We’ve all been there—awake in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling while the clock ticks closer to the morning alarm.

There are lots of reasons why you might find yourself tossing and turning at night—from a change in room temperature or outside noise, to your partner stealing the duvet or stress.

The odd wake-up is usually nothing to worry about, but if you’re spending most nights lying awake unable to nod off, Dr Alanna Hare, the sleep expert at Sealy UK, might have some answers.

“Around 2am-4am, cortisol levels naturally rise to prepare you for waking in the morning,” explains Hare. “If you’re stressed or overstimulated before bed, that small and slow hormonal rise can tip you into full alertness.”

To fix this, Hare suggests setting yourself up for success by making your bedroom a dedicated sleep zone to help you wind down better at night.

“Blackout curtains, masking white noise, temperature-regulating bedding and low lighting can encourage better sleep and reduce the chances of waking up in the middle of the night,” she tells Fit&Well.

Removing television and devices from your bedroom can also help you wind down more peacefully and stop you from reaching for your phone during windows of wakefulness.

It can be tempting, but if you turn to social media when you can’t sleep, Hare says it’s likely to increase alertness and reduce your chances of falling back asleep easily.

Instead of scrolling during the night, Hare suggests getting out of bed to reset instead.

“Even just a brief reset by getting out of bed can reduce stress and encourage relaxation before trying to fall asleep again,” she says.

Try some light stretching or gentle yoga to help you relax, and return to bed only once you naturally feel sleepy again.

It’s important to acknowledge that sometimes good sleep practice is only part of the puzzle and extra support might be needed.

If you’ve tried to improve your sleep habits and environment but are still waking up multiple times at night, it could be time to speak with a sleep professional.

“Conditions like sleep apnoea, reflux and untreated pain are common drivers of fragmented sleep too.

“They are treatable once properly assessed, so speak with your doctor to get support,” Hare advises.

Eight hours is often considered the gold standard for sleep. But if you’ve found yourself waking up feeling groggy even after hitting this target, a sleep doctor might have the answer.

According to Dr Alanna Hare, sleep doctor and Sealy sleep expert, everyone will have different sleep needs, but the hours you spend snoozing are only one part of the puzzle.

“Sleep duration gives your body the opportunity to rest—but sleep quality determines what your brain does with that time and impacts how you feel when you wake up in the morning,” Hare tells Fit & Well.

Good quality sleep will see you move through different sleep stages and cycles during the night.

One sleep cycle lasts around 90 minutes, during which the brain will move through light, deep and REM sleep stages—all are important for memory formation, learning, emotional processing and physical repair.

Most adults will have four to six of these cycles each night. If these cycles are interrupted regularly, it could leave you waking up feeling more tired the next day.

“If your sleep cycles are repeatedly interrupted, your body can’t perform essential overnight processes to leave you feeling rejuvenated in the mornings,” Hare explains.

There are lots of reasons why your sleep cycles might get interrupted, but one that’s often overlooked is not maintaining a consistent routine of when you go to sleep and when you wake up.

It can be tempting to stay up late and watch another episode of your favorite Netflix series, or sleep in on the weekends, but, , according to Hare, waking up at the same time every day and going to bed at the same time every night could be the easiest way to improve your sleep quality.

“Your body clock thrives on regularity, and having a regular sleep and wake routine often improves how rested you feel more than chasing a perfect number of hours each night,” says Hare.

Creating a daily routine that supports sleep shouldn’t be overlooked either.

Limit caffeine after lunch because it can delay sleep onset, keep any naps short and early or you can weaken your natural drive to sleep, and focus on relaxing before bed.

Another small change is aiming for a temperature in your bedroom of 65-68°F, which Hare says meaningfully improves sleep quality.

“Overheating reduces slow wave sleep while being too cold at night increases wake-ups,” says Hare.

Update 03/16: This article was initially published with reference to our expert, Dr Lara Aillon-Sohl, as a psychologist. She is a psychiatrist, not a psychologist. We apologise for this error, which has now been amended.

Sleep is a cornerstone of wellbeing. It’s the only form of rest that will allow you to recuperate the energy you’ve spent in a day. But sometimes it can feel almost impossible to drift off.

Headspace psychiatrist Dr Lara Aillon-Sohl explains that many people struggle with falling or staying asleep because of stress, racing thoughts, or frustration over not being able to sleep, which makes it even harder to rest.

She suggests trying sleep meditation to get in the right mental space to sleep.

“Mindfulness and meditation can significantly improve sleep quality, reduce insomnia symptoms and decrease nighttime awakenings,” Aillon-Sohl tells Fit&Well.

“Meditation helps by reducing both physiological and psychological arousal, lowering stress hormones, calming the nervous system, and promoting relaxation.

“Additionally, it can help train the mind to be present, rather than dwelling on worries about the past or future, which often keep us awake.

“Unlike sleep medications, which may have side effects or lose effectiveness over time, meditation is a sustainable, long-term solution. While it takes practice and may not work overnight, research suggests that consistent meditation practice can help people cultivate a healthier relationship with sleep, making it easier to relax and fall asleep naturally.”

How to meditate for sleep

“Getting started with meditation for sleep doesn’t have to be complicated,” says Aillon-Sohl. “It’s about creating a simple, calming routine that helps your mind and body transition into rest.

“The best way to approach meditation for sleep is with curiosity and gentleness—not as a task to complete, but as a way to create space for rest. Even if you don’t fall asleep right away, the practice itself is still beneficial for your nervous system and overall wellbeing.”

She suggests tying your meditation in with one of your existing bedtime habits, like brushing your teeth, reading or switching off your phone.

“You could even try keeping a sticky note on your wall or bedside table, reminding you to breathe or wind down,” she says.

Aillon-Sohl says not to worry about whether or not the meditation has “worked,” because the benefits come from building the habit, rather than from any single session.

Here are two meditation techniques she recommends.

1. Body scan

“One of the best meditation techniques for sleep is a body scan, which helps shift focus away from racing thoughts and into physical sensations in your body,” says Aillon-Sohl.

How to do it:

• Get comfortable in bed, close your eyes, and bring your attention to your toes, noticing any sensations or tension.
• Slowly move your focus up through your legs, hips, back, arms, shoulders, and neck, relaxing each area as you go.
• If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your body.

How it helps: This practice helps calm the nervous system and signals to your body that it’s time for rest, often leading to sleep before you even finish the scan.

2. Breath counting

If you don’t want to follow a guided meditation like above, Aillon-Sohl suggests a technique called breath counting, which can help quiet the mind.

How to do it:

• Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of one, then exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of two.
• Inhale for three, exhale for four, inhale for five and so on until you exhale for 10, then start over.

How it helps: This keeps your attention anchored in the present and prevents anxious thoughts from taking over.

Can’t sleep? Or do you find yourself constantly waking up at night? The answer to getting a good night’s sleep could actually be linked to what’s going on in your digestive system. Gut health and sleep are bedfellows—and if you can improve one, the other will follow.

That’s because gut microbes don’t just digest the food we eat, explains Dr Manal Mohammed, a senior lecturer in Medical Microbiology at the University of Westminster in London: “A healthy gut microbiome supports better sleep by producing sleep-regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin, reducing inflammation and modulating stress hormones,” she says.

“When the gut is happy, this also promotes the production of calming chemicals in the body like GABA, and helps maintain circadian rhythms [the body’s internal clock]. Together, these effects contribute to deeper, more restorative and consistent sleep.”

So, how can you improve your gut health? Mohammed has a five-step guide. Here’s what she recommends to ultimately help you towards a better night’s sleep.

1. Keep consistent meal times

Like the body’s circadian rhythm, the digestive system has its own internal clock that helps the gut maintain a steady daily flow. Studies have found that erratic meal-times or eating too close to bedtime plays havoc with microbes because it interferes with nutrient absorption.

By contrast, Mohammed explains that “predictable eating patterns reduce inflammation, stabilize blood sugar and enhance the production of SCFAs [short-chain fatty acids], which are important for strengthening the gut lining and supporting the gut-brain axis. Overall, regular meal timing helps maintain a balanced, diverse and healthy gut microbiome.”

2. Eat foods rich in prebiotics and probiotics

Prebiotics are widely available in fiber-rich foods, while probiotics can be found in some fermented foods, or for larger quantities through supplementation. The two work together to keep the gut happy and this can have the knock on effect of better sleep.

“Probiotics provide beneficial live bacteria for the gut: found in foods such as kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut and miso,” Mohammed tells Fit&Well. “Prebiotics, on the other hand, are non-digestible fibers that serve as food for these beneficial bacteria and they are found in foods like garlic, onions, leeks, bananas, oats, asparagus and chicory root.

“Probiotics help introduce and support healthy gut microbes, while prebiotics help them survive, grow and thrive. They support a healthy gut microbiome by working together to promote beneficial bacteria.

“This synergy enhances microbial diversity and boosts SCFA production such as butyrate, which strengthens the gut barrier and supports digestion, immunity and gut–brain communication.”

3. Cut back on sugar and ultra-processed foods (UPFs)

Sugary and UPFs—such as sodas, cereals and ready meals—are highly inflammatory, they irritate and weaken the gut lining by reducing microbial diversity and spiking blood sugar levels. UPFs are often low in fiber and high in additives, like emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners, which suppress fiber-fermenting bacteria—negatively impacting gut health, and therefore sleep quality.

Mohammed explains that when you cut back on these nutrient-deficient foods it “allows beneficial microbes such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to thrive, while stabilizing blood sugar and inflammation.”

She recommends swapping sugary products and UPFs for whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. “This will increase the amount of prebiotic fiber in the body, boosting the production of SCFAs to strengthen the gut barrier, regulate immune function, support gut–brain communication and reduce inflammation—creating an environment where a healthy and diverse gut microbiome can flourish,” she says.

4. Try to reduce stress

This one might be easier said than done, but stress levels can really play havoc with the gut and sleep. Stress floods the body with the hormone cortisol, leading to an increase in inflammation in the body and a weaker gut lining. When you are less stressed, your digestion can work more efficiently and this helps to maintain a “balanced and resilient gut ecosystem”, says Mohammed.

Reducing stress levels can be tricky but breathwork and exercise can help, as can taking time away from social media.

5. Stay well hydrated

There are so many ways in which drinking a healthy amount of water is beneficial for your gut. Water supports the breakdown of food, absorption of nutrients and helps lubricate the digestive tract to help with the removal of waste—promoting regular bowel movements. It also supports a healthy gut microbiome and immune function. A happy, more stable gut environment means you are more likely to have a deeper and restorative sleep.

There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling exhausted all day and dreaming of your bed, only to finally get to the end of the day and find yourself tossing and turning. I’m all too familiar with this feeling and, often, it feels like nothing will help me doze off.

That was until I discovered a meditation practice from Charlie Faulkner, one of my favourite yoga instructors. It’s a 10-minute breathwork routine that I’ve been putting on after turning my lights off and following along with it while falling asleep.

So far, I haven’t made it to the end of the video before falling asleep and I’ve been sleeping more deeply too.

How to do Charlie Faulkner’s 10-minute breathwork practice

Although I’ve been doing this meditation in bed, Faulkner says you can do it whenever you’re feeling stressed and in any position and it will help to “bring you to a place of calm”.

If you use it to help you fall asleep, take advantage of YouTube’s sleep timer function in the app to stop the next video from autoplaying. Tap the gear icon on the top right of the video, tap sleep timer, then select “End of video” from the list of options.

My experience trying Charlie Faulkner’s 10-minute breathwork practice before bed

The reason I decided to try Faulkner’s meditation is that during the savasana part of her in-person yoga sessions, I often feel deeply relaxed, and sometimes even fall asleep.

The breathwork in this video is very simple. It involves breathing through the nose in your own time. I struggle with breathwork that involves counting inhalations and exhalations. They can make me feel a bit anxious, especially if that count doesn’t come naturally to me.

Instead, I prefer to just focus on my breathing, as Faulkner advises in this video. This meditation also involves a body scan, focusing on each area of the body in turn and sending breath towards the body part you’re on.

Faulkner encourages you to imagine light radiating in that area of the body, which was an image I really enjoyed and visualizing this helped to distract my mind from negative thoughts.

Generally, I fall asleep within a few minutes of listening to this meditation and I’ve been doing it every night for over two weeks. I’d recommend it to anyone who struggles to switch off at night.

Waking up in the morning has always been a struggle for me.

I've never been someone who can jump out of bed. In fact, I usually spend at least 30 minutes snoozing my alarm.

That was until I discovered the Lumie alarm clock over five years ago.

The Lumie BodyClock Rise is a sunrise alarm, which means it creates an artificial light designed to mimic the sun rising just before your alarm goes off—and it's discounted by 20% in the Black Friday sales.

Black Friday Lumie deal

I often need to get myself out of bed before the sun rises. Without natural light to rouse me, I feel groggy when my alarm goes off in the dark, as it pulls me out of a deep sleep.

But the gentle light from the Lumie alarm clock wakes me up gradually, signalling to my body that it's morning time.

When the alarm eventually does go off—which I've set to be 30 minutes after the artificial sunrise begins—I wake up feeling refreshed.

I've come to realize just how important the Lumie alarm clock is for my sleep over the past five years. Whenever I don't have my Lumie alarm clock, when I'm on holiday or staying at a friend's place, getting out of bed feels really tough again.

I also really enjoy using the sunset lighting option in the evenings. Having the brightness in my room at this lower level helps me wind down and signals to my body that it's time to go to bed.

This simple device is now an absolute essential for my sleep and morning routine. I'd recommend it to anyone who finds waking up in the morning a challenge!

When my son Joshua was born, my life was tipped upside down. All routine went out the window. Work stopped. Socializing was put on pause. Suddenly exercise, and indeed sleep, took a backseat.

Months passed, and gradually my wife and I acclimatized to the running-around-with-your-hair-on-fire lifestyle of new parents.

We went back to work, Joshua started nursery, he learned to walk, babble and sleep through the night.

But two years on, one thing has never returned to pre-parent normality. That thing is exercise.

I used to exercise every day. Even if it was a quick 15-minute workout before hopping in the shower. I prioritized and preached daily movement.

Now, I'm constantly skipping workouts. Or I'll set my alarm extra early so I can cram a session in before work and morning dad duties—only to suffer for the rest of the day due to sleep exhaustion.

So when I learned that Korey Rowe, the new star trainer on Chris Hemsworth's fitness app Centr, celebrated the birth of his first child at a similar time to me, I asked him for some advice; what should new parents do to return to fitness?

His advice; stop prioritizing exercise.

One thing new parents should do to stay fit and healthy

“I wouldn't start with exercise,” Rowe tells Fit&Well. “As a new parent, you want to make sure that the things you can do when you're busy are the things that are dialed in.”

For example, what you eat and how you recover should come first.

“If you can prioritize your sleep, your nutrition is dialed in, and you're feeling good, then it will put you in a place where you can exercise. Then your fitness comes in as that amplifier.”

Rowe says that you have to “take care of the 23 hours” so you're able to exercise in that remaining 60 minutes.

“You want to feel good and take care of the majority of your day. When you do that, you'll make a lot less excuses for working out because you'll be feeling better.”

Tiredness is one of the most common reasons that Rowe hears for new parents letting their fitness slip.

“If they don't have those things [sleep and nutrition] under control, working out feels like an extra stressor,” he continues. “It doesn't feel like a release.”

Instead, he says; “you want to get your body to a point where you're minimizing stress, so the workout can serve the purpose that it's intended to—without it feeling like the straw that breaks the camel's back”.

Four steps I've been following to improve my sleep

Mulling over Rowe's answer, I realized I've been looking at exercise all wrong since Joshua arrived.

