Coronavirus

Oct

2020

Wipe out winter tiredness

We all know the struggle of getting out of bed during the winter months while it is still dark outside and the temperature has dropped. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many people feel tired and sluggish during winter.

M6 beds have put together some energy giving solutions that may help – and some conditions that can sometimes be the cause.

Let in some sunlight

As the days become shorter, your sleep and waking cycles may become disrupted. The lack of sunlight means your brain produces more of a hormone called melatonin, which makes you sleepy.

Open your blinds or curtains as soon as you get up to let more sunlight into your home, and get outdoors in natural daylight as much as possible. Try to take even just a brief lunchtime walk, and make sure your workplace and home are as light and airy as possible.

Ensure you get enough sleep

Getting enough undisturbed sleep is vital for fighting off winter tiredness.

It’s tempting to go into hibernation mode when winter hits, but that sleepy feeling you get does not mean you should snooze for longer.

In fact, if you sleep too much, chances are you’ll feel even more sluggish during the day. We do not actually need any more sleep in winter than we do in summer – aim for about 7-8 hours of shut-eye a night, and try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

Make sure your bedroom helps you feel relaxed and sleepy: clear the clutter, have comfortable and warm bedding, and turn off the TV.

Eat the right food

Being overweight or underweight can affect your energy levels and leave you feeling sleepy. So it’s important to make sure you eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Once the summer ends, there’s a temptation to ditch the salads and fill up on starchy foods such as pasta, potatoes and bread. However, you’ll have more energy if you include plenty of fruit and vegetables in your comfort meals.

Winter vegetables – such as carrots, parsnips, swede and turnips – can be roasted, mashed or made into soup to provide a warming winter meal for the whole family. And classic stews and casseroles are great options if they’re made with lean meat or pulses, and plenty of veg.

Sep

2020

How to clean your mattress

Mattresses are a large investment and should be cleaned regularly, especially considering you typically spend six or seven hours each night on yours. But how do you clean your mattress?

If you buy correctly, mattresses can be among the most expensive and longest lasting items in your home so it is best to take care of it by regularly cleaning it. Mattresses can harbour several types of unhygienic matter including dust mites, dead skin, dirt and other debris, especially if you do not use a mattress protector (these can be purchases in our showroom!).

Below, M6 Beds have compiled a guide to explain how you can effectively clean your mattress to keep it in tip-top shape.

Why do you need to clean a mattress?

Regardless of how often you change your bed linen, you must still give your mattress a thorough clean every so often – after all what’s the point in having lovely clean linen if you mattress is dirty.

Mattresses may not look unclean, but according to the Sleep Council, the average adult loses 285ml of fluid each night.

Humans also shed around 454g of dead skin during one year, most of which is left in one’s bed.

How often should you clean a mattress?

Cleaning schedules for mattresses differ based on the type of mattress and the individual sleeping on that mattress.

However, generally, it is suggested one cleans their mattress at least every three to six months.

Many experts believe mattresses should be vacuumed on a monthly basis and those with allergies should make sure to vacuum mattresses more often to remove dust and other allergens.

How to clean your mattress

If your mattress is stain-free, the cleaning process is uncomplicated and easy to complete quickly.

To clean a stain-free mattress you should strip your bed and wash the bed linen.

Begin cleaning your mattress by gently vacuuming the surface of the mattress using the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner, making sure the attachment is clean before you begin.

You should be sure to go over any nooks and crannies thoroughly to ensure you pick up every last bit of dust and other debris.

Next, rotate your mattress from head to toe if it is one-sided, or flip it if its two sides.

Air your mattress for a few hours to allow the fabric to breathe, leaving the window open if possible to allow fresh air to circulate.

You can also steam clean your mattress.

You should begin by following the same guidance as above but adding this step before remaking the bed.

To do this you will need a garment steamer and using this tool you should go over the mattress holding the nozzle as close to the mattress fabric as you to help kill any dust mites lurking near the surface.

You should then vacuum the mattress again to remove these mites.

Jun

2020

How to Choose Your Perfect Mattress

There are three common types of mattresses: innerspring, foam, and adjustable. There’s no one “right” material to choose, but in general, side sleepers need a softer mattress, stomach sleepers need a firm one, and back sleepers fall somewhere in between.

