Guest post from friend and ultra chic interior designer, Lucie Ayres! How I Sleep Really Well (can’t wait to read her tips because I don’t sleep really well!!!). Thank you, Lucie!!
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HOW TO SLEEP AMAZINGLY WELL – EVEN DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
Some of you may know I’m an interior designer but many of you don’t know that I am an unofficial expert on sleep. Why? Because I sleep well pretty much every single night. Even through this crisis. I realize I’m in the minority – so I thought I’d share with you how I do it and why I do it.
First and foremost, it’s a decision you have to make and you have to stick to it – pretty much like any other goal you’d like to accomplish. But in my opinion, this is not a painful process -it’s actually incredibly pleasurable. And it starts the minute you wake up.
ONE: (a) MAKE YOUR BED – and don’t half-ass it, make it like it’s going to look like a hotel room bed when you get ready to get into it later. Fluff those pillows, the comforter, whatever you need to do to make it look delicious.
Photo credit: 22 Interiors shot by Amy Bartlam
(b) ABOUT YOUR BED – Let’s talk about bedding. Know what you like and what you need – I need and love a wrinkled, crisp pure linen. I’ve learned this over the years about myself. I highly recommend the organic linen by Coyuchi or for something more affordable, this French linen set.
(c) ABOUT YOUR BEDDING – the case for TWO duvets. IF you have someone else who regularly sleeps in your bed, then I highly recommend 2 separate duvets – one for each of you. This is another European tradition (mainly Scandinavian and German) and I am a BIG FAN. I forgo the flat sheet, and my husband and I both have our own duvets. There’s never a “pulling battle” and my body temperature stays constant without the extra body heat therefore we both sleep much better. More on this here and here.
Photo credit Area Home
TWO: OPEN YOUR WINDOWS
Having an Eastern European background gives me a bit of an advantage of tried and true traditions such as this classic European practice – open the window(s) in your bedroom as soon as you get up (even if it’s a crack) and leave it open all day (and if you can, at night as well). This not only gets fresh air to infiltrate your room, but has amazing benefits to creating a divine sleep, read more about it here. Side note: When I was a baby, my mother would put me in my stroller, and leave me outside on our balcony in the subzero European winter for a nap – like most mothers did at that time. It’s always been all about fresh air.
Photo credit: 22 Interiors shot by Tessa Neustadt
THREE: CREATE A RITUAL
A routine to get yourself in the mood for the best sleep of your life. My ritual is a nightly bath with a book – it can be 15 minutes or as long as 40 – it’s my time to be undisturbed, to read, and to mentally clean off the stress of the day. Post bath (this can sometimes be before dinner) I’m in my pajamas – incidentally the Natori cotton sateen classics are my favorite because the fabric is incredibly light and soft. My phone is put on SILENT and sits in the kitchen. For me, I prefer an early and light dinner. At 9:30 pm – yup- I get into my fresh air filled bedroom, my perfectly made fluffy bed, and read. Lights are dim, kids are asleep, I feel clean and relaxed. If I’m extra stressed, I may do a meditation or some CBD oil but mainly I just read until my eyes fall heavy. My husband has adapted the same routine, only he stays up later than I do and one of his tips is to read a “very, very dull and long book” and use a gravity blanket. He swears it works.
I hope you and yours do get some rest and stay healthy. I wish you very sweet dreams!
Lucie Ayres, Principal Designer
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Thank you, Lucie! And sweet dreams to all of us!