I've been feeling guilty if I didn't get a workout in, and often forced myself to exercise after a heavily disrupted night, much to the detriment of my health—and likely my ability to show up as my best version for my son.

So now, since Rowe's intervention, I've been trying to reframe my approach to exercise.

Although very much a work in progress, here are four steps I've been taking to improve the quality of my sleep—so that I'm in a better state to exercise when the opportunity arises.

1. Setting a consistent wake and bed time

Research has shown that greater sleep variability can lead to adverse health outcomes, whereas consistency—including on weekends—helps regulate the body's circadian rhythm, or internal clock.

Now, I try to stick to lights out by 11pm, and up at 6am every day, which usually provides a small window to work out before Joshua wakes up.

2. Following a 10-minute pre-bed stretching routine

Following a chat with pliability's Cody Mooney, I've swapped the post-workout stretches—that I rarely do—for a pre-bed mobility routine that I'm less likely to skip.

I've found it helps me to wind down physically, and emotionally decompress after a busy day.

3. Taking a night-time sleep supplement

After dinner, I've also started drinking a nighttime hot chocolate formula from Awesome Supplements, packed with sleep-promoting ingredients including plant extracts, amino acids, cherry powder and ashwagandha root.

The supplements might help me drift off quicker, but the pre-bed ritual of a bedtime cup of cocoa is what I really enjoy.

4. Getting 20 minutes of natural daylight first thing

This is another tip that's said to help regulate your body's circadian rhythm, and I've found it works far better than a shot of caffeine to perk me up in the morning.

On weekdays, I'll usually get 20 minutes of daylight on my walk to work, then on weekends, it's a good excuse to take Joshua out for a stroll to the local coffee shop or park.

Ah, sleep—we're all dreaming of more, but with the CDC finding a third of US adults aren't getting the minimum of seven hours of sleep needed to protect their health, many of us can benefit from acting to improve our ability to sleep.

There are many avenues to explore if you're struggling to get enough sleep—soothing teas, relaxing stretches, mindful meditations, or even counting sheep—but have you ever considered understanding the psychology behind what's keeping you up at night? That's what the Pulse of Potential Sleep Guided Journal offers and it claims to improve your sleep within two weeks.

As a longtime journaling enthusiast who's been scribbling away since I was 16, I've already experienced the benefits of gratitude journaling, but this sleep journal was different. It's grounded in science, using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia techniques to tackle the root cause of sleepless nights. Here's what happened when I gave it a go.

I examined my daily habits

As part of the guided journal, I started each day by reviewing and logging what I did the previous day, answering questions about my caffeine and alcohol intake, exercise routine, diet and screen time use before bed. Within one week, I became more aware of my lifestyle habits and seeing my answers in black and white empowered me to make healthier choices.

On the days I noticed I hadn't exercised, I made an effort to get out on a walk, or add a yoga nidra session to my post-bedtime routine. This simple practice, which helps relax both body and mind, made a huge difference to my nervous system and overall sleep quality.

The journal also prompted me to reflect on my diet. While I don't drink caffeine, I saw how even a single alcoholic drink affected my sleep. I quickly realized that moving more, eating well and limiting screen time were the keys to unlocking better rest.

Untangling my thoughts led to epiphanies

Each evening, five minutes before going to bed, I jotted down my thoughts from the day, before taking a deep breath and releasing them from my mind. The idea behind this practice is to note down when you go to sleep and to reveal patterns affecting your sleep quality. This turned out to be a revelation. At the beginning of the challenge, I initially believed I rarely felt stressed or anxious before bedtime. However, completing the sleep log revealed a surprising depth to my worries, from financial insecurities to work-related stress—issues I hadn't fully acknowledged until I wrote them down.

I also noticed that within a week of using the journal, my daily brain dumps shifted towards a more positive tone, significantly reducing my anxiety and creating a greater sense of calm before bed.

I started to look forward to bedtime

By the time I was halfway through my two-week test, I began to look forward to bedtime—even with a toddler who struggles to sleep through the night! The new nightly rituals the journal encouraged me to set at the start of the challenge created a positive sleep environment, which is a crucial part of sleep hygiene.

I set the mood with soft lighting, pillow mists and sleep balms, along with herbal tea, magnesium spray and a relaxing skincare routine. I slipped into my cosy bed and rather than scrolling through social media or playing Wordle, I read a book instead.

These evening activities have not only been shown to help improve sleep, but they indicated to my brain that it was almost time for sleep, making it easier to drift off.

Will I keep using the journal?

While this journal can't guarantee perfect sleep (there's no guide on how to avoid toddler wake-ups!), it can help you pinpoint choices you can make during the day that make for a more restful night.

By keeping my sleep routine consistent and following the activities set in the journal, I became more attuned to not just my sleep, but my overall wellbeing. Writing everything down encouraged me to take accountability for my lifestyle choices and inspired me to make small but meaningful improvements.

The two-week experience has made a noticeable difference, and that's why, even though the challenge is over, I'll be sticking to this new sleep plan.

Like many others, I can find it difficult to get to sleep. Often my mind is busy running through the day's events or worrying about tomorrow's to-do list, and sleep feels frustratingly out of reach. So recently, I turned to meditation.

There's a growing body of research that indicates mindful practices can help improve sleep quality. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, for example, found that participants who took part in a mindfulness awareness program for six weeks reported less insomnia and fatigue at the end, when compared with other participants who attended sleep education classes instead. Plus, a recent review of research done in this area also concluded that "mindfulness meditation may be effective in treating some aspects of sleep disturbance".

There’s a huge variety of meditation techniques, but the one that caught my eye is the body scan method.

I tried a body scan meditation to help me sleep—my results

Here's what I found after completing a body scan meditation every night for a week before bedtime.

I felt more connected to my body

It may sound cliché, but I really did feel more connected to my body after engaging in these body scan meditations. It's very rare that we spend time thinking about how our physical form is feeling and functioning, and by drawing attention to different points on my frame, I was able to appreciate my body in its entirety and notice when something didn't feel quite right.

This gave me a strong feeling of being grounded within my body—something that helped during points of stress in the day, too.

It quietened my mind

Being guided to focus on parts of my body as I lay in bed at night quickly drew me out of my mind and meant my anxious thoughts blurred into the background. It gave me something to think about other than the decisions I'd made that day, and helped me release stress and tension.

Although sometimes thoughts did filter through and interrupt my meditation, by the end of the week I found I was better able to brush them away and continue focusing on my practice.

I drifted off to sleep easily

While sometimes it can take me a good while to fall asleep, on the nights I followed a body scan meditation I fell into a deep slumber quickly and easily—sometimes even before the guided meditation had finished!

I woke up feeling refreshed and as though I'd had a deep and restful sleep, and my whole body felt relaxed as a result.

How to do a body scan meditation

Keen to try it yourself? Faulkner has provided a guided meditation, as well as an easy step-by-step guide below. I lay on my back in bed, but you can choose whatever starting position feels comfortable.

1. Give yourself a few minutes to get comfortable and when you feel ready to begin, settle in stillness.
2. As you begin, start to notice the support of your bed (or wherever you may be). Allow your body to be heavy, remembering that, in this moment, it is fully supported.
3. Begin by noticing your breath, and encourage it to be a little deeper, slower and longer.
4. Draw your awareness to the tips of your toes and bottoms of your feet. Notice their warmth and any other sensations. With your next inhale imagine the body making space, and as you exhale, focus on softening that area of the body.
5. Move your awareness up to your shins and the calves and repeat the process.
6. Now do the same for your thighs and glutes, and then the trunk of your body (your back, belly and chest). Next, focus on your shoulders, neck and the back of the head, and then finally your face, forehead and jaw.
7. As you lie here, having focused on each part of your body in turn, imagine yourself floating just above you, noticing your entire body. Feel yourself soft, supported and peaceful.
8. Over the next few breaths notice your body gently undulating as you breathe. Feel the gentle expansion, followed by a comforting softening.

I’ve often wondered why things that are designed for self-care can look like torture devices. Take, for example, the reformer Pilates bed with all its ominous-looking springs, ropes and poles.

The same thought crossed my mind as I pulled my new acupressure mat from its packaging. This mat is cushioned, slightly smaller than a regular yoga mat, and covered in hundreds of tiny plastic spikes.

The instructions told me to lay my bare torso on it for anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes before bedtime for the best results. In return, it offered relief from stress and muscle tension, as well as improved sleep.

I wasn't sure about skin-to-spike contact, so I wore a thin T-shirt. I set up my mat next to my bed and gently lowered my back and shoulders onto it. I could feel the spikes pressing into me but surprisingly it wasn't painful in the slightest.

I lay there with my eyes closed and observed the sensations: tingles and warmth at first, and then a pulsating feeling. After 20 minutes I peeled myself off the mat and honestly—I've never felt so relaxed. According to my Oura ring, I got seven hours and 52 minutes of perfect, restful sleep that night, although I tend to sleep well anyway.

The next morning, I wondered what had caused me to experience those feelings. Research revealed that the spikes are designed to target certain trigger points, much like needles do in acupuncture. The concept is derived from ancient Chinese medicine where it is believed that stimulating these points boosts blood circulation, and improves the flow of blocked or stagnant energy, called Qi.

Over the coming days, I started to treat my mat as a daily ritual—a time when I could be quiet and shut out the world. I'd show up every night before bed and tap into the same deep sense of relaxation.

To enhance the experience, I’d recommend buying an acupressure pillow to go with your mat (I opted for a set from Yogi Bare) because it provides pleasant support for your head and targets the neck area, which you'll appreciate if you hunch over a computer all day.

You can also experiment with different positions. Kat Pither, founder of Yogi Bare, told me she loves the sensation of the mat on her feet. "It stimulates the reflexology points and nerve endings resulting in an energy boost," says Pither.

Shop acupressure mats

It's not always easy to switch off a busy brain and drift off to sleep at the end of the day, but some simple stretching could help. Stretching has been found to reduce anxiety levels—which can negatively impact your ability to snooze—and it could also help you avoid sleep disturbances like leg cramps.

Fitness coach Zehra Allibhai recently shared a stretching routine on Instagram specifically designed to help you sleep better. It only takes six minutes and you can do it from the comfort of your bed.

How to do Zehra Allibhai's night time stretching routine

No equipment is needed for this routine and all the stretches are gentle, so it's fine to be wearing comfortable clothes, or even your pajamas when doing them. The moves are designed to promote good sleep but you can do them at any time of day.

Complete each stretch for one minute, breathing deeply throughout.

Tips and tricks for restful sleep

Stretching is a great way to relax your mind and body, so it makes sense that it aids good sleep. As stretching can combat muscle stiffness, doing a routine like this could also help you feel more comfortable when you lie down.

If you find you're still struggling to doze after trying these stretches, you could do some breathing exercises for sleep. These types of exercises can also help calm an anxious mind.

Speaking previously to Fit&Well, mindfulness coach Louise Murray also advised that anyone struggling with sleep should examine their sleep routine.

"Routine is the guardian of good sleep. It protects our sleep. So, try and preserve your old sleeping pattern if you want a good night's kip. Get up at your normal time and go to bed at the normal time, however tempting it might be to do otherwise."

She also suggests that you expose yourself to daylight first thing avoid sugary snacks late at night and never work from bed if you want to improve your sleep quality.

Around this time last year, I decided to set myself the goal of walking 10,000 steps every day. It sounds like a lot and it felt like a lot at first, but having stuck to it almost every day since, I've found that it's well worth getting your steps in.

There are plenty of well-established benefits of walking—it can aid weight loss and weight management, as well as improving your overall cardiovascular health—but one of the unexpected benefits of increasing my step count is that my sleep has dramatically improved.

I've struggled with my sleep in the past. I used to find anxiety would make it hard to nod off, and then I'd wake up through the night and not be able to fall back to sleep.

As my 10,000-steps streak got longer, I noticed I was falling asleep more easily and my sleep quality improved very quickly.

I think there are three reasons for this, which I ran by walking expert Joanna Hall, personal trainer and founder of WalkActive to see if she agreed.

1. Walking eases my anxiety

One of the main reasons I've continued to walk 10,000 steps every day is because it has such a positive impact on my mental health and I think this contributes to my improved sleep.

When I'm having a stressful day, my daily walk is a chance for my brain to decompress, as well as deal with some of the anxieties that might otherwise bother me when my head hits the pillow.

Hall says that there's another way walking can improve mental health. "When we're walking in outdoor environments, specifically nature, our brain is stimulated in different ways, so we're exposed to what is called the optic flow," says Hall.

"The optic flow happens when you're looking at something in the distance and your brain is occupied by that," says Hall. "It's a really good way to allow your body to feel more calm and deal with anxiety."

2. Daily walks establishes a routine

I tend to go on my daily walks at the same time each day, usually before work and at lunchtime.

"The fact that you're walking every day creates consistency and the body likes consistency," says Hall. "When the body gets a consistent message, it allows the other metabolic responses to settle down in your body."

This can decrease stress levels as well as establishing a routine—two elements which affect your ability to sleep.

3. Walking tires me out

On the days when I don't manage 10,000 steps, I find myself waking up in the middle of the night or struggling to get to sleep.

But when I walk throughout the day, I feel tired when I go to bed and I regularly sleep through the night, which has significantly improved my sleep quality.

There's science to support my experience. A 2020 study tracked the step count of 59 adults and researchers concluded that those who were more active slept better and for longer. In fact, the four-week study found that increasing your step count day-to-day could impact your sleep that night, as participants' sleep quality improved on their more active days.

Everyone is different, but walking every day is one of the simplest ways to try and get a good night's sleep. I certainly recommend it.

If you're one of the 15 million Instagram followers of Kayla Itsines, the Australian trainer who co-founded the Sweat fitness app, you'll know all about her high-intensity and strength-based workouts.

But recently Itsines switched things up by posting a rest and recovery routine featuring her "go-to stretches for a better night’s sleep". I was curious to try the stretches to see if they worked for me.

How to do Kayla Itsines' bedtime stretching routine

A stretching routine like this is not only good for sports recovery, it can also help the whole body relax in just a few minutes, so it's worth trying if you have trouble sleeping too.

This routine consists of seven movements or stretches and should take less than seven minutes to complete, so chances are you’ve got time to fit it in before you get under the covers.

The stretches are dynamic and a few involve moving between a pair of moves, not just holding static stretches.

Itsines does the following for 30 or 60 seconds each. Adjust the timing to your capacity and level.

1. Hip flexor to hamstring stretch
2. Abs to child's pose
3. Alternating lat stretch
4. Adductor stretch
5. Knee to chest
6. Lying thoracic rotation
7. Hamstring stretch

What happened when I tried Itsines' bedtime stretch routine?

I tried the routine after a long day when I was feeling stiff and tired. I had to psych myself up to get onto my mat in such a sluggish state, but it was worth it. It felt good to move in and out of the stretches, rather than holding static poses.

The hip flexor to hamstring stretch warmed my legs up and gave me a satisfying stretch in the front of the hips. I enjoyed pairing the abs stretch with child's pose, and it released stiffness in my lower back that I hadn't noticed had built up during the day. It felt great to stretch out my sides during the alternating lat stretch, which also stretched the soles of my feet—this was pleasant at first but as the end of the minute approached I had to untuck my toes as it was getting too intense.

After all that movement I enjoyed sitting for a moment in the adductor stretch (butterfly pose for any yogis) and open my hips to the sides, which felt like it undid all the tightness from sitting at my desk during the day.

Knee to chest further eased the tension in my lower back and hips, plus my hip flexor on the straight leg got a nice stretch. The lying thoracic rotation felt more like hip circles and they gave my lower back a bit of a massage.