Beyond the types of mattresses and firmness, you’ll need to think about a few other factors. From sleep style to negotiating with a bedfellow, here’s what to look for based on your needs:

If you like a bed with bounce

Traditional innerspring styles have that familiar bouncy feel and may be firmer. Interconnected coils are extra-durable, but individual “pocketed” coils, each covered with fabric, reduce the ripple effect that happens when someone on one side of the bed moves.

If you prefer a firmer base

Memory foam options have less spring and offer more pressure relief. To determine quality, look at the density and thickness of the foam, which will determine how deep you’ll sink. The newer, online mattresses generally use several different layers of foam, with heavier ones on the bottom for support and lighter, cooler kinds on the top for comfort.

If you want a plush top

Innerspring mattresses typically have either a fiberfill or foam outer layer, covered in quilted ticking. But even if you want an uber-plush feel, don’t be swayed by a thick-looking pillowtop as it can compress over time. It’s often best to choose a firmer, well-quilted mattress, and then cover it with a replaceable mattress topper.

If you like to change it up

Consider an air-filled mattress. Two side-by-side chambers allow you and your partner to customise the mattress firmness separately. There are also foam mattresses with soft and firm sides, so you can just flip it over as needed, and modular designs that let you move around the springs on the inside.

If you sleep on your side

You’ll want a surface that will support your body weight, and conform to your shape. Innersprings may have more pressure relief than some foam or latex mattresses, but a soft foam mattress or one with built-in pressure relief points around the shoulders and hips can work for side sleepers, too

If you sleep on your stomach

The last thing a stomach-sleeper probably wants is an enveloping memory foam — it would feel smothering! Instead, a firmer bed will provide the best support. Consider a firm foam, dense innerspring, or air-filled mattress.

If you sleep on your back

You’ll want something in the middle — a surface that supports, but has some give so your spine is kept in a healthy alignment. You’ll find happiness with any of the mattress types, but you should do your best princess-and-the-pea impression to see what feels best to you.

Jun

2020

How to get a better night’s sleep despite coronavirus worries

Between homeschooling unruly kids, concerns about your finances and worrying about the health of friends and family, getting a full night’s sleep is no easy feat these days.

With so many extra stresses to think about, it’s not unusual to spend the night tossing and turning, only to catch a glimpse of the clock and realise you’re way behind on your sleep schedule.

At this stage, you might be wondering whether you’re having trouble sleeping because you’re anxious, or you’re anxious because you can’t sleep. The truth is, it may be both. Being in a heightened state of stress can delay the onset of sleep and cause anxious thoughts to occur at night. But lack of sleep can cause anxiety disorders too.

Make sure you maintain a routine

With everything going on at the moment, it can be really difficult to maintain a routine. Whether you’re furloughed or working from home, it is likely your ‘normal’ routine will have changed quite a lot from what it was before.

Try to wake up and go to bed at a similar time to what you would before lockdown began. This will help you maintain a regular sleeping pattern – you should be aiming for seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half hours per night.

Avoid napping during the day and make time to wind down before bed to help you get to sleep more easily. You can do this by either reading, practising mindfulness or taking time away from technology.

Limit caffeine, nicotine and alcohol

Drinking tea, coffee or energy drinks during the day can impact your sleep at night. While people process caffeine differently, as a general rule it’s recommended that we stop drinking caffeine after 3pm – so consider switching to decaf or herbal teas after this.

When it comes to alcohol, consumption may make you feel sleepy and reduce the time it takes for you to fall asleep. However, once the alcohol wears off, it is likely you will sleep more lightly and have more disturbances during the night, leaving you feeling less refreshed in the morning.

Most people are well aware of the physical health benefits of cutting down on alcohol – but there are also mental health benefits too. For example, alcohol can make people feel more anxious – so cutting it down can help manage anxiety.

It’s also important to consider the impact of smoking on your sleep. Nicotine can increase your heart rate and alertness, so if you smoke before bed, you may feel more awake and struggle to fall asleep.

Take some time out from staring at the ceiling

If you’re struggling to fall asleep, don’t lie in bed worrying or feeling anxious. Get up and read a book, or listen to a podcast or relaxing music.

This can get your mind to focus on something else and ultimately help you feel sleepy again. Try to limit your screen time though, or use devices on night mode, so the light doesn’t further disturb your sleep pattern.

Jun

2020

COVID-19: how does the coronavirus pandemic affect your sleep?

