The phrase ‘sleep like a baby’ is often used to reflect a good night’s sleep, and for good reason. Parents do everything they can to ensure their children get a good night’s sleep, but when it comes to their own sleep habits, things can fall by the wayside. By treating our own sleep routines with the same care we do our little ones’, we can all enjoy better sleep overall.

With that in mind, here are five ways sleeping like a baby can help you, well, sleep like a baby. Let’s take a look.

Give yourself a curfew

Kids often moan about being forced to go to bed at a certain time every night, but this routine is something we should also be applying to your own sleep schedule. Having a set bedtime will help your body learn when it’s time to wind down, and when it’s time to wake up. When we go to bed at dramatically different times every night, it’s difficult for our bodies to adapt, leading to sleepless nights and exhausting days. Setting a strict schedule for yourself is a vital factor in improving how you sleep, and how long. Aim for the 7-9 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.

Have a warm bath

A warm, gentle bath is a staple of any child’s bedtime routine, and should be part of yours too. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a bath before bedtime is a great way to wind down, while also stimulating blood flow to the hands and feet and helping your muscles relax. Making this part of the lead-up to bedtime will help you physically and mentally prepare for high quality sleep.

Create a calm environment

Keeping things calm and quiet is essential if you want your little ones to nod off without any fuss, and this shouldn’t be any different when it comes to your bedtime. Keeping your bedroom cool, dark and quiet helps to create the optimum atmosphere for sleep, while excess light can interfere with your body’s natural production of melatonin – often referred to as ‘the sleep hormone’.

Investing in blackout blinds can help to keep sunlight out of your room – a great investment, especially as the weather gets warmer and the mornings get lighter.

Read a bedtime story

Too many of us use our phones right up until the moment our heads hit the pillow – and often after! Not only do phone screens disrupt melatonin release with their brightness, but social media can also leave you feeling wired and anxious as you attempt to fall asleep. Swapping out scrolling for reading is a great way to feel more relaxed as you drift off, just as a bedtime story helps our children make their way to the land of nod.

No ‘sweets’ before bed

Watching what you eat and drink before bed is another important step in improving your sleep quality. You wouldn’t let your little ones raid the sweetie drawer before bed, so don’t let yourself have that extra coffee or snack as bedtime approaches. Sleep Education reports that consuming coffee as much as six hours before bed can impact your sleep quality, especially in older adults, as it takes their bodies longer to process caffeine.

The best sleep happens on a high-quality mattress, so check out the Perks range today. You can also explore the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.

The post “I slept like a baby” – how a child’s sleep routine could be the key to better sleep appeared first on Mammoth Perks.

Why do children need bedtime stories?

The bedtime story is a hallowed tradition between parents and children, and with good reason. Research by Uber reveals that 60% feel that reading with our children brings us closer together, helping to create memories that could last a lifetime.

Indulging your child in a story before bed also helps to improve their vocabulary, their reading skills, and to spark their imagination, stimulating the mental patterns which are fundamental to creativity. And perhaps even more importantly, reading together can be crucial for a child’s emotional intelligence.

Emily Drabble of BookTrust, the UK’s leading reading charity, says that reading “helps children recognise that they are not alone, and that others have faced the same problems and feelings as them. Sharing books also opens up opportunities to discuss difficult topics.”

Bedtime stories can help young people understand not only the feelings of those around them, but their own feelings, too. A recent study by the National Literacy Trust found a link between reading and mental wellbeing, suggesting that a bedtime story could improve your child’s emotional health.

The benefits of stories for grown-ups

We tend to think of bedtime stories as something reserved for children; something we all grow out of at some point as we get older. But the benefits outlined above don’t simply go away as we make the move from child to adolescent to adult. We never finish learning, and reading before bed still provides an opportunity to improve on our reading skills, vocabulary, creativity and emotional understanding.

What’s more, it’s also a great way to relax and unwind before bed, which is important as we age. The daily stresses of work, family obligations, the news and more can take their toll on our sleep quality. In fact, as many as 16 million UK adults suffer from sleepless nights according to research by Aviva. Stories help to distract our minds from our current stresses and ease us into a more relaxed state.

Reading a chapter or two of a book is a great alternative to sitting in bed scrolling through your phone. Many of us are guilty of scrolling through the news or social media right up until the moment our heads hit the pillow, but this onslaught of information can make it harder to find the right mindset for sleep. Even the lights that our phones emit can disrupt the release of key sleep hormones like melatonin, making sleep more difficult.

So whether it’s a swash-buckling adventure on the high seas or a domestic drama set in times gone by, indulging in a good story before bed can help you leave the stresses of your day behind and put you in a more relaxed frame of mind when it comes to falling asleep.

The right story can rest your mind, and the right mattress can rest your body. Explore the Mammoth range today or check out the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.

The post Once Upon a Bedtime: the benefits of a bedtime story appeared first on Mammoth Perks.