For the hamstring stretch, I went for a wide-legged version instead of Itsines’ legs together, as this felt more comfortable and I was able to relax more deeply into the stretch.

After the routine, I felt noticeably looser and more relaxed. My hips and lower back seemed to appreciate these stretches the most, and that's probably where I was holding the most tightness.

Focusing on the stretches and following the routine felt mindful and relaxing, which was a surprise benefit. I had none of the usual worries crowding in as I tried to sleep and I was ready to nod off.

Although I didn't fall asleep immediately, I did sleep better than usual and woke up feeling well-rested. I’ll certainly try this routine again when I’m in need of some R&R.

Is it a good idea to eat before bed? Dieticians often advise against it because it can have an impact on your digestion while potentially disrupting the quality of your sleep. It also goes against some popular diets such as intermittent fasting – even though you may feel hungry by that time.

Yet sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation of a midnight snack. You may be craving carbs after one too many drinks or looking for something to satisfy that post-dinner sweet tooth. Maybe you have a busy schedule or just find you haven’t eaten enough during the day (in which case, upping your protein intake with the best protein powder for weight loss could be a good starting point).

But what actually happens to your body when you eat before bed? To help us explain, we asked Sophie Medlin, a registered dietician at CityDieticians.

Eating before bed: Digestion

It’s important that your body absorbs the right nutrients from your food, and good digestion is key to ensuring you don’t experience bloating or discomfort after eating. 

Since our bodies are less efficient at digesting food at night, this means any food eaten before bed can stay in your digestive tract for too long a time, causing reflux in the night and bloating the next day. 

According to Medlin, this can also negatively impact your blood cholesterol and blood sugars. “We all have what we call a ‘biological night’ around 9pm,” Medlin says. “This is when we are less efficient at digesting and processing food.”

Research published in StatPearls has also found that avoiding food three hours before bed could relieve symptoms of digestive issues like acid reflux. This is because eating before bed can cause you to wake more in the night, which can cause reflux.

Eating before bed: Weight

Diets such as intermittent fasting suggest limiting the hours you consume food during the day could help you to lose weight. But does fasting work? Medlin stresses that there isn’t any convincing evidence that eating at different times affects our weight yet.

Some research has found that people who eat close to bedtime are more likely to gain weight because of their attitude towards food and eating, however. For example, a 2014 study found that people who eat before bed are more likely to gain weight because they have a greater number of eating occasions throughout the day and therefore a higher total daily caloric intake. 

Yet this research doesn’t account for those who may not eat in excess during the day. “In general it is all about energy balance rather than distribution and timing of eating,” Medlin explains.

Eating before bed: Sleep quality

Although sleep quality can be affected by your overall health (it relies on a healthy diet and ensuring you’re consuming enough nutrients, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, magnesium and calcium), there is evidence to suggest eating before bed can have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep. 

A study published in Sleep Health, for instance, found that eating or drinking less than an hour before bedtime was associated with waking up shortly after falling asleep – a key symptom of chronic insomnia. Meanwhile, research published by the Journal of Biological Rhythms showed eating before bed can disrupt your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal clock that regulates your sleep times). It suggests your body is best at digesting food when you are active and light is present.

“When you are trying to sleep but your body still needs to digest food, you usually won’t be able to fall into a deep sleep because your organs need to stay awake to process your food,” Medlin explains. She says this is why people might experience strange dreams when eating before going to bed.

Are there any benefits to eating before bed?

Scientists suggest eating before bed isn’t a good idea for the most part. But this doesn’t mean you should skip a meal or go to bed hungry if your only option is to eat late at night. 

“If someone isn’t getting enough food during the day, going to bed hungry will also keep them awake,” Medlin says. She suggests people opt for something light such as a small smoothie or rice cakes.

There are also some foods that aid sleep. “Foods that contain B vitamins, such as milk, meat, eggs and pulses are important for sleep because they make the precursors to the hormones that induce sleep,” explains Medlin.

This doesn’t mean you should eat a steak before bed, though. “Our body takes time to convert the B vitamins into the hormones we need for sleep and it is about getting dietary balance right rather than providing an immediate sleep aid.”  

The right pillow can make taking a nap or going to bed at night a more comfortable affair. From neck support to comfy memory foam, there is an option for everyone. 

Believe it or not, there are pillows made especially for side sleepers, those who catch their "Z"s on their back, and even stomach sleepers. No matter which position you fall asleep in, there's a pillow out there to support a good night's rest. These are our recommendations for the best pillows.

The best pillows on this list are the Beckham Hotel Collection set from Beckham Luxury Linens. We love these pillows for their comfort, ability to hold their shape through the night, and support for back, side, and stomach sleepers. That means you need to buy fewer pillows for your family and guests. Beckham pillows are fluffy, but not so much so that your head sinks to the bottom at night. The materials are plush, soft, and encourage a solid night of sleep. And if you run hot at night, you will appreciate the cooling gel filling.

Not everyone wants the same amount of fill in their pillows. If you're a picky sleeper, then the Coop Home Goods adjustable pillow is the perfect option. It features a design that lets you pack extra padding into the pillow so that it's suited just for you. The fill is memory foam, so it's easy on your joints and lets you settle in when it's time for bed. These pillows are also vegan and cruelty-free, making them an excellent option for any home. 

If you want to pick up pillows that will last for a while, then snagging a pair with a gusseted design is a good call. These durable pillows have blue piping and a double-stitched design, so they're perfect for weathering the test of time. You get two pillows at once, and they both measure 18-by-26 inches, making them a comfortable fit for most beds. Each pillow also features a medium-firm filling and is ideal for back and side sleepers. 

Stomach and back sleepers need a soft pillow that won't give the neck too much of a lift. Amazon Basics makes the best down-alternative ultra-soft pillow. With a down alternative interior and polyester microfiber cover, these standard-size pillows give you lots of comfort and all the softness required by those who fall asleep on their stomach or back.

If you run hot, then the last thing you want is to wake up too warm and be unable to get back to sleep. Sleepavo memory foam pillows feature cooling gel inside the pillows to help keep you cool while you rest. They're filled with shredded memory foam, ensuring you can get comfortable when it's time for bed. They come with hypoallergenic pillowcases, and you get two pillows in one order, so you'll be ready for a good night's rest.

Bottom line 

A quality pillow can make an immediate and demonstrable effect on your sleep. For the best all-around option, we suggest the Beckham Hotel Collection. This two-pack of cooling gel pillows supports back, side, and stomach sleepers, and they're oh-so-comfy.

When you want endlessly adaptable comfort, choose the Coop Home Goods adjustable pillow. It's a good size, lets you adjust the stuffing so it suits you best, and features memory foam fill. 

For sleepers who tend to overheat, we recommend Sleepavo pillows. They're stuffed with firm, cool shredded memory foam that you can move around to your liking, and they never retain body heat.

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.

Body pillows are probably one of the most underrated bedding items. It's no secret that investing in cushy pillows will help you achieve a good night's sleep, and body pillows are large and begging to be smooshed and cradled. They are ideal for expectant mums, those suffering from aches and pains, and just about anyone who loves a little extra comfort. 

Plus, body pillows come in a range of shapes and sizes, from rectangular to angular styles to provide all kinds of support. Hugging these cushions can also help relieve anxiety and depression by helping decrease cortisol levels. We told you they were good, didn’t we? It doesn’t matter what type of sleeper you are, there’s a body pillow out there just for you. So, we’ve put together a list of some of the best. 

If you’re after a pillow that can offer full-body support and complete comfort, here it is. It's long and squishy, stuffed with shredded memory foam that'll contour to your natural curves for superior comfort. Plus, you can move the stuffing around and even remove some to get the ideal density. This body pillow also has a removable and machine washable jacquard bamboo outer cover for ultimate freshness. It also doesn’t matter how you like to sleep because this pillow is perfect for side, back, and stomach sleepers. Beware that this selection does come vacuum packed, so you’ll need some patience as it can take up to 48 hours to expand once opened. 

This U-shaped pillow weighs 2.9 kilograms, so it’s heavy and extremely comforting; it's a perfectly substantial option for cuddling. It’s also one of those pillows that have multiple uses, you can snuggle down on it to go to sleep or lie on top to watch TV; whatever you decide to do, you can be sure you’ll be super comfortable. This pillow is ideal for those who are suffering from painful joint conditions such as arthritis as it offers support in all the places you need it most. 

This extra-long pillow is the perfect mix of fluffy softness and support. It’s stuffed with silky soft 3D fibres that can be pushed around to get your ideal layout so you don’t ever have to worry about losing your ideal comfort spot. The whole pillow can be machine washed at low temperatures and then air-dried to keep it fresh. This is a very large pillow and it has a lot of stuffing, so it’ll feel just like you’re sleeping with another person next to you. The best part is that it'll stay cool as the textured outer cover is breathable and skin-friendly. 

Getting a good night's sleep during pregnancy might feel like an impossible task, but with this U-shaped pillow that will change in an instant. It cares for all of the important areas that need extra support like your stomach, neck, and back. And the outer cover is a soft velvet material which is skin-friendly and super cosy. This pillow is firm, thick, and won’t change shape, even after extensive use. You can even wash the outer cover, and the double zipper design means it’ll easily come off. 

There is no excuse for not having a brilliant night's sleep when you have this pillow. The unique design will take the pressure off your joints and leave you feeling like you’re sleeping on air. It’s ideal for those who suffer from neck and back pain; it even helps guide moms into a natural sleeping position post pregnancy. The cover is made using sherpa fleece, which is soft and cosy without leaving you feeling hot and sweaty. It’s super lightweight, too, weighing just 1.9 kilograms and will fit comfortably into a standard-sized washing machine. 

Verdict

Being comfortable when you’re in bed or relaxing is the ultimate dream, and a body pillow can help you achieve that. We absolutely love the Milliard luxury bolster/full body pillow because it's so versatile thanks to the shredded memory foam filling. The pillow can also be machine washed, so it’ll always remain clean and fresh. 

If you’re looking for something that is both luxurious and super comfortable to see you through your pregnancy, look no further than the AviiatoR pregnancy pillow. The soft, velvet outer cover will feel sensational against your skin and the pillow's shape will let you sleep in absolute comfort.

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As experts, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your life. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. Our detailed product overviews balance objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is easy.

A good night's sleep is important to your overall health. If you're anything like me, a good mattress can be a make-or-break decision to get a full eight hours of blissful slumber. I used the same mattress for years before finally getting a new one and now I'll never consider a mattress n easy choice again. The difference in how I slept before and now is night and day. I need the mattress just right, with the right kind of support to ensure that I wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, renewed, and ready to start my daily activities. I've done the research and have found the best options. So if you've been sleeping on an old busted mattress and are ready to experience a good night's sleep for the first time in years, read on!

The Zinus mattress is an interesting choice that I came across in my hunt for the perfect option. The green tea-infused memory foam with added ActivCharcoal is an unexpected combo, but it does make sense as a means to keep a mattress fresh for a long time past its usual expiration date. The mattress has memory foam with just the right amount (or lack thereof) of bounce that lets you sleep in comfort as the foam contours to your body shape. It's surprisingly light for what it is; the Queen size is easily moved even by the less physically able. If you're interested in a unique purchase, the Zinus green tea mattress is a great choice.

I usually sleep pretty warmly at night so this mattress speaks to me personally. The design is centered around keeping the sleeper cool and comfortable the whole night through thanks to a gel foam layer over a breathable 7-inch bottom layer. Add some bamboo sheets to that and you'll have far fewer issues waking up sweating in the middle of the night than you've ever had before. The comfort is excellent too, the support resting between firm and plush. This works if you find one or the other too much.

For those that like a good firm mattress but still need the smallest amount of give, this is the one for you. It boasts a three-layer foam design that works to transition your weight and sleeping position evenly instead of sinking directly in, which is great if you're someone who isn't a big fan of super-soft memory foam. The inner layers are ventilated well to keep you cool throughout the night and to provide a comfortable, yet steady, sleeping experience.

Oh boy, more designs centered around overheating sleepers like me! The Olee Aquarius is all about keeping you cool throughout the night with a full gel-infused foam layer as a major part of the mattress' composition. It's a very blocky design that works for all bedframes imaginable and can fit any kind of room. It is sinkably soft, so if you're not into that, I suggest checking out some of the firmer options on this list.

This is yet another great cooling mattress with bamboo and gel tech included in the package, which I'm always going to be thrilled about. This mattress goes all the way to four separate memory foam layers to give it every advantage possible, providing you with great sleep. The bamboo fabric combined with the airflow channel in the middle offers the most amount of air circulation available here, a saving grace when it comes to overheating at night. 

I personally love bamboo bedding construction. Since I run hot when I sleep, I'll actively seek out products to keep cool at night however I can. The LUCID gel-infused model combines both cooling gel tech and a bamboo breathable base, so it's right up my alley. The mattress is what one might describe as a "sinker." You will sink pretty deep into it when you're sitting or sleeping for long periods. If that's your jam, this is a perfect choice for a long night's sleep.

Sleep in comfort and confidence

Quality of sleep can make a huge difference in your quality of life, and the first step to that is finding the right mattress for you. I look up mattresses extensively before I finally choose one because the absolute last thing I want to do is deal with several days of sleepless nights. I'd highly recommend the Zinus 12-inch green tea memory foam mattress if you're looking for a completely unique experience. The green tea and charcoal foam give this mattress an edge, and if you're buying a new mattress you might as well take a chance on a cool, comfortable, refreshing one like this.

If I was going to choose one off of this list to keep all for myself, it'd have to be the Novilla gel memory foam model as it goes all out for the cooling factor. I can deal (grumpily) with a mattress that's too firm or too soft, but a hot mattress will end up with me sleeping on the couch or in a chair. The more temperature control I can get out of my memory foam, the happier I will be.

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.

The best sunrise alarm clocks offer a more natural alternative to a terrifyingly loud phone alarm. A gentle awakening can set you up for a good day, and a sunrise alarm clock does just this by mimicking the rising sun to bring you to consciousness in a relaxed manner.

But with such a range of sunrise clocks available, you may need guidance on where to start. To help make the process easier, we've compiled our favorite wake-up lights, including those that can be used as a bedside light, to help your bedroom feel more relaxed. 

A good sunrise alarm clock can set you back between $50/ £30 to $150/ £100, depending on the features you're looking for. A more sophisticated model is likely to be a little pricier, but some of the budget models still offer a top-quality experience that is a bit more wallet-friendly. 

Whether you're looking for integrated voice control or soothing white noise, we've found the sunrise alarm clock for you. Read on to find your new bedtime companion and wake up more naturally. 

The best sunrise alarm clocks you can buy right now

When it comes to sunrise alarm clocks, it’s fair to say Lumie know a thing or two. The company has been developing light therapy products for 30 years, and this domed design doesn’t disappoint. 

While it takes a few minutes to set up, it’s very easy to personalize. You can adjust the duration of your sunrise and sunset from 15 to 90 minutes, and the light intensity is easily altered from a bright light to a soft glow. 

Alarms can be pre-set for the week ahead and there are 14 natural sounds, a standard beep and also an FM radio. Fancy nodding off or waking up to birdsong, or even the gentle bleating of goats? No problem! 

Yes it’s an investment, but the Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light has been shown to work. Independent studies concluded that it not only wakes you up more naturally (with 25 brightness intensities, it floods your room with bright yellow light) but also more energized.

Wake up to nature sounds, ambient music or FM radio and at night, use the light-guided wind down function to ease you into sleep. Simply follow one of seven rhythms of light intensity with your breathing, to help you relax. Alternatively, drift off to also the simulated sunset, accompanied by natural sounds. 

