How I Sleep Really Well

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

22 Interiors

 

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Thank you, Lucie! And sweet dreams to all of us!

Anika Yael Natori, aka, The Josie Girl

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