The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down and affected all aspects of our lives, including our health, livelihoods and much more. With the UK under COVID-19 lockdown and the public instructed to stay at home, many of us are feeling isolated and anxious – and it is affecting our sleep.

Coronavirus and sleep problems

There is a global sense of anxiety at this time. When turning on the news or talking with neighbours, friends and family, it is hard to escape the overall state of the planet right now, whether you are feeling the effects or not.

A sleep expert has said that we are asked to stay in our homes so we don’t maintain our usual routines which might include increasing or decreasing work, activities, and time away or with our loved ones. We get less exercise and light exposure – two very important regulators of sleep.

Anxiety in a generalised sense creates what we will refer to as arousal, or excitement or alertness. Arousal is triggered by the ‘fight or flight’ response, which releases the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and prevents you from falling asleep.

How to improve your sleep quality

Everyone will have an occasional bad night, but regular poor sleep puts you at risk of certain medical conditions such as obesity and it can have a negative impact on your mental health. So how can you improve the quality of your sleep?

Stick to a routine

“Wake up and get up at the same time each day – no snoozing. Get light straightaway – natural if possible but artificial will do, and move and eat. This combination of behaviours will not only eventually lead to feeling super refreshed on waking, but also will do wonders for your sleep at night.”

Get up if you need to

Get out of bed instead of lying there unable to sleep, whether at the beginning, middle or end of the night.

“The simple reality is that lying in bed willing yourself back to sleep won’t work, but relaxing wake time will increase your sleep drive which will help you sleep.”

“So go away and distract yourself from sleep, but be mindful that you need to stay in your ‘relax/wind down’ activity phase.”

Try not to nap during the day if you aren’t used to doing it. “It will only dilute the quality of your sleep at night, and get your brain into new habits which will be hard to break”.

Turn off the news

“Don’t watch the late news, and avoid talking about stressful things close too bedtime, if you are worried about things, try to distract your mind by thinking about something pleasant, although not emotionally engaging.”

Relax properly

Relaxation doesn’t lead to sleep unless you are doing the above steps to regulate sleep and build up sleepiness at the right times.

Certain activities may help you relax, such as listening to a relaxing audio, and trying meditation or breathing exercises, but this doesn’t mean you will sleep.

“When you are increasingly anxious or panicked, don’t focus on sleep – focus on reducing the anxiety, ground yourself. Plant those feet firmly on the floor. Pick five things in your room. Describe function, appearance, smell, texture. Repeat. Remind your brain you are safe. Calm that heart rate and temperature down.”

May

2020

How to Sleep Better

M6 Beds top tips on how to get a better nights sleep.

Unhealthy daytime habits and lifestyle choices can leave you tossing and turning at night and adversely affect your mood, brain and heart health, immune system, creativity, vitality, and weight. But by experimenting with the following tips, you can enjoy better sleep at night, boost your health, and improve how you think and feel during the day.

Tip 1: Keep in sync with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle

Getting in sync with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, is one of the most important strategies for sleeping better. If you keep a regular sleep-wake schedule, you’ll feel much more refreshed and energized than if you sleep the same number of hours at different times, even if you only alter your sleep schedule by an hour or two.

Try to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day. This helps set your body’s internal clock and optimise the quality of your sleep. Choose a bed time when you normally feel tired, so that you don’t toss and turn. If you’re getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally without an alarm. If you need an alarm clock, you may need an earlier bedtime.

Avoid sleeping in—even on weekends. The more your weekend/weekday sleep schedules differ, the worse the jetlag-like symptoms you’ll experience. If you need to make up for a late night, opt for a daytime nap rather than sleeping in. This allows you to pay off your sleep debt without disturbing your natural sleep-wake rhythm.

Fight after-dinner drowsiness. If you get sleepy way before your bedtime, get off the couch and do something mildly stimulating, such as washing the dishes, calling a friend, or getting clothes ready for the next day. If you give in to the drowsiness, you may wake up later in the night and have trouble getting back to sleep.

Tip 2: Control your exposure to light

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone controlled by light exposure that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Your brain secretes more melatonin when it’s dark—making you sleepy—and less when it’s light—making you more alert. However, many aspects of modern life can alter your body’s production of melatonin and shift your circadian rhythm.

Tip 3: Exercise during the day

People who exercise regularly sleep better at night and feel less sleepy during the day. Regular exercise also improves the symptoms of insomnia and sleep apnea and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep.

