Category: Sleep

1. How did you sleep last night?

   Posted on 1:57pm Monday 21st Oct 2013

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   How much did you sleep last night?

   How much sleep do you need to function?

   It fascinates me that different people need different amounts of sleep and can sleep so differently too. I am a really deep sleeper, I can place my head on the pillow, fall asleep and be snoring within seconds and my eldest daughter is very much the same. However my other half and youngest daughter take time to wind down and both need complete darkness to prepare themselves for sleep, so when we were asked to take part in a sleep study by Silent Night, we leapt at the chance.

   Research by the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has found that sleep appears necessary for our nervous systems to work properly. Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormone in children and young adults with many of the body's cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep.

   So how do we sleep in our house? 

   Apparently a new baby typically results in between 400-750 hours of lost sleep for parents in the first year and my other half would argue that this isn't restricted to the first year. My youngest daughter has never been the best sleeper and when she is poorly, it seems that sleep literally goes out of the window. Our "typical" night is usually broken by a toilet break or one wake up at the very least!

   We were sent the Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask and whilst I was dying to try it, the man on the Lilypad needs to sleep easier and as it conforms to the contours of your face, I felt it was only fair to let my other half try it out. I am not suggesting for one moment that he has big ears but the sleep mask has a really good strap that does not hurt the ears as it has high enough placement and soft material. Being a typical woman, I had to check it out myself (when he wasn't looking) but it seems really durable and there are no edges that could fray over time.

   

   A sleep mask is never going to be the most glamorous bedtime accessory and with small children, managing to stay in bed for the whole evening is a successful night's sleep in our book but the Tempur Pedic Sleep Mask did mean that if my other half was repeatedly getting out of bed, he was enveloped in darkness as soon as his head lay back down again, which helped to ease him back into slumber.

   Sleep accessories are good but for me, nothing beats a good bed and I can be terribly grouchy if I haven't had my 8 hours sleep (I think my grouchiness levels have increased since I am repeatedly woken up pre 6am). Part of the Silentnight Sleep Study reveals that many of us are victims to others' tired and irritable behaviour through lack of sleep. 

   • 84% have been on the receiving end of someone who is tired and irritable
   • Over half have been victim to rude and irrational behaviour from tired folk
   • 30% have ignored irrational behaviour from someone who is tired
   • 87% said ill manners and queue jumping topped the poll for getting us in a bad mood after a good night's sleep
   • 15% take their lack of sleep out on others on the road

   Silentnight know how important sleep is and want to help make all our daily commutes and routines as easy as possible by providing a range of comfortable mattresses for all different types of sleepers, to have a good night's sleep. After all, 80 per cent of people sleep better on a new mattress. (wow, that is a major statistic!)

   A good night's sleep has become like the holy grail in our house, what with light sleepers, snoring, toilet breaks, poorly little ones and sleepwalking children but sometimes, just sometimes (maybe with a little help) we get that elusive silent night.

   What helps you go to sleep?

   Disclaimer : We were sent the Tempur Pedic Sleep Mask for the purpose of the sleep study.

2. My Dream Bedroom

   Posted on 9:11pm Tuesday 17th Sep 2013

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   When I was in junior school, I was asked to draw a picture of my favourite place in the world. I drew my bed.

   I have always loved my bedroom, if everyone else is out for the evening I won't snuggle up on the sofa, I always climb into bed and read, work or sleep. My bedroom therefore has to be a haven of opulence, serenity with a little sassy thrown in. Unfortunately with two small children it is a little less serene and a little more second grade with baby wipes adorning my bedside cabinet rather than gorgeous table lamps.

   So when I saw that Debenhams have a fabulous competition  where you select a range of products to create your perfect bedroom from their website and then combine them to create a mood board, I thought it was a great chance to indulge myself. The only restriction is that you have to do it within a budget of £5000. The winner, chosen by judges from Mammasaurus and Love Chic Living, will receive a amazing £500 worth of Debenhams vouchers to spend on anything they like! Sounded like a challenge to me.

   So if I take the influence of two small children out of the equation and am let loose with what I want on my bedside table, then this is what it would be:

   

   
   

   My Dream Bedroom by littlelilypadco featuring gray throw pillows

   
   

   

   • Accent table - £252
   • Bed frame - £800
   • Head board £230
   • Debenhams Cotton 'Oxford' two drawer bedside chest- £176
   • Table lamp - £198
   • Gray throw pillow - £25
   • Grey 'Mayfair' bed linen - £88
   • We Love Cushions We Love Cushions' Pets Rock Breakfast Cat Cushion 48 - £35

   The room would have aubegine accents (my mom would say purple) and as our cat likes to sleep on our bed so much, I thought the cat cushion would either give her some company (or competition).

   I love the delicate etched glass table lamps and a proper dressing table but the thing I love the most is the ottomon style bed. The reason? I can stash away all my shoes under that bed and no one will ever know how many I own ..... ssshhhhh!

   So out of my £5000 budget, I only spent just over £2000 which in my eyes means that I have more money to spend on shoes!

    

   This is my entry into the Debenhams Dream Bedroom Competition.

3. Good night, sleep tight .... no snoring!

   Posted on 9:33pm Sunday 8th Sep 2013

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   Sleep is quite a big part of our lives and when I say our, I really mean me. I simply don't function if I haven't had enough sleep but I do have this somewhat annoying ability to fall into a deep sleep quickly. Unfortunately for the man on the Lilypad, this also means that the rhythmic (!!) sounds of my snoring usually keeps him wide awake, so when I was offered the opportunity to review the Good Night Anti Snoring Ring, I thought it would be a good chance to try and stop my incessant snoring once and for all.

   

   I would obviously like to say that I am a delicate, gentle woman who couldn't possibly snore but having actually woken myself up snoring, I know that this is not true. Over the years I have tried different things to try and stop snoring, from sleep positions, nose strips and things underneath my pillow so anything is worth a try, especially after I read that snoring is frequently cited as a reason for divorce!

   The first thing that struck me is that the Good Night Anti Snoring Ring doesn't have a "one size fits all" philisophy, as it works on acupressure. The Good Night rings are adjustable but there are three sizes to let you choose the most appropriate one for you. 

   

   Small - Covers ring sizes J-P. Recommended for women or men with small hands/fingers (this is me - I have tiny stick fingers!)
   
   Medium – Covers ring sizes N-S.
   
   Large – Covers ring sizes S –Z. 

   The ring has to be worrn on your little finger with the small dimple (you can see it on the image above) on the inside and you squeeze it to get a good fit. When I was reading through the literature it suggests that, in the interests of Yin Yang, that women should wear the ring on their left finger but it also says that sometimes, heavy snorers may need to use 2 rings ( I was a little worried at this point that I may need more than two) 

   We had been on holiday but the sea air had done nothing for my snoring, so with the return to our own bed began the stop snoring campaign.  The first couple of nights marked a noteable improvement but by night 6, apparently my other half managed to get a totally peaceful nights sleep. I have to admit that I was a little sceptical at first, how could this little ring stop my snoring but it has. I can't vouch for this in its entirety (mainly because I am asleep while the testing is going on) but according to the man on the pad, it gets a huge thumbs up.

   Disclaimer : We were given the Good Night Anti Snoring Ring to review but the views and opinions are an honest and true reflection of our findings.