It's easily personalized, either on the device itself or via the SleepMapper app. There is a slightly cheaper model without this option, but the smart features allow you to analyze your bedroom environment and sleep patterns, helping you towards your best night's sleep.

There’s a handy USB charging point too, and the nifty midnight function comes in handy in the dead of night; tap the device twice and it emits a soft orange light to save you stumbling around in the dark. 

The hOmeLabs Sunrise Alarm clock offers an LED clock face available in a variety of different colors. It has a sleek, modern look perfect for a minimalist bedroom, and comes with an easy-to-hit snooze button that will pause the alarm and turn off the light and sound for five minutes.

When the alarm is switched off, you can also use this clock as a bedside lamp or nightlight. The touchscreen clock face offers 12-hour and 24-hour views and lets you switch on the FM radio anytime you fancy. 

Users like the LED color options, value for money, and the wake-up light's sturdiness. The grippy-based stand stops it from being knocked off a bedside table, and a backup battery means you don't lose your chosen settings in a power cut. 

Reviewers are less pleased with the quality of the speakers and the fact the clock turns on at about 50% brightness instead of warming up slowly from dark. One user even referred to the light as 'unnatural,' which can be jarring for a light sleeper as it doesn't quite mimic a gentle sunrise.

This slimline design from German brand Beurer doesn’t just look good, it has a relatively small footprint too ⁠— handy when space is at a premium. In addition to the basics you’d expect, like adjustable alarm times, there’s an FM radio with 10 presets, six wake-up melodies, and four sleep melodies.

It also works as a bedside light and mobile-savvy users will appreciate the handy LightUp app. This connects your phone to your light via Bluetooth, giving you access to a host of additional functions.

These include close control over an impressive range of mood lighting, as well as the ability to personalise the brightness and duration of your sunrise. You can stream your own music via Bluetooth, too. 

This budget-friendly wake-up light offers the fun option to beam the time onto your bedroom ceiling ⁠— handy if you like to know how long you’ve got left in bed! The sizeable screen can be personalised with four brightness levels too, so it won’t keep you awake at night.

The clock gradually simulates sunrise over 30 minutes and the alarm itself can be set for weekdays, weekends, or every day. In addition to an FM radio, the Coulax Wake Up Light has 30 built in sounds, and there are 20 adjustable brightness levels.

With mood lighting options that include pink, blue, and yellow, it’ll appeal to youngsters too. Impressive functionality at a budget-friendly price.

How to choose the best sunrise alarm clock for you

Rob Davey, a sleep expert at Snoozel Green, explained to Fit&Well that our bodies respond best when woken up by the light of a rising sun, as sunlight catalyzes our circadian rhythm and lets our brain know it’s time to be alert and operating. 

A wake-up light is the best way to rise to the effect of sunlight every day. But there are some considerations you need to keep in mind when making your decision on the right wake up light for your home. 

Design

No two sunrise alarm clocks appear the same so it is helpful to think what model will best fit into your room. You will find ones with a more classic design, meanwhile others appear more futuristic.

You will also want to consider what available space you have. Many sunrise alarm clocks can act as a regular light, saving you the need to have a bedside lamp as well.

Sounds

“An added benefit of many sunrise clocks is that they include optional natural morning sound effects, such as the chirping of birds or the gentle rustling of the wind in trees,” explains Davey.

If you prefer having some form of noise to wake you up then you can find a wake-up light offering various sounds like the ones listed above but if not, there are simpler sunrise alarm clocks with less options but are just as effective for getting you out of bed.

Additionally, you might just enjoy waking up to the familiar sound of the radio and lucky for you some sunrise alarm clocks are fitted with FM capability. If waking up to your favorite music is high on your must-have list, take a look at the products below and consider a model that has an FM radio. 

Features

There are plenty of additional features you won’t want to miss out on. Many of the wake-up lights feature dimmable red night lights to help you fall asleep. 

Moreover, some designs allow you to stream music via Bluetooth meaning you can play a soothing song or listen to your favourite podcast as your head hits the pillow.

And, if you are a serial snoozer you will be glad to know many of the models include a snooze function.

A white noise machine is a must-have item for anyone who struggles to drift off at night. They are also great for babies or young children who need a little bit of help to not only fall asleep but stay asleep. White noise machines are small devices that send out a steady range of soothing sound to block out any background noise to prepare you for sleep, and a restful one at that. We’ve compiled some of our favourite white noise machines to help you get the perfect night's sleep. 

Every sleeper is different, that's white noise machines like this one provide a range of sounds to choose from. There are 40, actually; this includes everything from relaxing nature sounds to lullabies, so it'll appeal to children and adults alike. The sound you select can be set to play for three time intervals (so it won't play all night) and you can adjust the volume control so you get the perfect level to cover the noises that'll disturb your sleep cycle. The machine itself is nice and compact, so if you want to take it with you whilst you travel, you can.

Every child will love Shiloh, the sleepy sloth. This cute and cuddly toy has several functions, including a noise sensor that will activate white noise to help calm your baby and send them back to back to the land of nod. (This is a helpful setting for tired parents, as it may minimize the number of times they have to get up.) The white noise function plays rainfall sounds for a more natural-sounding background or various lullabies for a pleasant sleep experience. We also love how it has a pink ambient night light built into the tummy to help soothe your baby without disturbing sleep.

This white noise machine provides 24 different sounds to help you unwind. That's quite a few; so you can be sure that there's a setting for your specific sleep needs. The machine is very easy to use with accessible controls on the top of the device. But since this machine is compact, you may find the buttons a little fiddly to navigate when it's dark. It shouldn't be too much of a problem once you get used to them, though. There's even an integrated nightlight that has multiple colour options and brightness levels to create the right mood. This device is powered by a rechargeable battery, so you don’t have to worry about wires and finding a spare power point next to the bed. Plus, the battery is fantastic and can last up to 20 hours on one full charge. 

This is a great little machine that can help you fall asleep. It’s really easy to use with clear buttons, so you can set the sound to your preferences, including the timer (from 1 to 4 hours) and sounds. You'll get a fair amount (18 total) of relaxing tones including those standby nature noises and animal ones too. The device also has an integrated night light, so it can be used as a lamp even if you’re not going to sleep. It runs off USB, so it can be plugged into any outlet, but you will need to purchase a USB-compatible plug. 

Verdict

White noise machines can be the perfect nighttime companion for those who have trouble getting off to sleep at night. The Magicteam sleep sound white noise machine is our top pick because it is perfect for the whole family. It has 40 sleep sounds that don’t loop. It also has a really good timer function so you don’t have to have it playing all night long. 

Another top buy we recommend is the Shiloh the sleepy sloth sleep soother. This super-cute toy also doubles up as a white noise machine and night light. It plays soothing rainfall sounds so your baby will drift to sleep feeling cosy. There is also a heartbeat sound that recreates that womb experience.

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As experts, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your life. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. Our detailed product overviews balance objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is easy.

When we think of burning fat, we often think of exercise or restrictive diets. We don't often think about sleep or gut health. 

While the best exercises for weight loss, or time on the best exercise machines to lose weight can help us burn fat, we'll get loads more benefits, lose more weight and grow more lean muscle with good digestion and a great night's sleep.

In our interview with celebrity fitness coach Don Saladino, he revealed these are the answers to the question: "what about health and fitness do you think gets ignored, or forgotten about, that more people need to know?"

Saladino is currently coaching the likes of Anne Hathaway, Ryan Reynolds, and Blake Lively, and has previously worked with Hugh Jackman, Emily Blunt, and Liev Scrieber, to name a few. He has also an extremely qualified fitness trainer with over 20 years of experience under his belt. 

"Oh my god, sleep. We still don’t put enough value into sleep and digestion," says Saladino. "I’ve written thousands of programs, and we put a lot of value into supplements. You can do all the fancy bloodwork, and get all the information you can, but just by cleaning up basic things, like sleep, digestion and hydration, you’re 70% there. 

"Sleep is the best fat burner, and it’s free!"

While you can hydrate more effectively by keeping one of the best water bottles close to hand, getting better sleep is more challenging. But Saladino has an answer to this: small, incremental changes, and practice.  

"If you can’t go to bed before midnight, start practicing. Can’t sleep? Let’s start moving your bedtime 15 minutes earlier, and cutting down on the blue light. Maybe some meditation."

Eventually, Saladino reckons with consistent practice, you'll be able to move your bedtime from midnight to 11:45. Once you're there, you can begin to move it back to 11:30. This is a process that can take weeks, so you'll need to bear with it. But the long term results speak for themselves. 

Saladino uses the same principle for digestion. "Can’t eat breakfast because you aren’t hungry? Start practicing. Start training yourself to be able to use those calories and that energy. Just by fixing these small things, you’ll be in another stratosphere, and feeling as good as you did when you were a teenager."

You can check out more from our chat with Saladino here, such as his beginner's dumbbell workout and more of his fitness advice.

Waking up early is most commonly seen as the trait of go-getters and successful people. The internet is full of advice from actors, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who evangelise the idea of getting up early and getting things done in the small hours in which everyone else is asleep. 

Whether you're using one of the best sunrise alarm clocks to wake up early, or starting your day with a quick HIIT workout, joining the 5am crowd is all about carving out more time in the day. Time to work out in the gym, meditate, make a healthy breakfast, take on personal projects, or get a head start on that email inbox.

However, the biggest obstacle to waking up early is that in order to have a productive day, you also need to go to bed early. Research shows that short sleep duration, six hours or less, has been "significantly associated" with an increased prevalence of depressive symptoms, in addition to a host of other problems such as weight gain, increased production of the stress hormone cortisol, and high blood pressure. 

Late bedtimes have also been associated, by the same study, with "an increased prevalence of depressive symptoms". So early nights and early mornings seem to be the way forward, as "high morningness" is associated in another study with lower procrastination, as you tackle more unpleasant tasks earlier in the day.

But social events, family obligations, and "life admin" tasks tend to catch up with you in the evenings. In order to get up early and be well-rested you need to cancel social events in the evening, cook, clean, put all other evening obligations to one side and be asleep by 10pm. 

This is the trouble that documentary filmmaker Matt D'Avella found when he tried to get up at 5am. In a video which has garnered almost five million views on YouTube, he chronicled what happened when he began getting up at 5am every day. 

In the video, travel to a different time zone, social events, and other hiccups occurred before D'Avella settled into a routine. 

"When I try to wake up early, build a habit or start exercising, eventually something's going to happen. You're going to get sick, travel, go on vacation, get jet lag... you're not going to be able to keep up with the same routine you're trying to build." 

D'Avella ended up with an extremely unproductive month before he found workouts, beginning at 5:30am, were the key to structuring his morning around.

He ended the challenge with a negative view of the 5am club, as not only was D'Avella poorly rested but so was his girlfriend, who was disturbed every morning by D'Avella's easily rising habit. If you get up at 5am without adequate sleep on a regular basis, you may end up depriving yourself consistently of much-needed sleep, which has a serious impact on your health.

However, there's no denying that carving extra time out of your day, when everyone else is asleep, still does have a bit of romance to it. If you can adjust your sleeping schedule so you can get at least seven hours' solid rest (perhaps look into picking up one of the best mattress toppers) then a 5am start might be the key to, for example, completing a Couch to 5K challenge for the first time, or learning how to meditate. The only way to know for sure is to try.

Body pillows are comfy extended cushions that'll keep your body feeling great all night long. They balance your body, directing your neck, head, and back in the most comfortable resting positions. The pillows reduce strain on your shoulders and provide better sleep quality throughout the night. This is especially true for pregnant women who struggle to stay comfy! If you're looking for the best body pillow, here's a list of my favorites. 

Pregnancy can be uncomfortable, especially in the later months. This U-shaped body pillow will help minimize discomfort, so sleep is restful. It hugs your entire body, supporting your neck, back, head, and more. It even comes with a detachable extension that aligns the knees and hips to relieve stress. The pillow measures 53-by-31 inches and is perfect for pregnant women and for those recovering from surgery who need additional support. If the pillow ever feels too full or limp, you can adjust the stuffing via the built-in zipper mechanism. Plus, if you accidentally get this body pillow dirty, the cover is machine washable!

Blankets and extra pillows can provide added insulation, which is especially annoying for hot sleepers. For those where heat is a concern, this hypoallergenic body pillow is as cool as they come. It features Kool-Flow technology that keeps you comfortable with increased airflow. This, paired with its soft memory foam material, sets you up for a long and uninterrupted sleep. The pillow measures 16.4-by-8-by-8 inches, making it large enough to snuggle your entire body. You'll feel like you're cuddling a cozy partner all night long. 

If you're experiencing body pain when you're trying to relax, this body pillow is made for you. Literally—its memory foam fill tailors to your body's unique shape, offering proper positioning and ultimate comfort. The pillow will accommodate most adults, and its U-shape cradles your entire body in a soft hug. Using this pillow, your neck, back, hips, and more will achieve proper alignment to reduce stress and aches. When you're not using this pillow, you can unzip the cotton cover and toss it in the machine to wash!

Soft and responsive memory foam fills this cylindrical pillow to comfortably position your body at rest. The 47-inches long cushion can be configured multiple ways so you get the most comfortable angle possible. You won't have to worry about aching joints or muscles because you place it under your neck while you're relaxing or between your legs when you're sleeping. This pillow is hypoallergenic and breathable, and the pillowcase is washable. So, it really can't get any better. 

Let's not forget about your littles! This washable body pillow has a fun animal design that your kids will love. It comes in many fun designs like a monkey, fox, puppy, elephant, and more. The body pillow has a unique C-shaped design that encourages your kids to snuggle up. Whether they're resting while watching TV or cuddling while sleeping, this pillow has got their comfort covered.

The bottom line

The best body pillow keeps you comforted and supports your entire body. The PharMeDoc pregnancy pillow is perfect for new moms and momma's-to-be! This pillow has a brilliant U-shaped design that hugs your entire body. Plus, it's washable!

Looking for the perfect body pillow for your kids? The Leacho animal body pillow is specifically made for your littles. This pillow comes has a unique C-shape and comes in multiple animal designs. Your kids will love lounging in comfort with this body pillow.

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.

When it comes to making sure you have a good night’s sleep night after night, look no further than your mattress. Sleep is necessary for a healthy lifestyle, and with the right mattress, you’ll be supported, comfortable, and get the rest your need. Finding the right mattress depends on your preferred sleeping position, weight, and resting temperature. So, we’ve compiled a list of the best mattresses to help you get the best out of your downtime.

Supportive springs and soft memory come together to create a comfy blend of old and new technology for the perfect mattress. The cushy memory foam layer sits atop structured springs to give sleepers the best of both worlds. The memory foam, made with gel, moulds to accommodate any body shape and springs back when not in use. The gel makes it ideal for hot sleepers, as it won’t hold in the heat. The mattress is medium-firm on the firmness scale, so if you’re used to soft mattresses, it may feel a little hard.

Single sleepers will get the rest they deserve with this comfy memory foam and spring mattress combo. The bed takes shape with a soft and airy memory foam layer (great for hot sleepers) above a forgiving but structured 13.5-gauge open-coil spring layer. As a bonus, the mattress is made using recycled plastics, so it’s a good option for those who want to be eco-friendly. It comes rolled, so it is ready to use straight out of the box. 

Emma's memory foam mattress is exceptionally comfortable, and comfort is the most important quality in a mattress. The form-accommodating design will adjust to your shape thanks to four malleable foam layers. As such, it is suitable for all body types and works for all sleeping positions. This mattress was made with hot sleepers in mind because the top layer regulates temperature to reduce warmth and discomfort. Should the mattress need to be freshened, there's a removable, machine-washable top cover. Sleepers will enjoy medium firmness that's not too hard and not too soft. The mattress will need turning every couple of months to prevent any dips from forming. 

