The Easiest Ways to Improve Your Sleep, tonight.

Many of you are frustrated about your lack of high-quality sleep.

If you wake up not feeling rested or rejuvenated in the way you want to, then we have some suggestions on how to change that, for good. These are proven techniques to improve sleep and help you get to sleep faster. We’ve outlined the simple changes you can make tonight, helping you wake up tomorrow morning feeling refreshed.

It’s all to do with temperature.

Body Temperature

With a little planning, you can encourage your body to follow the natural cycle to prepare for sleep.

Research has found that taking a warm bath or shower around 60 to 90 minutes before bed helps people fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply. The warmth draws blood to the surface of the skin, and as you step out into cooler air, your core temperature begins to fall—exactly the way nature intended. The process also helps slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure gently and increase melatonin (your natural sleep hormone).

This can speed up the natural process, and it may seem counter-intuitive, but in order to cool the body, you must warm it first.

Contrast in Temperature

We often think of comfort as warmth: a thick duvet, a steaming mug and a cosy bedroom, but this is only half the story.

You also need cool air around you. This contrast is deeply soothing to the nervous system as it mimics what the body expects from dusk: falling temperatures, safe shelter, and gentle signals that it's okay to let go. But don’t forget, the secret isn’t just to make the room cold.

It’s to create contrast.

Room Temperature

We’ve just briefly mentioned the importance of cool air, but here’s specifically why it’s important.

Did you know the ideal room temperature for most people is between 16 and 19°C? We all know the feeling some nights in the summer when it’s just too hot and uncomfortable to sleep. As we previously mentioned, this is also partly because your body is wired to follow temperature cues - as evening falls, your internal temperature starts to dip which your circadian rhythm interprets as the time to rest.

If your surroundings stay too warm, your body stays alert, your heart rate elevated, and your nervous system on standby.

Bonus: Open a Window & Use a Hot Water Bottle

We wanted to include two bonus points as they are linked to the topics we’ve discussed and may help you.

Opening your bedroom window can have the benefit of cooling the room down but also reduces the carbon dioxide build-up, which has been proven to reduce sleep quality and cause fatigue the following day. If you are worried about noise outside waking you up, you can open your bedroom door slightly instead. You just need to get the airflow moving.

The final tip is to place a hot water bottle by your feet, as they are highly sensitive to temperature. When you gently warm them, your blood vessels dilate and your body begins to send heat outward. This natural process helps your core temperature drop - one of the key signals your brain uses to initiate sleep.

We hope this helps and we’ve included bullet points below as a quick reminder of the changes you can make.

5 Things to Try Tonight:

• Run a warm bath or shower about an hour before bed

• Sleep in a room slightly cooler than you think you need

• Let the contrast work in your favour, cosy but cool

• Place a warm hot water bottle by your feet

• Open a window or bedroom door slightly to encourage airflow