dreamland II

for me, a summer bedroom update is all about dressing my bed with soft white linen sheets mixed with sunshine yellow colour pops. i was recently gifted the perfect 100% french linen bed set by soak & sleep at their relax & recharge blogger evening and couldn’t wait to spring clean my room and give my bed a seasonal refresh; there’s nothing quite like freshly laundered linen and a sparkling clean bedroom to promote a good night’s sleep, is there?

which got me thinking – especially given how busy i’ve been recently which has totally thrown out my sleep pattern – of my top tips for a good night’s sleep. thankfully i don’t usually have any trouble heading straight to the land of nod (as my UP band tells me, i’m usually off in dreamland within 10 minutes of my head hitting the pillow!), but every now and then life’s little worries and strives play on my mind and i find it hard to hit the hay.

so, here are my 5 tips for winding down to a perfect night of blissful sleep which i’ve been employing recently:

1. choose the right pillow

i’m one of those people who throw all the piles of hotel pillows onto the floor before getting in to bed at night, preferring just to sleep with just one (flat, firm) pillow. nothing is more annoying to me than a super plump, or ridiculously soft, pillow. weird, right? no.

we all just have our own preferred sleeping positions (mine is sprawled on my front) and therefore need the right pillow for support. soak & sleep have a really useful step-by-step buying guide that will help you identify your perfect pillow by choosing the right size, type, and firmness to suit your needs. i road-tested a number of their pillows at the recent blogger event and ended up choosing their luxury latex pillow as my winner; a medium firm pillow that retains its shape and offers dynamic support.

2. invest in the right bed linen

as winter moves to summer i like to switch out my warmer covers for clean, crisp, washed linens, the kind that looks best crumpled and creased – because i am most definitely not wrestling with an iron over my duvet cover! linen is also perfect for keeping you cool during hot summer nights as it’s ‘stiff’ structure means it is less likely to cling to your skin, allowing better airflow over your body. linen also possess high air permeability, which allows air to flow through the fabric easily and enables the body to breathe. soak & sleep’s 100% pure french linen is made from a natural flax that comes from nieppe, near the french-belgian border, and is available in a beautiful range of soft grey and pale pastel hues, as well as delicate florals and bold stripes.

3. light a scented candle

i love the evening ritual of slipping out of my day clothes into something far more comfortable and lighting a relaxing scented candle to help me wind down from the stresses of the day. at the moment i’m burning my way through neom organics comforting candle; an earthy, warming scent of cedar wood, vetiver & star anise designed to be calming and, well, comforting. truth be told it is a fairly ‘wintery’ scent as it’s more heady that those more commonly associated with summer months (i.e. citrus or florals) but i’ve always had a weakness for anything with cedar wood in it! all of neom’s candles are made with a complex blend of pure vegetable wax, cotton wicks and 100% natural fragrance with nothing else added, and work as therapeutic treatments, releasing no toxins, only natural goodness into the air. their candles are always my go-to as gifts for friends and family.

4. indulge in a hot milky beverage

i’ve always found a hot, milky drink before bed to be the ultimate in relaxation and indulgence, and although i’ve long since switched out dairy for alpro soy or almond milk, i still love making up a warming mug of hot chocolate before bed to help transition from day to night. i would always advise heating your milk on the stove-top and stirring in chocolate flakes or cocoa powder (with a dash of sugar) yourself; i find the stirring motion strangely hypnotic and instantly helps calm my mind – and breathing in the sweet aroma of the chocolate as it slowly melts into the milk is heavenly too!

5. snuggle up with a good book

lately i’ve been shunning my late-night tv watching for a good novel, mainly down to the fact that all my favourite shows have ended for the summer, but also because i’ve heard time and time again that you shouldn’t be looking at a bright computer screen just before you go to sleep. so, i’ve switched out my kindle for a stack of ‘old-school’ light-hearted paperbacks; a few of my recent faves include the president’s hat by antoine laurain, the girl who saved the king of sweden by jonas jonasson and david duchovny’s holy cow.

what have you been reading before bed lately?

my ultimate dreamland lust list: 1. this works 2. toast 3. penney bennett 4. neom 5. green & black’s 6. marimekko 7. hush 8. toast

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