Aches and pains need a little extra care, and sometimes that means a firmer mattress. For those that need firm, this mattress is ideal. It is shaped with rows of supportive Miracoil springs that are less forgiving and maintain their shape to provide superior support and alleviate pressure points. And it has a breezy construction that increases airflow to keep overheating to a minimum. Choose from several size options to fit your bedframe.

If you can't decide between foam and spring mattresses, why not choose both? Ultimate comfort can be had when foam and springs combine. This mattress provides medium firmness, with multiple cushy foam layers backed by pocket springs for support. It is suitable for any base type, including divan, slatted, and even the floor, so you're not limited by your bedframe. The mattress arrives in a box and usually takes a day decompress. 

Verdict

One of the most important things that can contribute to restful sleep is a good mattress. There are so many types on the market these days, from memory foam to springs. But whatever you choose, it has to suit your sleeping style. We really rate the Linenspa foam and spring mattress because of its comfortable hybrid design. It has a comfortable and supportive blend of memory foam and springs. 

The Emma Original double mattress is perfect for everyone. Whether you prefer sleeping on your stomach, back, or side, it will still offer the most comfortable sleep. And its airy top layer will help the mattress breathe and keep the sleeper cool.

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As experts, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your life. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. Our detailed product overviews balance objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is easy.

Nothing's worse than a sleepless night, especially before a momentous occasion or during your average workweek. The best melatonin sleep aids are a great way to combat occasional insomnia, and there's a variety for nearly everyone. Fast-melt tablets like our best overall ones from Natrol are a tasty and effective way to fall asleep fast. You can pick from strawberry and citrus flavors, multiple dosages, and various styles, including gummies and tinctures. Check out our collection below, and see which sort of melatonin sleep aid is the right fit for you.

Dosage is a very personal thing when it comes to melatonin use. Choosing a sleep aid with customizable dosing is critical, and Natrol's 5-milligram fast-melt melatonin tablets are a great place to start. It takes a while to find that sweet spot, so I was pleased that Natrol sells their fast-melt melatonin in 1, 3, 5, and 10-milligram tablets. Folks preferring time-release, gummy, and tincture delivery methods are in luck, too, because Natrol sells its melatonin products in several varieties. I like the fast-dissolve tablets, as you can choose between citrus or strawberry flavors; they're also vegetarian. 

I'll say it upfront, I'm a big fan of OLLY's gummy supplements. I've taken a few different OLLY products over the years, including their Probiotic + Prebiotic and women's daily vitamin formulas. However, I've yet to try their melatonin sleep gummies, and these Immunity Sleep + Elderberry ones have already found their way into my shopping basket. These formulas include botanicals like echinacea and tart cherry, amino acids like L-theanine, and minerals like magnesium that work to enhance melatonin's efficacy and provide extra benefits. OLLY also offers melatonin softgels for folks that don't like gummy supplements, or need a sugar-free solution.

Gulping down additional doses of sleep aids isn't always the answer; sometimes, it's as simple as spreading out a small or moderate dosage over a more extended period. If you've tried taking melatonin and are still having trouble falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night, fear not. Choosing a time-release melatonin tablet like those from Nature's Bounty is how to solve that dilemma. They're double-layered tablets that pair quick-release and extended-release melatonin and are designed to help you fall asleep quicker and then remain asleep for at least the next 6 to 8 hours. The ingredient list is very minimal as well as vegetarian. As a rule, Nature's Bounty tends to price its products very affordably. So, these tablets are the right choice for folks who prefer to take a no-frills melatonin sleep aid without any added substances.

Chewsy's 30-day supply of Midnight Mint melatonin sleep chews ensure that every minute you're asleep will be a restful one. It has 3-milligrams of melatonin to help you fall asleep and the added benefits of calming L-theanine and soothing botanicals. Lemon balm, chamomile, and magnolia have been used for centuries as herbal sleep and relaxation aids, so they became parts of Chewsy's Peaceful Sleep blend. The chewy texture's reminiscent of Starbursts, but you'll get a blast of minty flavor rather than tart fruits. Sadly, they're nowhere near the price of a roll of Starburst, but the quality of its sleep complex and flavor profile makes this melatonin chews well worth the price.

Botanical sleep aids are becoming more common if this article is any evidence at all. They do work when properly prepared, and The Patch Brand has designed a new way to deliver melatonin supported by effective plants like passionflower, valerian root, and hops. You might be surprised to see hops in their recipe, but part of why a cold beer after a long day feels so relaxing is thanks to hops. These patches are heat-activated, and when the tiny moon fades, you'll know that absorption has begun. Subdermal medication delivery feels futuristic and serves as a worthy substitute for people who struggle with swallowing pills. 

Bottom line

So there you have it—tossing and turning can be a thing of the past with the best melatonin sleep aids. Your options are surprisingly broad, and there's something for everyone. Gummies are my fave, but our best overall melatonin sleep aid from Natrol is equally convenient. Neither requires food or water to take, and Natrol's fast melts dissolve in your mouth for quick absorption. 

One of the best things about melatonin is that it can keep you asleep and help you drift off. Bi-phasic tablets like the ones above from Nature's Bounty are a step up from other sleep aids because there's a layer for each stage of sleep. The first layer is fast-release to make sure you fall asleep. In contrast, the second one is formulated for extended-release that ensures you remain in dreamland. 

If pills and other oral meds aren't your style, pick up some of The Patch Brand's vitamin sleep patches. They're peel-and-stick and infused with melatonin, botanicals, and vitamin B2. Spots like your neck or wrist with veins closer to the skin will optimize subdermal absorption of the patch's sleep aid formula. 

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.

It’s not always easy to fall asleep or even stay asleep, but wearing a sleep mask can change that. Good sleep masks block out the light to ensure quality rest no matter the time of day and are comfortable enough to make you forget you’re even wearing one. So, soft, breathable materials are essential when making the ultimate selection, the most ideal being cotton or silk. We’ve put together a list of the best sleeping masks on the market to help you find your perfect one. 

For those that require total darkness to nod off, this snuggly sleep mask makes it possible. The soft cotton style has five fabric layers to diffuse light for undisturbed sleep in sunny bedrooms. For added comfort, the mask can be tailored to your head and face shape. There's an adjustable strap and a nose bridge that cinches to any nose size, conforming with a flexible wire. These features also help the mask seal the light out better. This mask can be hand washed in cool water and comes with a handy travel pouch for when you’re on the move. 

Sleep can be a stylish endeavour, and SMUG makes it possible with their colourful and patterned masks. With punchy pinks and sleepy eyes, there's a design to meet everyone's personality. Aside from the fun style possibilities, this sleeping mask prioritizes comfort; its domed shield doesn't squash eyes and keeps eyelashes from being pulled. The mask is lightweight and can be adjusted so you can find your perfect fit. The most important part is that light is no match for this mask; it blocks natural light by 100 per cent.

Sophisticated sleepers will get a taste of luxury with this silk sleep mask. The mask's smooth and soft silk construction effortlessly slides over eyes to guard eyes against the light while remaining gentle on skin. The straps are also covered in silk so they won’t get tangled up in long hair. This sleep mask comes with a travel bag and ships in a fancy gift box. This is a great option to gift yourself or a loved one.

Your sleep mask doesn't need to be the thing that keeps you up; it's supposed to help you sleep. For sensitive sleepers, masks need to be ultra-comfortable. This one is wide, padded, and considers face shape, keeping the pressure off of eyes with must-have indentions. And it’s filed using memory foam, so always keeps its shape. The outer material is made using special nylon, which is breathable and feels soft against the skin.

If you love listening to music or your favourite podcast as you drift off to sleep, then this sleep mask is ideal. Sleepers will enjoy a light-free environment and dimensional padding that keeps the fabric away from eyes. Sound is distributed by Bluetooth to the integrated speaker. Controls at the front of the mask make it possible to play and pause as well as make volume adjustments. This mask's tech features are powered by a built-in battery that will last between 8 and 14 hours. And if you're interested in getting some work done between winks, there's a built-in microphone to make or take calls.

Verdict

Sleeping masks are the ideal companion for anyone who's looking for a better night's sleep. We love the  Mavogel cotton sleep eye mask because it is lightweight, soft, and comfortable. It's adjustable and even has a flexible nose bridge that conforms for the perfect fit. 

The Zimasilk sleep mask is another top buy. The silk sleeping mask won’t only help you sleep better, but it will also do wonders for your beauty regime too. It is soft to touch, thick and extremely durable. 

Why trust us?

At Fit&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As experts, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your life. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. Our detailed product overviews balance objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is easy.

No matter how well you eat or how much you exercise to stay fit as you get older, you also need to make sure you're allowing yourself enough sleep time. Not only do we wake up in a better mood, or feel more energized after a full night's sleep, but science has found sleep is also crucial to how well our skin ages.

Some of the best vitamins for women over 50 are a great way to supplement essential nutrients that you may struggle to keep on top of as you age. However, we can't just rely on supplements to keep our skin youthful and in good nick.

This is where sleep comes in handy, and research commissioned by leading skincare brand, Estée Lauder, reveals that inadequate sleep is linked with reduced skin health and speeds up skin aging. The clinical trial was carried out by a group of physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and specifically looked into determining if skin function and appearance are impacted by poor sleep.

After gathering together a group of pre-menopausal women (aged between 30 and 49), half of which were categorized as getting poor sleep, the scientists performed skin evaluations of the participants, as well as having them undergo non-invasive skin challenge tests including UV light exposure and skin barrier disruption. In order to quantify the volume of sleep the participants got during the testing, they also had the women log their sleep for the week.

The results revealed very apparent differences in skin condition between good and poor quality sleepers within the group. Those who got poor sleep had increased signs of intrinsic skin aging, this looks like fine lines, uneven pigmentation, slackening of the skin, and less elasticity.

On the other hand, the participants who were classified as getting good quality sleep recovered 'more efficiently' from stressors to the skin. So they proved to recover quicker from sunburn, avoiding redness and inflammation, better than those who got poorer sleep. The skin of the better quality sleepers was also more effective at avoiding moisture loss. 

The researchers even found that poor quality sleep can increase your Body Mass Index (BMI), with 44% of the poor quality sleepers classed as obese compared to 23% of the good quality sleepers. Levels of self-perception were also higher among those who got better nights' sleep. 

The results from this study quite clearly highlight just how important it is for us to improve our sleep quality if we want to avoid early signs of aging skin and promote the healthy function of our skin.

Three ways to help improve your sleep

• Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique: this bedtime breathing method is also called 'relaxing breath' and essentially involves breathing in for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds, and then exhaling for eight seconds. This is supposed to instill calm in people, helping them fall asleep easier.
• Nap if you need to: going for a nap during the day doesn't mean you are lazy. According to research short naps (ones that are lower than 30 to 45 minutes) might actually improve heart health among those who sleep poorly at night.
• Invest in your sleep environment: keep where you sleep tidy and clean as this will maximize how relaxed you feel when you try to get some shut-eye. Whether this means you need to find one of the best mattress toppers to increase your comfort in bed or you just need to give your room a spring clean.

A white noise machine adds ambiance and prevents background sounds from disturbing your ability to sleep. As it stands, falling asleep is tough enough these days. Normal stressors like family schedules and needs, work responsibilities, and finances are all enough to keep you up at night. We've gathered a list of our favorite white noise machines to help you relax or sleep. Read on to check them out.  

Some people take comfort in hearing the same noise every night when they fall asleep. However, we know that approach doesn't work for everyone. Instead, choose a white noise machine like this one with 20 different sounds available. Each night you can pick something new to send you off into slumber. Plus, it has an adaptive volume feature, which allows the device to drown out background noise as it increases and decreases.

Hiding in plain sight is this white noise machine's specialty. It looks similar to an alarm clock, so it will fit nicely on your bedside table. You can use an AC outlet or batteries to power the device, allowing you to place it in the most convenient spot. There are six sounds available, most of which will perform on a loop to keep playing. Turn on the 60-minute timer and prepare to relax and drift off to sleep. 

Are the sounds of waves, rain, and chirping birds too distracting for you as you try to escape to dreamland? The Dohm Classic is a fan noise generator with a bit of customization. It has only one button on the front, making it easy enough for kids to operate. After you turn it on, you can slide the top dome and ring to modify the sound to your liking. You may also wonder if it will cause a breeze in the room, but the fan is contained inside the unit and only creates gentle noise. As a bonus, there are two volume levels—or speeds—controlled by the main button. 

It's difficult to get your baby to sleep when external noises are happening. For instance, a baby isn't going to be able to process what traffic, a garbage truck, or construction sounds are. As a solution, you can fill the nursery with soothing sounds from this white noise machine. It has a loop to clip onto the crib bar, keeping it out of baby's reach, but conveniently located for a parent to adjust. There's no timer, and while we think most will find that to be a negative, sometimes keeping a consistent noise is exactly what an infant needs to stay asleep.

With a wide customization option selection, this white noise machine is sure to fit into most households. You can choose sounds by color (white, pink, or brown), fan sounds, and natural sounds (like waves or the rainforest). After you have a sound picked out, select from eight color options, three lighting modes, and 100 dimming levels. No other option in our collection lets you tailor all the settings like this one. Finally, set a timer for one, two, or three hours, and focus on the sounds to fall asleep. 

Selecting a white noise machine

Our favorite white noise machine is the Magicteam Sound Machines white noise machine. This model is the ideal option for those not soothed by hearing the same noise each night. Select from 20 sounds that will help you relax. We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention the adaptive volume—which is not available on other models—that keeps background noise from interrupting your sleep or study time.

But let's not skip past the REACHER R2 white noise machine. You can truly make this machine what you want it to be by fiddling with a few settings. Customizations for the color, lighting mode, and brightness levels are available, making this an attractive choice.

Why trust us?

At FIt&Well, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.

Sleeping with the light on is officially a bad habit. While we all know good-quality sleep is important for our health, new research has found the environment you sleep in can influence your health and weight – for better or worse. 

Sure, we can make our beds more comfortable with mattress toppers, spritz the room with soothing lavender from our best diffusers, or even keep the weight off with cardio machines. But you need to pay particular attention to the lighting in your room if you don't want to gain any extra weight as a result of poor sleeping habits. 

The study comes from Northwestern Medicine, whose researchers set out to examine how lighting conditions affect cardiovascular function and insulin resistance during sleep. If your body becomes resistant to the effects of naturally-produced insulin, the chemical which regulates your glucose levels, those levels tend to increase – which can lead to weight gain and diabetes. 

The researchers found "the results from this study demonstrate that just a single night of exposure to moderate room lighting during sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation, which are risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome."

So, when falling asleep, make sure the blinds are closed and all sources of light are shut off, otherwise you could be at risk of elevating your blood sugar levels. Even as the evening draws in, it's best to turn down light sources.

However, that's not the only way you can improve the quality of your sleep. Sources of blue light, such as TV, phones and computers, disrupt our natural production of the sleep hormone melatonin, according to Harvard University. For a better-quality shuteye that will more effectively rest your body, ditch all sources of blue light an hour before bed.

Of course, you can also use light to improve your performance during the day and boost your mood. If you don't find you get enough regular vitamin D or sunlight during the day, a lightbox or seasonal affective disorder lamp can provide regular doses of sun-simulating light. Check out our best SAD lamps and best desk lamps guides to get started.