The more vigorously you exercise, the more powerful the sleep benefits. But even light exercise—such as walking for just 10 minutes a day—improves sleep quality.
It can take several months of regular activity before you experience the full sleep-promoting effects. So be patient and focus on building an exercise habit that sticks.

May

2020

Sleep Needs – How many hours of sleep do I need?

How many hours of sleep do you need? What happens when you don’t get enough? Explore the stages of sleep and how to get on a healthy sleep schedule.

Why is sleep so important?

The quality of your sleep directly affects your mental and physical health and the quality of your waking life, including your productivity, emotional balance, brain and heart health, immune system, creativity, vitality, and even your weight. No other activity delivers so many benefits with so little effort!

How many hours of sleep do you need?

There is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by on and the amount you need to function optimally. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night. In today’s fast-paced society, six or seven hours of sleep may sound pretty good. In reality, though, it’s a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation.

Just because you’re able to operate on six or seven hours of sleep doesn’t mean you wouldn’t feel a lot better and get more done if you spent an extra hour or two in bed.

While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Children and teens need even more. And despite the notion that our sleep needs decrease with age, most older people still need at least 7 hours of sleep. Since older adults often have trouble sleeping this long at night, daytime naps can help fill in the gap.

Below is a recommendation of how many hours sleep different ages should get:

Apr

2020

Exposure to blue light from phones and computer screens ‘makes it harder to fall asleep’

Researchers say exposure to blue light could increase the risk of damage to eyesight and make it harder to fall asleep.

Work an arm’s length from the screen

Fully extend your arm and work from a distance – looking from your eyes to the end of your fingertips.

Use this as a minimum distance to reduce the stress on your eyeballs.

20/20/20

Simply put, every 20 minutes, look away from the screen for a minimum of 20 seconds at least 20 feet away.

This will help to reset your visual systems and eye through any long periods of screen work.

Screen height

Height and level of your working screen can have a big impact on eye strain and posture.

Research has shown that it is better for the screen to be located higher than the users’ watching level – the middle point should be 5-6 inches below the straight line of the users’ vision.

This makes the space between upper and lower eyelid more open, often resulting in dryness of the eyes.

Consider your device

Usually the biggest, newest phone is best, but not for your eyes. An iPhone X is 20 per cent brighter than an iPhone 6 and emits higher levels of blue light.

This is the difference of a 100 per cent increase in harmful blue light exposure!

Put a post-it note on your screen titled ‘BLINK’.

Normally, in a minute, we blink up to 20 times. This is controlled automatically by our central nervous systems so we’re not conscious of blinking.

While on screens, this is actually reduced to 3-5 times a minute meaning our tear films cannot be maintained and the eye does not remain lubricated.

A post-it-note on your monitor saying ‘Blink’ should help you consciously make an effort to blink. It’s simple but definitely works.

Advice

Buying a new bed or mattress is one of the most important purchases you can make and ensuring you pick the right one to suit your individual needs is incredibly important. There are so many different types of mattress, places to buy them from and varieties is feels and components, it can feel like a complete minefield!

Here at M6 Beds our aim to guide you through this minefield, showing you beds which best suit your needs, your required level of comfort and pressure relief required to get that restful night sleep. We’ve compiled a list of ‘common mistakes’ to avoid when mattress shopping to ensure you choose your perfect bed.

Apr

2020

Study shows one in three Britons working from home are no longer setting an alarm to wake up

How the coronavirus lockdown is impacting our sleeping habits: Study shows one in three Britons working from home are no longer setting an alarm to wake up.

An article from the Daily Mail have reported on a study from 23andMe suggesting that people are no longer setting alarms to wake up for work during the lockdown.

A survey for 23andMe found that people are now ‘naturally waking up’ at 7.06am
This is 48 minutes later than they used to wake up when they travelled to work
Sleep experts say this is allowing people to wake during the natural REM sleep

A study for 23andMe found that the average wake-up time for people working from home had shifted by 48 minutes to 7.06am from 6.18am before the pandemic.

Researchers say this later wake-up time is much closer to the natural genetic wake up time of 7.55am and could have positive benefits on mood and brain function to aid a more productive day.

Sleep experts say waking up naturally increases our chances of doing so during REM sleep – which is the optimal state to transition from being asleep to being awake.

More people are also experiencing more vivid and intense dreams, something that could be due to waking during REM sleep.

