Having trouble sleeping? At Inara, sleep is our passion, so we’ve devoted our brand to supporting a good night’s sleep the natural way. Our tried and tested methods are listed below, try one out tonight.

      1. De-stress at least 1 hour before bed

It’s more difficult to fall asleep when you’re stressed, and when you finally fall asleep, stress hormones can cause it to be fragmented. Relaxing your mind through gentle yoga, meditation, or a warm bath can calm your body and reduce physical stress. For a boost to your bedtime routine, try adding our new relaxing Sleep Balm, containing lavender and ylang ylang essential oils for total relaxation.

     2. Keep a Nighttime Routine (yes, even on the weekend)

One of the best ways to promote sleep naturally is to go to bed and wake up at the same time every single day. If you have trouble getting to sleep, it’s important not to sleep in to compensate. Keeping a consistent wake up time will make it easier to keep a consistent sleep time. Skipping naps in favour of an earlier bedtime will also help you fully progress through your body's natural sleep cycles, providing a more restful night's sleep.

      3. Avoid Blue Light

While it’s tempting to scroll mindlessly before bed to turn your brain off, the blue light emitted from your device is telling your body to be energised. While previous advice was to turn your devices off, or stop using them an hour before sleeping, most new models of phones and tablets have a Night Mode, which reduces the amount of blue light emitted by up to 80%. Simply reducing screen brightness is also effective at reducing blue light. However, as with point #1 above, if you’re doomscrolling right before sleeping, it’s probably best to put the phone down completely and focus on mindfulness or meditation.

      4. Keep your sleeping space cool and comfortable

The ideal bedroom temperature is between 18 and 22 degrees, which can be difficult to reach with summer heat. Keeping your curtains closed during the day (bonus points for blackout curtains, which insulate and provide total darkness) and opening your windows early in the morning or in the evening can help achieve these temperatures. Wearing breathable cotton pyjamas will also keep you cool, because the lightweight fabric allows for air circulation more effectively than synthetic fabrics like polyester. Shop our pyjamas now, or if you need help narrowing down the pattern, read our Summer favourites guide.

 

      5. Exercise Daily, but make sure it’s at the right time

You already know that physical activity has countless benefits, from lowering stress and improving heart health, to maintaining a healthy weight and lowering the risk of depression and diabetes. So, it’s no surprise that exercise also has been shown to improve your sleep. At the same time, it’s important to note that vigorous exercise increases body temperature and heart rate, which hinders your ability to fall asleep, so it’s best to keep workouts to at least a few hours before bed.

We want you to get the best sleep of your life. Sleep affects your overall quality of  life, so incorporating any or all of the above habits can make a real difference in your physical and mental health.