If you're someone who is constantly on the go then you might find you feel pretty knackered when you come to work out. This can end up cutting your exercise short or hindering your performance. Science has found a fairly simple (in theory) fix for this: allow yourself more time in bed.

Whatever your preferred form of exercise is, whether that's slipping into a pair of best running shoes and pounding the pavements after work or fitting in a solid body pump using a set of best kettlebells, we all like to feel our best when we train. If not, you can end up feeling defeated and lose motivation.

However, according to research published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal, allowing yourself more shuteye is an effective way to boost your performance during exercise, without feeling like you're having to work harder.

To reach these promising findings a group of scientists from Australia and Singapore investigated the impact of sleep extension and sleep restriction. They manipulated sleep volume across a group of competitive endurance cyclists and triathletes and tested out how this affected their time trials while pedaling on some of the best exercise bikes.

The participants were asked to undergo a series of endurance tests after having 6.5 to 7 hours sleep a night, then after 8.25 to 8.5 hours of sleep, a 30% increase. Finally, they did the test again after they were allowed just 5 hours of sleep.

The final results revealed the cyclists were significantly slower (they recorded a 3% decline from 58.8 minutes to 60.4 minutes) on the bikes after having only two nights of restricted sleep from their normal shuteye hours. Whereas they were considerably faster following three nights of extended sleep, completing their time trials on the bikes two minutes faster, this meant a 3% improvement (from 58.7 minutes to 56.8 minutes).

Regardless of how much sleep the cyclists got, the level of perceived exertion was the same but their mood and 'pyschomotor vigilance', which refers to their attention and reaction time, improved when their sleep wasn't restricted. The study summarised: “Cumulative sleep time affects performance by altering the perceived exertion of a given exercise intensity.”

The main takeaway from this is the more sleep you manage to get the less painful or exhausting your workouts should feel. This does sound like a bit of a hack for anyone struggling with burnout or lack of energy during their fitness regime.

However, increasing sleep time is easier said than done for some. You might suffer from a sleep disorder or perhaps have young children and lack the circumstances you need to snooze for longer than you wish.

The important thing is that you at least can sleep as soundly as possible when you do get to bed. This should increase the quality of sleep you get and at least you should get more hours of deep sleep as opposed to nine hours of very light disrupted sleep. 

Practicing some stretching and breathing on one of the best yoga mats can help you to nestle down into a nice sleep mode better. You should also consider investing in better bedding to increase your comfort while asleep, as some of the best mattress toppers can help boost your comfort levels.

Sleep plays a vital role in our wellbeing, keeping our minds healthy, bodies active, and helping ward off ill-health. If you have a terrible night, you know you'll feel tired the next day, but long-term sleep troubles could also cause joint pain later in life.

Sore joints can impact everyday activities and make exercising feel like too much of a challenge. There are ways around this, like taking the best supplements for joints and using low-impact workouts that are more gentle on your joints.

Of course, if there were a way to prevent the pain before it started, it'd make us far more comfortable in our later years. Helpfully, scientists are beginning to uncover the link between joint pain and the quality of your sleep.

According to a recent study published in the journal Menopause, joint pain was linked to sleep disturbances in postmenopausal women. The team explored the link between sleep apnea and multiple health and wellbeing-related symptoms, like joint pain.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that occasionally causes you to stop breathing throughout the night. As your brain notices the drop in oxygen, it briefly wakes you up to help reopen your airways.

The study's authors measured the number of times sleep apnea occurred in an hour, known as the respiratory disturbance index (RDI), in 51 older women. They found that there was a significant association "between a higher RDI and joint pain."

Meanwhile, the findings of a paper in Arthritis Care and Research didn't establish a link between joint pain and sleep apnea. Instead, the researchers showed that overall sleep quality in men over 35 affected their experience of joint pain.

Tips for better sleep to reduce joint pain

Although both studies suggest more research into the cause of these effects, you don't have to wait to improve your sleep. Using these tips for better sleep can reduce your risk of joint pain to stay comfortably active as you age.

1. Keep your sleep regular

Sticking to a schedule can help train your body to expect sleep at certain times, making it easier to drift off and wake up in the morning. If you need a reminder, most smartphones have a sleep schedule feature that'll let you know when it's time to head to bed and will automatically set the alarm for your desired wake-up time.

2. Relax and wind down before bed

If you lay down in bed and find your mind is racing, set aside a few winddown hours beforehand to help quiet your thoughts. Activities like watching TV, playing video games, or using our smartphones make it hard to shut off when we want to sleep, so take some screen downtime to read a book, take a warm bath, or roll out one of the best yoga mats and do some stretches.

3. Make the bedroom for sleep

Over the past few years, our homes have become offices, blurring the line between relaxation and work. But working from bed can make it harder to get to sleep, so find a way to separate work and leisure. Even if you're short on space, set a routine for leaving the day behind, like adjusting blinds, rearranging soft furnishings, or putting on some calming music.

4. Meditate

There are plenty of reasons to meditate every day, but the aim is to develop the connection between your mind and body. Most mindfulness-based meditations encourage you to focus on your breath, which is physically calming. But the practice also helps you focus on the present rather than getting tangled in thoughts, making it easier to shut off at night.

Getting a good night's rest is essential to how we feel the next day. That's true for all of us and is especially important for pregnant women. But if you're finding it hard to get good quality sleep, researchers have found that deep breathing exercises can help.

One of the best ways to bring some calm into your day is to roll out one of the best yoga mats and take a prenatal yoga class. This is a great way to maintain muscle strength, improve flexibility, and stay active while pregnant.

However, research published in the Indonesian journal Halaman Olahraga Nusantara found that three weeks of deep breathing exercises, similar to the techniques you practice in yoga, can improve the quality of your sleep.

The team recruited 24 pregnant women in their third trimester for the study and enrolled them in a program that combined deep breathing exercises and muscle relaxation techniques to examine the effect.

Across the three-week study, the women completed the exercises three times per week, totaling nine sessions during the trial. They also filled in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaires, standardized forms for self-reporting information about their sleep, before and after the experiment.

After analyzing the data, the team found that "progressive muscle relaxation and slow deep breathing has an effect on improving the sleep quality of pregnant women in the third trimester."

Although this study looked at the effect during the final trimester, the authors suggest that starting these relaxation techniques earlier in your pregnancy may have a more beneficial effect as it allows your body to adapt to the routines.

You don't need to spend many sleepless hours focusing on your breath to start feeling the benefits either. This one-minute breathing exercise can help reduce stress and relax your muscles, whether you're about to turn in or want a calm start to the day.

It's also very similar to mindfulness meditation, which helps you bring attention to your breath and encourages you to focus on the present moment. Whether you choose to meditate every day or more casually, it can help you unwind and find a sense of calm.

If you'd prefer some movement, there's also evidence that prenatal yoga can increase feelings of calm, improve your mental wellbeing, feel better throughout the day and more prepared for when its time for your baby to arrive.

If you want to make exercising a habit, scheduling your training makes it easier to turn it into a regular practice. You might already have a preference for the time of day, but new research has found that early-morning training can negatively impact your sleep.

Waking up to fit in a pre-work session can be a challenge, especially during the darker winter months, which is why many of us invest in the best sunrise alarm clocks for an effective but gentle start to the day.

However, rising at this time to begin your day with some physical activity might be costing you 10 minutes of sleep each night, according to new research published in the journal Nutrients.

Interestingly, the team wasn't specifically looking at the impact of morning exercise on sleep. Instead, they wanted to explore the effect training in the morning or evening has on your overall energy levels, including how much you burn and what you eat.

However, they found that both exercise groups lost similar amounts of weight and ate almost the same amount of calories, a measure of energy intake. The differences were so slight that the team noticed just a 21-calorie reduction in the afternoon group.

While analyzing the data gathered throughout the 15-week study, the authors discovered that participants in the morning exercise group slept 10 minutes less than they had before.

This contrasts with the evening exercisers, who typically got an extra 30 minutes of sleep each day. The researchers noted that this is because those in the morning group "appeared to sleep earlier at night, but also woke up earlier to engage in exercise."

Meanwhile, those training later in the day "appeared to sleep earlier at night and wake up later during the exercise intervention." Although these findings seemed to have little impact on the results here, sleep plays a vital role in our post-workout recovery.

This trial only lasted 15 weeks, just under four months, but long-term changes to your sleep can have a substantial effect. For instance, some research has found that getting a good night's sleep reduces the risk of cardiac stress during exercise.

But this downtime is also when our bodies repair themselves. The results of this latest study suggest that exercising in the evening gives you the best chance at effective recovery and better performance in your next training session.

However, although you can optimize your activity using these findings, ultimately, some exercise is better than none. If you only have time in the morning, then it's still worth sticking to your schedule.

Plus, knowing that it may impact your sleep, you can wear one of the best fitness trackers to keep tabs on your shuteye. If you're finding that exercising first thing means you have less sleep, you can adjust your routine so that you head to bed earlier instead.

Aside from training and diet, sleep is perhaps the third most important part of an athlete's training schedule and Olympic athlete, Greg Rutherford, makes no exceptions for this. He recently said that sleep is his 'superpower' and shared how you can improve your own sleep.

Rutherford is all for creating a nice and relaxing sleep environment. Perhaps some of you already taking action on this and have yourself one of the best mattress toppers from our guide. Maybe you light a candle, or plug in one of the best diffusers for essential oils, to create a more zen sleep setting.

But you may still have bad habits getting in the way of you experiencing a fuller night's sleep. And according to research, this isn't uncommon. Bed specialist Dreams, the official sleep partner to Team GB, revealed in a study that just 27% of UK adults have a bedtime routine. In addition to these numbers, they found that the average person only gets around five hours of quality sleep a night.

Rutherford claims that having a bedtime routine is essential for him if he wants to get a good night's sleep. If you don't know exactly what a healthy bedtime routine could involve, the Olympian compares it to mirroring a child's bedtime routine.

Watch Greg Rutherford's top sleep tips below:

“As an athlete, sleep is up there with being one of the most important elements in influencing our performance, whether in training or just before a competition. But as we can see from the research, many adults are struggling with a good routine and they aren’t quite nailing a good night’s sleep – which isn’t good.

"Sleep is our superpower! Having a bedtime routine is an essential part of my evening - I call it my ‘reverse warm up’ and it follows a similar structure to my kids’ routines," stated Rutherford.

Moreover, if you want to form a routine to help you wind down and feel sleepy, blue light is a big no-no. The study also found that adults have an average of 23 minutes staring at their screens before putting their head to pillow. If you are guilty of late-night scrolling or just struggle with sleep in general, read Rutherford's top tips for improving sleep below. If you struggle to wake up, check out our list of the best sunrise alarm clocks to ease you into your day. 

1. 45 minutes no screen time: This stops you from getting distracted by notifications and will help prevent your brain from 'whirring' according to Rutherford.
2. Have a warm bath: This can encourage your body to go into a relaxation mode, and helps soothe your muscles -  especially after exercise.
3. Listen to relaxing music: This is good if you feel like you aren't going to switch off easily. The Olympian opts for relaxing tunes to help him drift off.
4. Read a book: This is another trick for unwinding and keeping a book or two by your bed acts as a friendly reminder.
5. Use a lavender pillow spray: Rutherford said that him and his children use this often. It's also good to take when you are sleeping elsewhere so that things feel more like home.
6. Organise your bedroom: Getting things sorted a couple of hours before bed saves too much activity before bed that could risk making you more awake.

Why do we need to spend a third of our lives unconscious? Scientists have been puzzling over that particular fact for centuries. However, what we do know is that without adequate rest, our body and mind cannot function properly, especially for several nights on the trot. 

This is especially prevalent during exercise. If you use one of the best fitness watches or best fitness trackers, you'll be able to look back on all your data and cross-reference your nights of poor sleep with your workout performance, and we're willing to bet you're not hitting any PBs after just three or four hours of sleep. However, consecutive nights of poor sleep don't just result in bad workouts – it could mean your exercise induces more cardiac stress, damaging your heart. 

Research from Uppsala University studied participants who underwent an intense bout of exercise. One group did the exercise after a normal amount of sleep, and the others after three nights of 'curtailed' sleep. The research found higher levels of a protein known as troponin in the hearts of the participants who had less sleep. This protein is usually found in very high levels during cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks. 

Exercising is obviously good for your heart in a general sense, and a temporary lack of sleep is unlikely to do much long-term damage. However, chronic, long-term lack of sleep, or shift work, places undue pressure on the heart. 

Jonathan Cedernaes, associate professor at Uppsala University, writes that it's "possible that a more pronounced lack of sleep in the long run can increase the relative risk that the heart is injured in some way by more intense exercise."

Lack of sleep can also cause you to steer clear of the healthy whole grains, high-protein and high-fibre foods you should be using to fuel your workout, and instead opt for dopamine-inducing junk food. Research from the American Heart Association found poor sleep quality was associated with greater food intake and lower‐quality diet, which can increase cardiovascular disease risk. In addition, eating foods with a lower nutritional value will fuel your workouts much less effectively, as you won't have as much energy to give.

The solution? Better sleep. It's tough for many with conditions such as insomnia or even those who have to work shifts to get by, but take steps to improve the quality of your sleep when you can.

Meditation just before bed can relax the body and mind for better bedrest, while the old wives' tale of drinking a glass of milk before bed is actually true – milk contains tryptophan, an amino acid which can help you relax, produce serotonin and sleep better. Milk also contains casein, a slow-release protein found in our best protein powders for weight loss guide, which can help your body recover during the night. Our best diffusers for essential oils list can also help lull you to sleep with periodic spritzes of lavender.

Strength training and stretching are two of the most beneficial things we can do for our body. Strength training helps build our muscles, keep us strong and undoes the age-related process of muscular atrophy, while stretching improves our range of motion, encourages blood flow and keeps us supple. 

However, one common thread between these two practices, despite them both dealing with our muscles, is that they help you sleep. It's worth keeping a set of the best adjustable dumbbells and your best yoga mat by your bed. 

The research comes from a study published in the Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry and examines resistance training and stretching's effects on patients with chronic insomnia. Studying a group of insomniacs over four months, the cohort was split into three groups: a control group, a resistance training group, and a stretching group. 

The researchers write: "The results suggest no significant differences between four-month resistance exercise vs. stretching for improving insomnia severity and objective and subjective sleep in patients with chronic insomnia.

"However, both the resistance exercise and stretching treatments led to significantly greater effects than in the control group," indicating both kinds of exercise resulted in better sleep, and they were as good as each other. 

Other research has since confirmed "muscle-induced factors are likely to contribute to the sleep-promoting effects of exercise". Need to drop off? Make sure you work those muscles.

There are other ways to get your muscles to relax. For example, the best foam roller is one way to dig into your muscles to ensure they're fully relaxed and there's no tightness after a particularly demanding gym session. Using a foam roller to iron out any knots in your muscles is a bit like getting a massage – painful at the time, but the resulting comfort should ensure deeper sleep.

The past few years have been unusual, to say the least. Amid all the change, your sleep has probably taken a hit too. Many of us feel less rested than before, with knock-on effects throughout the day. But with just a few tweaks, you can get back on track.

Since early 2020, we swapped the gym with the best workout equipment for home to stay active, even during the most intense stay at home orders. But this enforced downtime inevitably altered our sleep patterns.

A review of 177 pandemic-era research papers published in The Lancet found that it wasn't just you; 18% of us had trouble sleeping. This lack of high-quality shuteye was associated with increased anxiety and depression too.

To keep us company, we turned to our smartphones to stay connected with the digital world. Similarly, work boundaries started to blur as many of us took up remote working, sometimes even using our beds as makeshift office space.

