Archive for the ‘Bed’ Category

How To Fall Asleep Faster

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Just because you manage to fall asleep each night does not mean you know how to fall asleep effectively. There are a number of techniques you can use not only to help you fall asleep at night but also to help you become a healthier person.

Change your bed and your pillow

A worn-out bed or pillow will make you uncomfortable when you are trying to get to sleep at night. Consider replacing a bed that is more than 5 years old, and replace your pillows at least once every 2 years.

Exercise more to sleep better

Whether you don’t exercise because you’re too tired or you feel that you don’t have time, the chances are you have put yourself in this position precisely because you don’t get enough sleep.
Expert studies in US sports-science facilities have shown that people who vigorously exercise for 20 minutes per day 4-6 hours before going to bed are likely to be able to fall asleep more easily than people who either don’t exercise at all or who exercise earlier in the day.

Any type of cardiovascular exercise that gets your heart pumping fast for at least 20 minutes is suitable for better health and helping you to get a good night’s sleep.

Manage stress levels to fall asleep faster

We all lead more hectic lifestyles than people used to fifty years ago, so it is becoming almost impossible not to get stressed out. But we can learn to manage stress effectively to help us sleep better and feel healthier.
Reducing the amount of mental stress on the body means you won’t spend hours tossing and turning while you should be sleeping. And in turn more sleep helps reduce stress levels further.

Regulate your internal clock

The body’s biological clock reacts to sunlight and darkness much the same way as you use your watch to tell the time. Exposure to sunlight early in the morning can actually help you sleep better at night, as studies show that people deprived of sunlight have more trouble sleeping at night and are often more tired than their counterparts who get up and spend some time outdoors in the early morning.

Watch your diet

There are a number of ways you can change your diet to help you fall asleep faster. Changing the type of foods you eat – to more of an organic diet – helps you stay away from caffeine and sugar which prevent you falling asleep fast.
Changing the way you plan your meals is also thought to make a big difference to the way we fall asleep. Scientists now recommend eating your largest meal in the morning, followed by lighter afternoon and evening meals. This helps to fuel your body during the day when you most need your energy.
Having an overall daily routine that promotes healthy living is what will help you fall asleep faster.

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10 Really Unusual Beds

Monday, May 11th, 2009

While 99% of the population are happy to sleep on a conventional bed, there is a group of people who like to push the sleeping envelope as far as it can go. And astute designers are creating a very profitable, albeit small market for ridiculous beds.

Here are 10 commercially available beds that take the idea of a bed to the extreme:

  1. Nested bunk beds – This is probably the most sensible of all the beds in this list, but unusual nonetheless. The idea of the nested bunk bed is that there are 7 or 8 beds packed together, much like a set of nested tables, that wheel apart when it’s time to go to sleep. The idea was developed in South Africa and is being used where large numbers of children need to sleep, and live, in a compact space.
  2. Round beds – Similar to the idea of heart-shaped beds from cheesy Las Vegas hotels in the 1980’s, round beds are making a comeback. While the shape may be unusual and slightly quirky, finding linen for a round bed is always going to be tricky.
  3. TV beds – For millions of people, watching TV in bed is a pastime. So why not build the TV into the bed frame? Bed manufacturers like Hollandia are now able to supply beds with a pop-up plasma/LCD screen, an iPod jack and a complete surround sound system.
  4. Folding Murphy sofa bunk beds. Murphy folding beds have always been popular in cramped living spaces. And now bed manufacturers are creating combination Murphy beds consisting of a folding top bunk and a permanent lower sofa bed.
  5. Murphy cupboard beds - The base of a divan bed is ideal for storing linen and clothing, which is why most manufacturers offer drawers in their divans. But New York designers are now developing folding Murphy beds with cupboard space in them. When the bed is tucked away, the cupboard acts like a wardrobe. This is a very clever use of wasted space, although it remains to be seen how easy it is to prevent your clothes from creasing.
  6. Canopy Beds – For the ultimate in enclosed sleeping & entertainment quarters, the Hican canopy bed is a spectacular idea, provided you can afford the £46000 it costs to buy one. To justify its price, the bed features sliding blinds on the sides, surround sound, LCD TV screen, iPod and Hi-Fi capabilities and is incredibly beautiful to look at.
  7. Starry night bed - This technologically advanced bed features ‘anti-snore’ technology, temperature control, a complete sleep diagnostic centre, Internet connectivity and a wireless remote control system.
  8. Ice bed – Ice hotels are all the rage amongst the well-heeled looking for alternatives to a normal holiday. And most ice hotels feature hand-carved ice beds for their guests. Thankfully, they also provide warm water-proof linen.
  9. Ceiling bed – Another space-saving idea, the ceiling bed hangs from the ceiling, and can be retracted when you want to use a space for something else.
  10. The loop bed – The Loope Lupita is more of an odd display item than a real bed, but the idea of sleeping on a looping bed should satisfy even the quirkiest tastes.

