Web-Blinds Sleep Easy Guide
‘To Sleep, Perchance to Dream…’
Wouldn’t we all like to sleep better? I know I would. Web-Blinds have uploaded a guide to doing just that. I was asked to help them get the word out, and to see if I could improve my own sleep patterns too. ‘Yep!’ I said, ‘I’ll happily help out. Any excuse to sleep more.’
You see, my husband snores like a bad-tempered bear with a megaphone most nights, especially if he has a cold or if he’s been out drinking. Poor love can’t help it. He even had an operation to stop him snoring, but two days after the op, my then 3 year old daughter, punched him in the nose and ‘something went crack’ as he put it. This meant that the operation was totally unsucessful and he simply snores in a different tone now, but just as ear-smashingly loud. Before I developed certain coping methods, I regularly curled up in a ball on the sofa, at the bottom of the kids’ beds and in sleeping bags in the midst of a drift of toys on their floors. Anything to avoid sleeping in the same room as him.
This is how I have learnt to cope. Not that I’m recommending it to anyone:
The Hello Kitty thing contains bubble bath, it’s nice to have a relaxing bath before bed. A glass or two of wine helps knock me out, as do the the ‘Extra Strength’ non-prescription sleeping tablets and the Co-Codamol. I use earplugs sometimes, but I dislike them because I can’t hear if the kids have a nightmare or throw up and need me.
It’s not good is it. Maybe the bath and the ear-plugs are ok, but the rest of it can’t be a great long term solution can they? The problem is I have never found a way around this, and literally the only way I can actually sleep in my own bed is to follow this rather unhealthy bedtime regime.
This guide is actually very helpful, it has made me re-evaluate what I’m doing on a regular basis. Perhaps I can change a few things, and maybe if I do, I can become so relaxed I won’t mind about the snoring. Firstly there’s this:
A favourite bedtime supper. ‘More cheese Grommit?’
I am terrible for snacking before I go to bed. Their tips suggest eating cherries, milk, rice, bananas, turkey, sweet potatoes or valerian tea before trying to get some shut-eye….. not cheese. Probably/definitely not cheese. I suppose this means that when I do actually fall asleep I’m more likely to have weird dreams and feel less rested than if I’d eaten properly, which would help to release ‘healthy sleep-promoting chemicals and carbohydrates.’ Not sure if I can face sweet potatoes at 11pm, but maybe I should.
Then there’s this:
I often browse Facebook, Twitter and the BBC news on my Android before trying to fall asleep. I never read celebrity gossip pages though. Oh no. I’m far too high-brow for that. Hmm…
Their Sleep Easy guide says a resounding no to this sort of thing. Their Sleep Guide also says this is a Bad Thing and it will stop me sleeping. So maybe I should resist the urge to find out about Kanye West and his latest rant about him being God and how he wants to sell leather jogging pants to the world. Wait a minute, no. I didn’t mean to say that. I only ever read things about third world issues and politics really.
I also smoke, not a lot, but enough to probably muck up my sleep according to the Sleep Guide.
Something else I’m doing wrong. Oops
I have invested in a couple of things that I hope will improve my sleeping patterns. Inspired by the Sleep Guide, I thought why not? One of the reasons I’m not comfortable in my own bed, is that all of our fitted sheets are for a double bed. We own a king size bed and the sheets ping off the corners all the time, which is really annoying at 3am when you find you’re sleeping face down on bare mattress. Finally, I plucked up the courage to buy something I’ve always dreamed of. A luxurious 1000 count egyptian cotton fitted sheet, gorgeous. It fits the bed, it feels sleek and soft to the touch, it’s thick, it’ll last a lifetime – it better had do anyway!
We have a memory foam mattress which I love, and now I have the perfect bed sheets for it too.
So, our bed is now complete. A good mattress is essential for a good night’s sleep apparently too, so now we have the full set: a decent mattress and something lovely to cover it. So now, even if I can’t sleep, I’ll be as comfortable as can be. Snug as a bug in a rug as you might say.
I’ve also bought one of these for my darling husband:
‘One Ring To Fix The Snoring’ as not mentioned in the Lord of the Rings.
This little circle of peace, calm and all things quiet – is an anti-snoring ring. It works on a principle based on acupuncture. I really, Really, REAlly, REALLY hope it works. It arrived yesterday and I have high hopes for it. Maybe it will save me from a fate worse than deafness and sleeplessness. It certainly fits in with the ‘Keep Unwanted Noizzze At Bay’ section on Web-Blind’s Sleep Easy page.
I’ve read, taken note of and tried to put into practise as much as I can of the Sleep Guide and if it can guide me into long uninterrupted hours of blissful sleep I will be one happy bunny. Please click on the Sleep Easy Guide if you’d lke to find out more. I honestly think it makes a lot of sense – apart from the eating sweet potatoes at bedtime bit.
This was written in conjunction with Web-Blinds. Thanks to them I may never have to snooze on carpets, chairs or curled up with the dog ever again.
