Struggling with how to sleep better at night? This guide explores the importance of sleep, the science behind restorative rest, practical tips to improve sleep naturally, and how upgrading to a supportive mattress like a Simba Hybrid® can enhance sleep quality and overall health.
How many times have you found yourself lying in bed awake in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling wondering if you should count sheep, read a book or simply get up and clean the kitchen?
Wondering how to sleep better at night? You’re not alone. We have all been there, yearning for a restorative night’s rest but unable to drift off. Millions of adults across the UK struggle with restless evenings, early wake-ups, or feeling exhausted despite spending seven or eight hours in bed.
If you are looking to get a good night’s sleep, the first step is realising that “getting by” on caffeine isn’t your only option. Small, practical changes to your routine and upgrading your mattress can dramatically improve the quality of your sleep.
The 5 Pillars of Health
Health experts often refer to the “5 Pillars of Health”, a lifestyle-centered framework focusing on the daily habits that help build and sustain physical, mental, and emotional health. It includes:
- Nutrition: Eating a balanced, minimally processed diet (such as the flexitarian diet).
- Exercise: Enjoying regular physical activity for strength, endurance, and mobility.
- Sleep: 7–9 hours of quality restorative rest for most adults.
- Stress Management: Managing mental and emotional stress.
- Social Connection: Having meaningful social interaction and relationships.
Finding how to sleep better at night isn’t just about finding a cure to morning grogginess. The importance of sleep goes far deeper and underpins everything else. Without restorative rest, we make inadequate nutrition choices, exercise less, and get more easily stressed. Understanding the importance of sleep is the first step towards developing better sleep habits.
Why Sleep Is So Important for Your Health
Sleep consists of repeating cycles made up of different stages (falling mainly into two categories: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep), each lasting about 90 to 120 minutes. Over the course of a full night’s sleep (around eight hours), most people complete four to five cycles.
As explained on Cleveland Clinic’s website, sleep begins with NREM Stage 1, the lightest phase of sleep. From there, you move into Stage 2, and then into Stage 3, the deepest and most physically restorative stage of NREM sleep. After progressing through these stages, your body transitions into REM sleep, where most dreaming occurs. Once the first REM phase ends, a new sleep cycle begins (usually returning to Stage 1 or Stage 2) and the process repeats.
Each of these cycles plays a unique role in recovery, brain function, and overall health.
1. Sleep and Cognitive Health
Both REM and non-REM cycles are essential for cognitive health. Even mild sleep deprivation can lead to brain fog, forgetfulness and overall reduced productivity.
If you get enough quality sleep, you’ll notice:
- Sharper focus and concentration
- Faster decision-making
- Improved problem-solving skills
- Better memory
- Enhanced creativity
- More balanced emotions
2. Sleep and Emotional Health
As you have probably noticed, insufficient sleep can make you more irritable, less patient, and more emotionally reactive. Ongoing sleep deprivation is associated with poor mood and the inability to control emotions.
By contrast, getting enough restorative sleep has been shown to help regulate cortisol level (your stress hormone) and supports emotional balance.
3. Sleep and Physical Health
While we sleep, our body goes into full repair mode, restoring cells and rebuilding muscle tissue. This is the time when growth and recovery happen most efficiently.
At the same time, our immune system is hard at work producing proteins called cytokines, some of which also help regulate and promote sleep. Certain cytokines increase when we’re fighting infection, dealing with inflammation, or under stress.
Sleep deprivation reduce the production of these protective proteins and also lowers levels of antibodies and immune cells, leaving your body less able to defend itself.
How to Sleep Better Naturally: Easy Practical Tips
- Consistent Sleep Pattern: Reset your body clock by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
- Keep it Cool & Dark: Don’t overheat your bedroom and fit some blackout curtains
- Watch Your Caffeine and Alcohol Intake: Both will disrupt your sleep.
- Evaluate Your Mattress: Frequent waking, morning stiffness or back pain could be a sign that your mattress needs an upgrade. Switching to a Simba Hybrid® Mattress can provide the airflow and spinal alignment needed for uninterrupted rest.
- Seek Natural Light: Go outside for at least 20 minutes in the morning.
Did you know that being exposed at night to blue light from electronics negatively affects sleep quality and disturbs our body’s biological clock (the circadian rhythm)?
Signs That It’s Time to Upgrade Your Mattress
One of the most obvious yet overlooked answers to how to sleep better at night is your mattress. If you have had your mattress for more than 7 to 10 years, it may no longer be providing the support your body needs.
Besides the age of your mattress, here are some of the things to look out for:
- Do you wake up with stiffness and/or aches and pains?
- Have you had a better night’s sleep in a bed other than yours?
- Is your mattress sagging?
The National Bed Federation (NBF) has a full Bed MOT quiz that might help you decide if you need a new mattress.
A high-quality mattress that supports your natural spinal alignment can significantly improve sleep quality and reduce night-time disturbances. Choosing the right level of firmness and material for your body type is essential and can make a noticeable difference to how rested you feel each morning.
Simba Hybrid Mattresses
If you are looking for ways to sleep better at night, why not consider a hybrid mattress designed to combine supportive springs with pressure-relieving foam, to help distribute weight evenly and reduce motion transfer.
British company Simba offers a great selection of mattresses, beds, and pillows. It specialises in Hybrid Mattresses engineered to improve airflow, comfort and spinal alignment, the key components of deeper, more restorative sleep.
You can choose between a Simba Hybrid® Mattress (a combination of Springs and Foam) or a Simba Natural Hybrid® Mattress (a combination of Springs and natural materials such as British wool, cotton, and other fibres).
All mattresses are available in different levels of firmness so you can find the one that’s right for you. They also come with a 200-night free trial, free delivery and returns, and a 10-year guarantee.
Furthermore, as a Certified B Corp™, Simba is as committed to the planet as they are to your sleep. They operate a mattress recycling service that collects any brand of mattress, aiming to recycle or repurpose at least 80% of the materials to ensure they stay out of UK landfills.
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