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Exercise Yourself to Sleep

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

The Bedstar knowledgebase is full of articles all aimed at helping you get a better nights sleep. We know that healthy sleep is important to our customers, that’s why we offer great advice, as well as a massive selection of cheap beds online. (more…)

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A Recipe for a Good Nights Sleep

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

When we’re tired, lots of us reach for a cup of coffee or a sugary snack, but does this help, and if so why? Advice about the food and drink that will help and hinder our sleep is everywhere, but now bedstar will give you a quick lowdown on what to avoid, and what may aid you in your quest for better rest.

Bed time snacks
What we eat before we go to bed can affect how easily we fall asleep. Some foods contain the amino acid tryptophan, proteins like cheese and meat make up the building blocks of tryptophan, and the tired feeling after eating lots of carbohydrates is due to them making tryptophan available to the brain. So night time snacks to help you drop off can be a mix of protein and carbohydrate, like milk and cereal.

Good sleep helps you stay slim
More and more research is being conducted on the link between sleep and appetite. Studies have recently shown that the obesity rate is higher in those who have sleep problems, due to tiredness increasing the production of the hormone causing hunger and decreasing that which suppresses appetite.

Afternoon Snooze?
Our biological clocks play a big part in how we feel at different times of the day. Many people get drowsy after lunch and blame the feeling on a big meal, or a late night. But often this post-lunch dip is just a natural reaction to your body clock which causes you to feel tired around 2am and 2pm, causing a dip in alertness.

Tea and Coffee
Most adults have at least one caffeinated drink each day, and many have a lot more than that. Caffeine is a stimulant which blocks the signals in your brain that make you feel tired, so it can assist in keeping you awake and alert. Since this does not last long the most effective way for caffeine to help you stay awake is to have it little and often throughout the day. But beware that this may keep you awake at night, so stop drinking it a few hours before bed.

Energy drinks – Are they the right sort of Buzz?
Energy drinks are a combination of lots of sugar, caffeine and some helpful amino acids, so they are very effective as a quick pick me up. But the benefits last a very short time and the energy crash afterwards will likely leave you feeling more tired than before.

A wee medicinal drop?
Alcohol has a reputation as a sleeping aid, and while it may be true that after a few glasses of wine you will probably fall asleep easier, the negative effect on the quality of sleep will likely outweigh that benefit. After drinking alcohol it is harder to fall into deep sleep where you can fully recuperate and waking up in the night is common. Alcohol has also been shown to increase the risk of snoring which could stop you and others getting the rest you need.

So how important is food?
The food you eat is the fuel that your body uses to function. There is a balance between the amount you eat and how much you do, so it makes sense to eat the most when you are busiest, which for most of us is during the day. So breakfast and lunch are very important meals, whereas in the evening your dinner could make sleeping that night harder, depending on what you eat.

