by re-educating your brain to fall asleep.

This happens when you instinctively match your breathing to the speed of the pulsing light, thus encouraging your heart rate to slow down and your body to move towards the alpha state – the first step on the way to a good snooze. What’s more, it promises you will achieve that in less than half the time you would usually take.  

Slumber Storytelling App

To prove that there’s an app for everything, download Slumber for some downtime.

This soporific solution combines a calming collection of soothing sounds, bedtime stories and meditations to induce sleep. Choose from the sound of the ocean, rain and rustling leaves, or a relaxing meditation.

But if you prefer to slow things down with a bedtime story, this setting comes with a clever function in case you feel sleepy midway through the tale; just hit the ‘Delay The Ending’ option.

Bearaby Napper Weighted Blanket

The weighted blanket has to be the veritable security blanket. As a tangible source of comfort, it reduces stress and increases relaxation by creating the feeling of a gentle embrace.

The Gravity Blanket was among the first such product on the market. Filled with beads, it provides deep-touch pressure therapy to promote blissful sleep.

These days, there are other alternatives, like the Bearaby Napper. Made only with layers of organic cotton, it looks more like a hand-knitted throw but much more comforting.

Sleep on it with: Comfy mattresses, pillows and treat to help you wind down

Better sleep awaits at Frasers Hospitality properties

When this pandemic is over and you’re ready to travel again, you can be assured of getting a good night’s sleep when you’re staying at any Frasers Hospitality properties.

Because we take your sleep seriously, all apartments come with luxurious beds that boast mattresses with pocketed coils and body-contouring foam for a more comfortable, supportive sleep.

At selected properties, you can also take your pick from the Pillow Menu with at least five pillow options as part of a bespoke, personalized stay at our serviced apartments. These include a Swedish Memory pillow that responds to temperature and keeps you cool; a Hypoallergenic version that keeps allergy symptoms at bay; and a candy-cane-shaped Upper Body pillow, recommended for side sleepers.

And to ensure that you’re truly well-rested, the Pillow Menu is complemented by our curated sleep packs. To help you feel rejuvenated and ready for yet another day, there’s chamomile tea to help you wind down, and eye masks in case you forgot to pack them.

All apartments and rooms also use goose or duck down feathers in their pillows and duvets – no synthetics guaranteed. All you have to do now is lie down and relax.

Adapted from Fraser Cachet Issue #36 © Frasers Hospitality and SPH Magazines