According to The Sleep Foundation, the blue light from our screens lowers the amount of the sleep hormone melatonin we produce. You can counter this by reducing screen time or by setting aside an hour or two before bed without them at all.

Despite the potential downsides to spending a lot of time at home, a recent study found that these new habits and routines might actually be the key to getting a better night's sleep.

The researchers recruited over 130 participants in their twenties to look at the effect of the so-called new normal, a blend of virtual and in-person work, education, and social events.

Compared to a pre-pandemic control group, the new normal cohort slept 1.8 hours longer and had 1.3 hours less sleep debt. The authors suggest this is because we now have greater flexibility when arranging our schedules.

Not only did the participants sleep better, but these new routines meant they ate dinner earlier, too, giving more time for digestion before bed. This has other positive effects as previous research established a link between later eating and increased body fat.

Notably, this study recruited college students. Your experience will vary depending on your circumstances, so the new normal might not be enough to fix your broken sleep. But there are other tweaks you can make.

One method is to practice sleep hygiene, which helps you create a routine and space to guide you towards sleep. There's no one-size-fits-all approach, so it's worth experimenting to find what works for you.

If you're looking for somewhere to start, your bedroom's wall color could be affecting your sleep, and you might want to adjust when you work out too. These smaller interventions come together to make a sleep-ready environment.

Some people also find that wearing one of the best fitness trackers overnight helps make sense of your early morning grogginess. These wrist-worn devices monitor your sleep, and you can pore over the data on your smartphone.

If, despite your best efforts, you're struggling to wake up in the morning, adding one of the best sunrise alarm clocks to your bedside can help. These lamps mimic natural light to ease you out of sleep, allowing for a calmer, more gradual wakeup call. 

Most of us go into the new year with small or large things that we wish to improve. Some of us might want to increase our fitness abilities, some might want to learn to cook better or healthier, while others might want to ensure they get enough sleep every night. Findings from a recent sleep review have revealed that improving your sleep could be an easy fix.

Having a comfortable bed will be number one on many people's list of priorities when arranging a bedroom. You might already have things like one of the best mattress toppers to provide extra comfort when getting some shut-eye. But the actual setup of your bedroom might be what's letting the quality of your sleep down.

A recent survey carried out by Sleep Junkie, a sleep and review platform, looked into how your bedroom could be responsible for affecting your sleep schedule. 

Surveying 1,000 Americans the sleep experts found have revealed that those who push their bed against a wall with the door to their side, place their TV across from the bed, and have purple painted bedroom walls are more likely to have a better night's sleep.

Three-quarters (75%) of those who slept like this achieved the optimal rest. Whereas, participants who placed their bed opposite the door, parallel to the window slept the worst. 

The study concluded that beige and yellow walls were the worst when it came to getting a good night's sleep, meanwhile purple and blue appeared to help people get a better night's sleep. Only 12% of respondents with purple walls reported having a bad night’s sleep. 

If you worry that your bed isn't big enough to provide you with the best sleeping conditions, don't be concerned. The study respondents didn't reveal a significant relationship between having a large bed and getting better quality sleep.

A sleep expert behind the study, Christine Lapp explained that many factors can impact the quality of your sleep but arranging your room in a certain way may just be your ticket to a long and restful night of sleep.

"Set your bed up in such a way that the TV is at your feet (or move the TV out of your bedroom completely), and have a window and door on either side of the bed, respectively," she said.

“Then, paint your bedroom walls a purple or blue hue, get yourself a single or twin mattress (or dedicate part of your larger mattress as your sleeping section), make your bed every morning, and of course, clean your room!"

Of course, not everyone will be keen to paint their walls as bold a color as purple or blue so perhaps using one of the best sunrise alarm clocks might be a good way around this. Many of them include settings that allow you to project colors into your room (saving a hefty paint job) and dim as you fall asleep.

Another way you can make your room a better environment for sleeping in is by using one of the best diffusers for essential oils. There is a vast selection of oils to choose from that can increase feelings of calm, relaxation, and restfulness.

For some, bedtime is their favorite time of the day meanwhile others dread lights out. Sleep disorders are more common now and it is important that you try and avoid developing one or aim to reduce the symptoms of one as it can lead to greater health implications.

Protecting your health as best as possible as you grow old is crucial to living a long and healthy life. Investing in equipment to keep you fit like a best treadmill can be a great help for any adult looking to lengthen their lifespan. An exercise machine like this can aid weight loss, boosting your metabolic rate, it can increase mobility and strength, and can improve heart health.

But maintaining good health also has a strong association with the quality of your sleep. A new study published in the European Respiratory journal reveals that sleep can have a significant impact on your likelihood of developing heart problems and risk of death.

A research team from Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute: Sleep Health used a large US-based dataset of more than 5000 adults aged 60 or over to understand the health risks related to sleep-related disorders - specifically insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea (COMISA).

Note, the study uses the word COMISA to define if both sleep conditions were present.

The researchers discovered that those with COMISA were twice as likely to have high blood pressure as well as being at a 70% greater risk of developing heart disease than participants with neither of the sleep disorders.

In addition to this, they also found that participants with COMISA were 47% more likely to die (for any reason) than the participants without insomnia or sleep apnoea. This accounted for other factors that are known to increase mortality.

If sleep is something that you struggle with, regardless of the severity of this, there are ways to try and improve the quality of your sleep. Fit&Well spoke to sleep expert and chartered physiotherapist, Sammy Margo to find out some useful tips and tricks for improving your sleep.

A sleep expert's guide to improving your sleep

• Rhythm and Routine:  Sammy explained that as humans our bodies love going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. She said that sticking to the same rhythm and routine can be made easier with a smartwatch, such as the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3, to track your sleep and identify patterns in your sleep. 
• Day light: Sammy informed us that a lack of sunlight exposure can lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) at this time of year which can make us feel sluggish. Morning exposure to daylight has been linked to good sleep and research has shown that those who were exposed to more daylight during the morning hours experienced better sleep, fell asleep more quickly and had less sleep disturbance.
• Sleep Position: Just like sitting at your desk is a posture, so is sleeping. Make sure that your mattress suits your sleeping position explained Sammy. If your mattress is more than 8 years old it will have deteriorated by 75% so it may be time to get a new one if you can. Along with your mattress, you may also need to add a comfy best mattress topper to soften the landing if it’s too hard or a cooling topper if it’s too hot.

While it can be tempting to stay up late over the festive period partying, baking festive treats, or watching your favorite Christmas movie, it is important that you don't sacrifice your sleep schedule for this. Science has found that sleep health and gut health are closely linked.

Another factor that can disturb your sleep schedule over winter is the lack of natural sunlight available to help you wake in the morning. Fortunately, you can use a best sunrise alarm clock as a substitute for this, it aims to work with the body's natural circadian rhythm to help your wake-up period feel more organic.

Scientists from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) conducted research to find out more about the relationship between our insides and our quality of sleep. The research team discovered that a poor night's sleep can negatively impact your gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome is essentially all of the microorganisms (viruses, fungi, bacteria and protozoa) and their genetic material found inside your gastrointestinal tract (also known as the digestive tract).

Eve Kalinik, Nutritional Therapist and Gut Health Specialist for KÄLLA probiotics said, "The human microbiome refers to the collection of all microbes including bacteria, fungi, viruses and their genetic material, that live in and on us. We have several different microbiome communities residing on places such as our skin and mouth, with the largest being in the gut."

The research team from NSU found that those who had a better night's sleep had more diverse gut microbiomes, which means they had better gut health.

Nutritional Therapist and gut-health specialist, Eve Kalinik explained, "Our gut is often referred to as our ‘second brain’ as it is in constant communication with both the brain and the central nervous system, helping to regulate many processes in the body including our sleep."

Our gut microbiome has its own daily rhythms that feed into our circadian rhythms, affecting our sleep or vice versa, this means one has the ability to interrupt the other. 

However, there are ways to recentre our 'biological beat' and avoid experiencing gut-related symptoms, getting sick, or our emotional wellbeing (the gut can also significantly affect your mood).

Ways to create a better gut-sleep relationship

1. Timing is everything - Time Restricted Eating (TRE) has been positively linked with aiding our circadian rhythms as it allows your gut to clean itself out and create a good gut-sleep cycle. Kalinik recommends leaving a 12 to 15-hour period of not eating or drinking anything other than water.
2. Eat the rainbow - Make sure your diet is full of color and diversity, with vegetables and fruits, as well as whole grains, nuts and seeds, as these all provide brilliant sources of fibre and polyphenols, which are crucial ‘food’ for our gut microbiome. 
3. Gentle movement - A lack of physical exercise and sitting for long periods can have a negative impact on the way you sleep and your gut health. But it’s best to avoid high-intensity exercise late into the evening as this can spike cortisol, but walking in natural light first thing in the morning is great as it can help to support our circadian rhythm.

And if you want to make sure you are creating the best sleep environment possible to match up a healthy sleep cycle with a healthy gut, then a best mattress topper is a good way to maximise comfort at bedtimes.

For many of us, it's practical to exercise in the evenings. But there's a lot to squeeze into your post-work hours, like eating dinner, socializing, and getting some high-quality rest.

If you've been using one of the best fitness trackers to monitor your wellbeing, you may have already made changes to improve your sleep. But there could be an essential factor left to consider; your workout. 

According to a review of published research, how you train may influence how you sleep later on. The authors analyzed 14 studies from between 2010 and 2018 to make a surprising discovery.

To most people, it would make sense to train hard to tire yourself out or to take a calming yoga class to get a restful night. But the review suggests that moderate exercise like Pilates is actually best.

The studies in the review didn't only encourage exercise in the evening to get these effects. One of the papers found that walking an extra 500 steps per week improved sleep quality for menopausal women. 

There was also evidence that walking was an effective way for all ages to get better rest overnight. There were also improvements following more active pastimes like roller skating, basketball, and running.

However, Pilats was conclusively the most effective way to get better sleep. In one study, researchers found that a 30-minute Pilates workout "showed a significant improvement in subjective sleep quality."

Pilates and yoga are similar practices to many people, but there are a few key differences. Both help you focus on the connection between your mind and body, but the methods they use are different. 

Yoga is typically more focused on improving flexibility, while Pilates targets your core. Similarly, Pilates classes are generally more active, though you can find intense yoga sessions and calmer Pilates routines. 

This beginner Pilates flow workout is an ideal option if you're unsure where to start. To get you used to the practice, it is slower and more focused on your breath than most classes. 

Over time, you might choose to add accessories like a yoga block of the best resistance bands, but Pilates is generally an equipment-free way to train so that you can do it anywhere, at any time. 

The only thing you need is one of the best yoga mats. These prevent your knees or arms from leaning directly on the floor for a more comfortable experience. Many of these great mats have non-slip surfaces too. 

Whether your goal is to improve performance or burn fat, we want our exercise to be as efficient as possible. You can make plenty of adjustments, like the time of day you train or the muscles you work.

To keep track of how these changes impact your training, it's worth wearing one of the best fitness watches. These wrist-worn trackers can monitor your sleep, track workouts, and keep an eye on your heart.

If you're after another way to shake up your training, Sleep Low-Train Low (SLTL) is just what you need. According to a new study published in PLoS One, it can improve performance, even while working out at home.

The researchers recruited 55 cyclists and enrolled them in a three-week remote SLTL exercise program. This included three cycles of high-intensity training in an evening with low-intensity exercise the following morning. 

By the end of the study period, there were improvements across almost all performance measures. But before you start to schedule your training, SLTL requires some unique planning. 

To get the benefits of this training style, you need to adjust when you consume carbohydrates. This is common for runners, with pre-breakfast exercise recommended for long-distance training. 

If you haven't eaten anything, then your supplies of carbs will be low. Without ready access to carbs, your body uses fat to power your workout, and intentionally withholding them trains your body to default to your fat stores. 

This macronutrient plays a vital role in your body, as it is broken down into sugar to give you energy. One of those sugars, glycogen, is stored in your muscles for immediate access during workouts. 

SLTL blends these two approaches. For the study, the cyclists would eat a typical breakfast and lunch, train intensely in the afternoon, then eat a low-carb dinner before bed. 

First thing in the morning, without eating anything, the group participated in low-intensity training. This cycle was repeated three times each week to achieve the study's results. 

If restricting carbs helps to burn fat, then you may be wondering why you'd want to train in this way at all. A long-term low-carb diet prepares your body to burn fat, but it also decreases the amount of glycogen in your muscles. 

Despite our negative perception of sugar, it plays a vital role in powering our bodies. In particular, it's a very efficient and quick way to release energy for high-intensity exercise. 

Instead of permanently restricting carbs, SLTL selectively adjusts when you eat them. This helps switch to fat-burning for endurance exercise but prevents entirely turning off your sugar supplies. 

Restricting carb intake makes most people feel exhausted and can be problematic if you have medical or health conditions. So, it's always worth consulting a healthcare professional before taking on SLTL. 

However, as a guide, the study participants consumed 2g of carbs per kg of bodyweight at breakfast, lunch, and a snack, before cutting down to 0g at post-HIIT at dinner. 

You can use several of the best fitness apps to keep track of what you've been eating throughout the day, and options like MyFitnessPal offer a breakdown of nutrient content too. 

While there's growing evidence to support the benefits of SLTL if you're looking for a more straightforward way to burn fat, invest in some of the best workout equipment for home. 

These home gym staples help you pack in cardio workouts and resistance training sessions without leaving the house. Plus, accessories like foam rollers can help you tackle post-workout DOMS too. 

Exercise is often associated with helping you to sleep but new research shows intense workouts before bedtime using the best online personal trainer and fitness apps may not be the key to a good night’s rest.

A new meta-analysis by researchers at Concordia University, published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews, assessed data from 15 published studies to see how a single session of intense exercise affects young and middle-aged healthy adults in the hours before bedtime.

And while no two people are the same, the researchers did find that a combination of factors can enhance or lessen the effects of exercise on sleep.

Exercise and sleep: what the studies showed

The researchers ran a statistical analysis that examined variables such as the timing of exercise - early evening or late evening - and the hours between finishing exercise and bedtime - less than two hours, around two hours, and two to four hours.

Other variables included the participants’ fitness level (sedentary or physically active) and the intensity and duration of the exercises. They also analyzed how specific types of exercise influence sleep.

“Overall, our analysis showed that when the exercise ended two hours before bedtime, there were sleep benefits, including the promotion of sleep onset and increased sleep duration,” says the study’s lead author Emmanuel Frimpong.

“On the other hand, when exercise ended less than two hours before bedtime, sleep was negatively impacted. It took longer for participants to fall asleep and sleep duration decreased.”

“Based on our review, for healthy adults with no history of sleep disorders, evening exercises should be performed in the early evening, if possible,” concludes Frimpong.

Further analysis showed that working out for between 30 and 60 minutes improved sleep onset and duration and cycling on the best exercise bikes was found to benefit participants most in terms of onset and deep sleep.

When choosing when to work out, you also need to consider whether you are a morning or evening person. For example, the researchers noted that performing a HIIT workout right before bed might lead to sleep disturbance for morning-type people.

If you’ve found yourself struggling to sleep after an intense workout, push your workout time to around two hours before bedtime to see if that helps.

Difficulty sleeping? You’re not alone. You may have tried to cut down on caffeine, bought a sleep aid, such as the best diffuser for essential oils or best mattress toppers, or stopped using screens right before bed. But according to research, one factor that impacts sleep may be out of your control: aging.

Sleep changes related to aging happen gradually, and earlier than you might think. A study published in the journal Sleep Medicine Clinics suggests that sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to get to sleep) increases between late teens and twenties, remains constant from age 30 to 50 years, and then increases steadily in the over 50s.