Now you know how food and drink can help you on the way to a good night’s sleep, all you need to do is curl up on a comfy mattress and relax. Complete your bedroom and check out our range of bedroom furniture for some great offers and ideas to create a restful sleep environment.

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Bunk Bed Buying Guide

Friday, November 9th, 2007

Buying a bunk bed for your children can be rather daunting task as there’s such a wide range available. This buyers guide will help you decide which bunk bed will make you and your children happy.

The most important thing to think about when buying a bunk bed is your space restrictions. The first thing to do is to measure the room you want to put it in, especially the ceiling as buying the wrong height bunk bed could end up with your child waking up and bumping their head every morning.

A normal bunk bed will take up as much room as a single bedstead, however, make sure that you leave room for a ladder for the top bunk. Other variations of bunk beds such as study bunks will require more room, so before you purchase, check the measurements of the bunk. If there are no measurements given, give the seller a call. Never take a risk.

Then you need to think about what sort of bunk you would like. There are now many different variations of bunk beds in many different designs. One of the most popular designs of bunk bed is the study bunk, which just have 1 bunk bed and a wide array of furniture that can go in the space below, such as desks, chairs, futons and chests of drawers. Alternatively, there’s the 3 sleeper, which has a single bunk on the top and a double bed on the bottom.

Some bunk beds now have all of the bedroom furniture rolled into one, with computer desks, dressers, drawers and a wide array of other furniture attached to the bunk bed itself. Ask your child for their opinion on what sort of bed they would prefer, it could prove vital in your decision.

And finally, choose the design. Bunk beds come in metal, wood or metal and wood combinations and with a huge range of different colours and styles to fit into your child’s room decor. Whether your looking for something bold and bright, or looking for something a bit more subtle such as stained wood, be sure to have a good look at the pictures of the product and try to envision it in your child’s room before making your purchase.

For more information, see our guide to bunk bed safety measures so you can choose the product that’s right for you.

If you follow all of these points and still can’t decide, ring our sales team on 0870 232 5550, who would be more than happy to talk more in depth about your needs and recommend the perfect bunk bed for you.

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Improve The Quality Of Your Sleep

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

One of the biggest health complaints in the 21st Century is sleep - or lack of it! Only 1 in 10 people regularly sleep well and 1 in 5 of us suffer from lack of sleep. There has been a rise in the number of people suffering from lack of sleep due to busier lifestyles.

On average, two thirds of people are currently getting 90 minutes less sleep than they did a few years ago. Many sleep experts have speculated on the amount of sleep needed in a night, the common figure usually quoted is 8 hours.

Some of us need more and others less, so realistically the sensible answer is get enough sleep until you feel refreshed in the morning and can stay alert throughout the day.

If lack of sleep is a problem then there are simple changes to your lifestyles or sleep environments that can help. Take a look at our basic sleep guide below to see if there are any changes you can make that could improve your quality of sleep.

Always try to keep a regular sleep pattern by going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, this will help program your body for sleep.

Make sure the environment you sleep in is restful, external noise should be kept to a minimum, the room should be dark and kept at a suitable temperature.

Make sure your bed is comfortable, sleeping on a bed that is too hard or soft will make it more difficult to get to sleep.

Regular exercise will help moderate stresses and strains on the body and help you sleep better, exercise done too close to bedtime could have the opposite effect.

Cut down any stimulants like caffeine before going to bed. This can cause interference with sleeping and will certainly prevent deep sleep. Try a hot milky drink instead!

Over indulgence in food or alcohol close to going to bed will cause havoc with your sleep patterns, although excess alcohol may help with sleep initially, it will disrupt your sleep further on in the night.

Smoking can have a negative effect on sleep, it has been proven smokers take longer to fall asleep, wake more often and have more disrupted sleep.

Try to relax before bed, this can be achieved by having a bath, listening to some soft music or even trying some yoga! The more relaxed you feel before going to bed, the better nights sleep you will get.

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