‘Create a calm bedroom by making simple changes’: find the key to a good night’s sleep

Spring is here bringing warmer weather, longer days and that instinct to refresh our homes. And what better place to start than the bedroom. Now that the night-time temperatures have picked themselves up off the floor, you may find the cosy fleece bedding that has kept you snug all winter is beginning to interrupt your sleep.

We all know what it feels like to throw off the duvet in frustration and kick a leg out because we’ve got too hot under the cover. So, seeing as spring is all about fresh starts, how about a bedroom revamp with a focus on choosing some light, bright bedding for a more restful night’s sleep as the nights get warmer?

When looking for new bedding, Marks & Spencer is a good place to start. “We see ourselves as experts in sleep, so we are always looking for new products and innovations to bring to the market to help our customers get a great night’s sleep,” says Karen Thomas, head of design home and beauty at M&S.

“We see sleep health in the same way as we see physical health or dietary health, so a really important part of how we develop products is by solving sleep problems or sleep preferences with innovative new products that improve your sleep.”

The M&S Comfortably Cool range of filled bedding, sheets, duvet covers and mattress protectors use a Tencel-rich mix, which helps to keep your body temperature cool. Tencel is sustainably crafted from the eucalyptus tree and wicks moisture away from the skin, regulating your body temperature to give you a cool night’s sleep in luxurious comfort.

If you are sweltering under your current duvet, it’s worth upgrading to one from the body sensor range of duvets, pillows and mattress protectors. These include specially developed technology to keep you warm when it’s cool and cool when it’s warm, while drawing moisture away from the body to create a drier environment for a more comfortable night’s sleep.

And it’s not just about temperature. Getting the darkness levels in the room right is also key to a good night’s sleep. When it’s dark, our bodies release the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, however, light interrupts its production, which signals to our bodies it’s time to wake up. Even the LED light from an alarm clock can affect your quality of sleep. Ideally you want your room to be so dark that you can’t see from one end to the other.

Now the mornings are lighter, you may find yourself waking earlier than you need to, particularly if your blinds or curtains are thin or light-coloured. To ensure your room stays dark for the hours you are sleeping you should consider curtains with an extra blackout layer, such as M&S’s cotton bee print curtains or fern pencil-pleat black out curtains. By buying curtains that are lined with a blackout material, you don’t have to limit your curtain choice to dark colours.

The next important thing you can do to ease yourself into a good night’s sleep is to turn your bedroom into a haven. Create an environment you find restful and relaxing by clearing away clutter, removing blue-light emitting technology and choosing colours and patterns that lift your mood. Why not opt for some statement bed-linen in fashionable botanical prints, such as this palm-frond bedding set, or this bright jungle one. Leaf patterns bring some of that spring growth indoors and can help you to feel calm.

Related: Ready to entertain in your garden? Go wild with new furniture, pops of colour and faux plants

“Creating a calm bedroom can be done by just making simple changes,” says Jaya Myra, a mind-body wellness expert and bestselling author. “Keep the space as clean and decluttered as possible. A bedroom that is too full of stuff – including furniture – does not contribute to good sleep or relaxed energy. Secondly, have at least three things out in the open in the bedroom that make you smile.” This can be as simple as a photograph, a book and fresh flowers.

Scent can also have a calming effect and can set the scene for a restful night’s sleep. Lavender has long been known to have sleep-inducing properties and you will find this oil as well as eucalyptus, vetiver and jasmine in the sleep diffusers from M&S’s Apothecary range. There are other sensory products in the range to make your room a scented sleep space, including the sleep room spray and the calm scented candle, which is crafted with sweet orange and lavender essential oils.

And if it works for babies and toddlers, it can work for you: have a soak in a warm, scented bath to relax your body before bed. Stir in a handful of Tranquil bath salts from the Apothecary range, which contain hemp seed oil to aid relaxation and then, once your fingers begin to shrivel, dry yourself off with the softest Egyptian cotton towels. These towels bring the spa experience into your home and are available in a rainbow of colours, which won’t fade because they are treated with stay-new technology. Suitably cocooned, you can return to your revamped bedroom, certain of a good night’s sleep.

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