It’s not just trouble getting to sleep that becomes an issue as you get older. The research also shows that as we age, less time is spent in deep, dreamless sleep, and waking up during the night is more common.   

Many of these changes occur due to changes in the body’s internal clock. The internal clock controls 24-hour daily cycles, called circadian rhythms. Studies show that as we get older, the mechanisms that control the circadian rhythms become less robust, directly influencing when people feel tired and alert.

How to improve your sleep

The good news is, there are simple steps you can to improve your sleep at any age. Cutting out afternoon stimulants like caffeine and resisting the need for a daytime nap is a good place to start.

Studies found that older people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and report better quality of sleep. A review of studies found moderate-intensity exercise programs, with a frequency of three times per week, showed the highest number of significant improvements in sleep outcomes in older adults.

Spending time outdoors really helps too. Sunlight helps your body to produce melatonin, which regulates your sleep cycle. Try to get at least two hours of exposure to daylight every day, but take precautions with SPF. If it is difficult to get outside, consider buying one of the best SAD lamps.

Try making changes in your sleep and lifestyle habits to get a good night’s sleep. If that doesn’t help, talk to your doctor to check for an underlying cause of your sleep disturbance. 

As we age sleep becomes more and more important. Sleep is essential for good health whether that be or our cognitive performance or our energy levels or how it affects our mood and mental health. Scientists have recently revealed that the time we go to sleep can also play a big role in our heart health.

Many of you will already try to optimize your sleeping quality by sleeping on top of a best mattress topper in order to have as comfy a night's sleep as possible. Of course, it is beneficial to invest in ways to up your quality of sleep but it can also be important to take not of when you are getting into your bed to get some shut-eye.

Researchers at the University of Exeter have published a study in the European Heart Journal which found going to sleep between 10:00 and 11:00 pm could be more effective at lowering the risk of heart disease than going to your bed either earlier or later than these times.

They conducted the study across 88,026 Brits aged between 43 and 79, with an average age of 61 across the group. They gathered general health data from the participants first. To gain as accurate results as possible the sleep results weren't self-reported but rather accumulated via a wrist-worn accelerometer.   

Looking to identify how many developed cardiovascular disease, the scientists discovered that 3,172 of the participants developed cardiovascular disease. This was highest among those who went to sleep at midnight or later.

There was a 25% greater risk of cardiovascular disease for those who went to sleep at midnight or later, a 12% higher risk for those who had a bedtime between 11:00 and 11:59, and a 24% higher risk for those who fell asleep earlier than 10:00 pm. A deeper look into the study results found that overall, women were most at risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study author, Dr. David Plans proposed why the risk was slightly higher for women. Part of his reasoning suggests that this could be due to the fact that many of the women in the study could be around the age of going through menopause - something else that increases cardiovascular risk for women. 

If you are at this stage in womanhood yourself we have a list of the best menopause supplements to help ease various symptoms.

However, the main focus of the study was sleep and it concludes that going to bed between 10:00 and 11:00 pm could be best for us to avoid developing heart disease.

Dr Plans explained, "Our study indicates that the optimum time to go to sleep is at a specific point in the body's 24-hour cycle and deviations may be detrimental to health. The riskiest time was after midnight, potentially because it may reduce the likelihood of seeing morning light, which resets the body clock."

If you find that you miss out on seeing sunlight in the morning due to when you wake or perhaps it is darker where you live depending on the season, then a best sunrise alarm clock is a good way to give yourself a more natural awakening with light that mimics the sun.

Everyone has experienced a sleepless night at some point in their life and will know how lethargic and slow the next day can feel. And while science has previously discovered that lack of sleep sleep can impact how well we perform cognitive tasks -  more recent research suggests it can also impact how you walk.

Wearing a best fitness tracker on your wrist is a really helpful way to track the length and quality of sleep. Yet, while a smart wearable can also inform you on your step count and mileage, it won't directly tell you what your walking pattern looks like. Better yet, how your volume of sleep affects this.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of São Paulo in Brazil conducted a study looking specifically into how quantity of sleep can affect how well, or perhaps not so well, we control our gait. Gait is a person's pattern of walking.

The scientists recruited a group of students to wear watches, which tracked when and how much they slept for a period of two weeks. In order to get an accurate recording of the participants’ natural sleep cycle the scientists offered no instruction on how much they should sleep. 

Most of the students slept for around six hours per day and the ones who didn’t made up for this on the weekends. A collection of the group was asked to pull an all-nighter on the last evening of the fourteen day period. 

After the fortnight ended, each student stepped onto a treadmill set at the same speed and walked to the beat of a metronome (a device designed to mark exact time by a regularly repeated pulse), which the scientists secretly raised and lowered the speed of.

Looking closely at when the participants feet hit the treadmill in line with the beat, they found that errors were much more significant for those with acute sleep deprivation. Beeps were missed, rhythm was off, and the overall performance was poorer.

The most surprising result was discovered when the scientists compared those who didn’t pull an all-nighter. The students who performed better in the walking tests were those who compensated and caught up with sleep on the weekends, despite the test falling at the end of the week.

Hermano Krebs, principal research scientist in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering said, "The results show that gait is not an automatic process, and that it can be affected by sleep deprivation.

"They also suggest strategies for mitigating effects of sleep deprivation. Ideally, everyone should sleep eight hours a night. But if we can't, then we should compensate as much and as regularly as possible."

Not everyone is capable of consistently getting eight hours sleep but the study results suggest even catching up with sleep on the weekends can be beneficial toward your daily strides.

We can also do small things to create a nicer sleep environment that in turn might help us sleep longer. How about adding a best mattress topper to your bed for ultimate comfort when your head hits the pillow.

More and more adults are tuning back in to the soothing nature of bedtime stories. Apps such as Calm and Headspace feature sleep stories, often read by famous voices such as Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Eva Green and others, designed to help adults drift off to sleep.

If you've not tried it, we recommend you grab your favorite pair of noise-cancelling headphones (our best workout earbuds guide is a good place to start for these) and try one for deeper sleep. Research by mattress company Simba found that 13% of 2,000 UK respondents found listening to something before bed more relaxing than reading a book.

Once you're ready for bed, we've got a great first sleep story for you to try, especially if you're a One Direction fan. In aid of World Mental Health Day, Niall Horan teamed up with apparel company Gym+Coffee to release his reading of Following the River Thames, a bedtime story from writer Phoebe Smith.

Check it out below:

Listen to Niall Horan's sleep story here:

"I'll be guiding you on a journey along the River Thames, from its source to the sea," Niall begins. In a statement on the Gym+Coffee site, he states: "With many struggling to sleep during these crazy times of the past 18 months, I was keen to get involved in Gym+Coffee’s initiative and help in any way possible. It’s really amazing to watch World Mental Health Day grow and we can clearly see a path for change." 

Even though listening to sleep stories is becoming an increasingly common, soothing mindfulness practice, Calm's head of sleep stories Chris Advansun reportedly came across the phenomenon by accident. In an interview with Today, he said: “What tipped us off was so much meditation content being consumed at night... That’s part of what inspired the idea."

Using guided meditations to fall asleep is just one way to improve your bedrest. You can ease yourself into sleep using soothing scents such as lavender, which studies have found leads to better quality of sleep after two weeks of using the scent. Our best diffusers for essential oils can often be set on timers, allowing for puffs of the relaxing scents to be emitted at regular intervals during the night.

Is your bed too lumpy, or too hard? You can also try one of our best mattress toppers for an instant improvement without shelling out for an entirely new mattress. 

Working out helps you sleep better – that much is a given. Expending energy during the day means you'll get better bedrest at night, as your body has to recover from the effort of exercise. 

Whether you're hitting the gym in the morning, using the best adjustable dumbbells at home after work, or going running at night, exercise is generally a good thing: you're getting active, losing weight, or working on your endurance. However, there could be such a thing as optimum timings when it comes to working out to get better sleep. 

Research from scientists at Concordia University analysed data from 15 previously published studies to try and identify patterns between people who worked out for a single session and how that session affected their sleep. 

Melodee Mograss, a cognitive neuropsychologist, wrote: "When we reviewed the literature on this work, we found that there were a lot of mixed results. Some depended on the time of exercise, others on the fitness level of a study's participants, or even the type of exercise."

However, the researchers eventually found that when exercise ended two hours before bedtime, there were noticeable sleep benefits across the board. This included a faster onset time of sleep, and longer sleep duration. Want to fall asleep quickly and sleep longer, deeper and better? Work out – and finish – at least two hours before sleep, and do so at a moderate-to-intense effort.

More ways to improve your sleep

If you're still struggling to fall asleep, a calming lavender scent can also help you drift off. It's not pseudoscience: one study found lavender scents improved sleep hygiene in college students. You can place a dab of lavender oil on the pillowcase, or disperse it into the air with one of the best diffusers for essential oils. Get comfy too, with our list of the best mattress toppers.

Pick your diet carefully, too: excessive portions of junk food in the evening are only likely to cause gastro-intestinal distress overnight. Eat smaller, easily-digested healthy meals in the evening to ensure your sleep isn't disturbed. Almonds, oats, poultry and even cheese – which has traditionally been thought to give you nightmares – actually contain sleep-promoting tryptophan, which can help your bedrest. 

When you work out, make sure you factor in resistance training too: One study found lifting weights improved the quality of sleep in a large sample size of German adults. 

A lot of people use a nightcap – a quick sip of an alcoholic drink or two – to send them off into a good night's sleep. Likewise, the other sure way to feel drowsy is a big dinner, loading your body with lots of calories at once, which is sometimes called a "food coma". However, unhealthy eating habits and alcohol is only likely to make your sleep worse. 

The best mattress toppers and mindfulness aids like the best diffuser for essential oils can help you drift off. However, a new study says that to really get better sleep, you need to ditch the booze and make sure you're maintaining a healthy diet.

Research from the University of Eastern Finland measured sleep-time heart rate variability on 252 overweight, psychologically distressed adults, before and after a short diet intervention consisting of a healthy eating pattern and no alcohol. Unsurprisingly, they found a healthier lifestyle was associated with better physiological recovery during sleep. 

Not only did the participants actually sleep better, but their bodies were better able to repair themselves during sleep.

We don't know exactly why humans need to spend a third of their lives asleep, and for years, people have been trying to find ways to shorten their sleep time while remaining healthy and productive. But apart from a few outliers, it can't be done. We need a sufficient amount of good quality sleep to function at our best, mentally and physically. If it means skipping a few beers and eating salad rather than a burger a few times a week, we're all for it.

The effect is likely cumulative. Less alcohol and a healthier diet means weight loss, which is likely to reduces instances and risks of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea, which is what happens when your breathing starts and stops during the night due to obstruction, is more common in overweight and obese people. Less obstruction means better sleep.

You're also more likely to be moving more if you're healthier, and exercise is associated with fewer sleep problems according to John Hopkins University. Even walking for weight loss can help, and as a low-intensity exercise, it's a great way to get started. All you need is half an hour, some comfortable clothes, and a pair of the best walking shoes to get started.

Between work, social events, and catching up on the latest season of our favorite show, it can be hard to get enough sleep each night. But even if we head to bed with plenty of time to rest, getting high-quality shuteye might still evade us as thoughts rattle around our minds. 

Consequently, waking up the following day is a real struggle, which is why so many of us rely on our phones – or perhaps the best sunrise alarm clocks – to get us out of bed. Sunrise clocks work by shining artificial sunlight while playing a more soothing alarm tone than you're used to on your phone. While that works in the short term, it's better to find a way to sleep restfully instead, so wake up refreshed and ready to go instead of groggy. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of free sleep aids out there, including some of the videos posted on the popular YouTube channel, ASMR Glow. One newly-released video, 'ASMR You will sleep in 10 minutes', is designed to help you relax and slip into the early moments of rest.

Sharon Dubois, the YouTuber behind the videos, practices the art of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), soft noises which cause pleasant tingles on your scalp, neck, and back. 

Across the 10 minutes, Dubois uses breathy, whispered words to help you drift off, but also other ASMR techniques, like echos, hand movements, and tapping. Similarly, she intermittently strokes the fluffy microphone cover to create a delicate sound.

As the audio is such an essential part of ASMR videos, it's worth investing in a set of the best workout earbuds for high-quality sound in various environments. 

Watch (or listen) to the ASMR video here:

Does ASMR really work?

Critics of the form used to suggest this was a bit unscientific, but a study published in 2018 found that people affected by ASMR had significantly lower heart rates while watching these videos. This is one of the critical reasons ASMR can help you sleep better. 

According to Dr. Giulia Poerio, one of the authors, the reductions in heart rate were "comparable to other research findings on the physiological effects of stress-reduction techniques such as music and mindfulness."

Alongside this physical response, the participants noted increases in positive emotions, including relaxation and feelings of social connection. While this is a great way to relax for some, not everyone experiences ASMR. As there's not much scientific research into the phenomenon to date, it's hard to tell how many people do feel the tell-tale tingles, but there are other ways to unwind for sleep as well. 

As we know that the benefits of ASMR overlap with many mindfulness techniques, it's worth learning how to meditate. Besides, meditation can also reduce stress, lower anxiety levels, and bolster memory. There are health advantages too, like reduced blood pressure and less severe chronic pain. 

If you awake each morning feeling groggy, likely, you aren't getting enough high-quality sleep. This can be difficult to judge by yourself, so consider wearing one of the best fitness trackers overnight to gather data on your nighttime habits. 

According to the Handbook of Clinical Neurology, we spend around one-third of our life either sleeping – or trying to do so. If you find yourself experiencing lack of sleep more often recently, you’re not alone – a study carried out by mattress experts Mornings.co.uk, discovered where in the world sleepless nights cause the most stress. And from the key findings they found that the city of Rochester, in New York, is ‘the world’s most insomnia-stressed city’ - holding a 55.21% stress rate to its name.

Sometimes a simple switch of bedding, like adding one of the best mattress toppers to your bed could help you settle down for the night. Mattress toppers can add an extra layer of cushioning to your bed, or firm it up, depending on your needs, all at less expense than buying a new mattress, which can come in at hundreds of dollars. Getting comfortable is the first step to better sleep. 

However, a comfy sleep environment is only half the battle: often there can be larger issues behind your issues with sleep. The common sleep disorder, insomnia, happens as a result of stress, says Sleep Foundation, an American sleep organization. 

A poor night's sleep rarely sets us up to feel chirpy and ready for the day ahead of us: lethargy can create a vicious circle of increasing stress, which has even further impact on your sleep. 

The Mornings sleep study saw the mattress experts use a tool called TensiStrength to analyse the number of tweets about sleep that related to stress. While the city of Rochester topped the list of ‘10 worst cities for sleep’, making part of the US look rather exhausted, Brits ranked fairly high too with two UK cities positioning themselves second and third place. They found Liverpool had 53.92% of stressed tweets about sleep while Manchester followed behind with 51.21%.

While there isn’t a straightforward answer as to why certain locations of the world experience worse night’s sleep than others, there are small things that can help you to improve your sleep quality. 

Although online tweets helped to inform this study, it isn’t advised to spend too much time on your phone before bed. According to the Sleep Foundation, screen time delays the release of melatonin which can push back bedtimes and lead to a less fulfilling sleep. Using your phone before bed has also been linked to weight gain. 

Upping your exercise frequency can also help you sleep better. A 2021 study published in the European Respiratory Journal found that people who are regularly active and avoid sitting down and watching TV too much are less likely to develop a sleep disorder. Lifting weights in particular can also boost your bedrest according to research, so a few sessions with the best adjustable dumbbells can help improve your sleep all week.