‘Everyone dreams 4-5 times a night, but we can only remember a dream if we wake up during it,’ a sleep expert has said.

The study has also suggested that a fifth of Brits say they are struggling to get to sleep due to the lockdown keeping them indoors and not getting out and about with working like they typically would during an average day.

Apr

2020

How working from home can impact on your sleep

People working remotely is not a new concept, however the global pandemic of Covid-19 means that a large proportion of the nation are now working from home as advised by government guidelines to increase our social distancing.

But that doesn’t mean you can start enjoying a lazy 10am start every morning and an early clock off. For some though, working from home may increase productivity levels. For example, those who are night owls may find a routine that starts later in the morning and finishes later in the day more beneficial without being tied to your typical office hours.

Many people do not realise that working from home can impact on your sleep. Disruptions to your normal day to day routine can have a knock on effect on so safeguard your sleep with these following tips:

It is important to keep a regular daily routine to keep you mentally focused and your body clock in sync – our sleep/wake schedule is controlled by our body clocks and environmental cues. Don’t be tempted to hit snooze just because you don’t have to physically go into work and no one is monitoring your productivity. Make sure you get showered, dressed and have a balanced breakfast like you would for a normal ‘workday’. This will not only make you more productive but make you ready for the day ahead of you.
Before you start work or a mid-morning break, get some natural light – whether that’s a brisk walk or 10 minutes or your hourly allowance, sit in the garden with a morning cuppa. Natural light, which can still be effective on a cloudy or grey day, helps reset our internal body clock. It helps us get over feeling groggy when we have just woken up and makes us more alert.
Put boundaries in place. While there is flexibility in working from home, make sure you stick to your work hours as much as possible. Don’t be tempted to ‘be available’ at all times. Checking emails or even working too close to bedtime could see you having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
Have a designated area for working and where possible commit to using it only during work hours. And not in the bedroom, which should be used only for sleep. Working from your bed may seem appealing but it’s no good for your posture or productivity.
Take regular breaks. At home, you may find (with no other distractions) that you work solidly for longer so take the opportunity every hour to stretch your legs and get a change of scenery – walk the dogs or a spot of gardening while the weather is nice.
Keep hydrated. Without colleagues to do a ‘coffee round’ make sure you regularly have a drink. Keep a bottle of water on your desk and use tea making time to have a break from the computer screen.
Avoid fuelling up on caffeine in the afternoon when you hit the post lunch dip. Although there are significant individual differences in how caffeine affects each of us, give yourself enough time between your last caffeine intake and your sleep time to make sure that it does not interfere with your ability to get off to sleep. If you’re feeling lethargic in the afternoon, spend 10 minutes outside or put one of your favourite songs on to lift your mood.

Finally, invest in a good bed from M6 beds! Having the right mattress and pillows will impact your quality of sleep drastically. For more information please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Coronavirus

Wipe out winter tiredness

Let in some sunlight

Ensure you get enough sleep

Eat the right food

How to clean your mattress

Mattresses are a large investment and should be cleaned regularly, especially considering you typically spend six or seven hours each night on yours. But how do you clean your mattress?

Why do you need to clean a mattress?

How often should you clean a mattress?

How to clean your mattress

How to Choose Your Perfect Mattress

If you like a bed with bounce

If you prefer a firmer base

If you want a plush top

If you like to change it up

If you sleep on your side

If you sleep on your stomach

If you sleep on your back

How to get a better night’s sleep despite coronavirus worries

COVID-19: how does the coronavirus pandemic affect your sleep?

Coronavirus and sleep problems

How to Sleep Better

M6 Beds top tips on how to get a better nights sleep.

Tip 1: Keep in sync with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle

Tip 2: Control your exposure to light

Tip 3: Exercise during the day

Sleep Needs – How many hours of sleep do I need?

How many hours of sleep do you need? What happens when you don’t get enough? Explore the stages of sleep and how to get on a healthy sleep schedule.

Why is sleep so important?

How many hours of sleep do you need?

Below is a recommendation of how many hours sleep different ages should get:

Exposure to blue light from phones and computer screens ‘makes it harder to fall asleep’

Advice

Study shows one in three Britons working from home are no longer setting an alarm to wake up

How the coronavirus lockdown is impacting our sleeping habits: Study shows one in three Britons working from home are no longer setting an alarm to wake up.

How working from home can impact on your sleep

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