This post is in conjunction with TEMPUR® but all thoughts are my own.
Sleep has always been one of those ‘icky’ topics for me. I love my sleep, and once I’ve actually fallen to sleep, I usually have quite a deep, peaceful rest. However, since becoming self-employed and running my own work schedules, the first signs of poor sleep and tiredness started to become visible. Then, I become a first time Mum, and all these signs trebled!
I thought I’d touch on the topic of sleep with March being National Bed Month, and 18th March being World Sleep Day (does that mean I can stay in bed all day?!).
I wouldn’t say I suffer from insomnia, more that I struggle with switching off and training myself to go to sleep pretty soon after I go to bed. But since having my little girl Olivia, I’ve noticed I have a new problem at night – a few aches and pains that have crept in from constantly carrying a baby around, and turning my neck a lot in the car to check on the back seat.
I started becoming more aware of how uncomfortable my head and neck felt when lying in bed before drifting off to sleep. Then, the more I became aware of it, the more I’d focus on it, and those awake hours went from 1 hour to around 2-3 before I actually fell asleep.
Alongside the struggle to go to sleep and being aware of the uncomfortable pillows, I’d then find myself tossing and turning more in a bid to try and somehow find a position which felt OK. This stopped my other half from falling into a deep sleep, so as you can guess, he wasn’t very happy with me!
My new TEMPUR Pillow
Recently, I was sent a TEMPUR® pillow to review and I have to say, it has been a complete game changer for me, and I am no’.l
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t being dramatic! I had been aware of these memory foam pillows for a while and then my partner had bought me an orthopedic one a while back which was a cheap, non-branded one, and it honestly did nothing and made no difference to my sleep. It didn’t feel much different to our standard pillows I was currently struggling with, so I suppose I just didn’t look into investing in TEMPUR.
All I can say is I wish I had done earlier – this TEMPUR pillow has completely changed up my sleep, and I have gone from taking hours to drift off, feeling uncomfortable around my head and neck to going to the land of nod very quickly!
They are a known to be a little bit extra special and I can now completely hand on heart say I understand why. The one I have is the classic comfort pillow in a rectangle shape, and the way it molds into my head and neck, nestling my shoulders comfortably and supporting me has completely reduced all that ‘tossing and turning’. I feel like I ‘sink’ into the pillow, and I have barely been aware of the aches I feel in my neck.
I was first aware of TEMPUR® due to their popular mattresses, in which I learnt from looking into the brand that the TEMPUR® mattress material inside each mattress and pillow is developed from NASA technology- originating in the 1960’s when scientists invented a new material to protect the pilots on their test flights. Later on, this was then called memory foam. As it got discovered that it gives great pressure relieving properties, TEMPUR® founders went on to use it to make their unique TEMPUR® material. Today, the brand is known and appreciated for becoming the world’s first memory foam pillows and mattresses brand.
There is no doubt a lot more science to the art of the TEMPUR mattress and pillow range, but for now, I’m just enjoying a blissful, soft, supporting and relaxing sleep with my pillow. It feels warm too, which is difficult to describe, but almost a cosier, snugglier feel when I let my head and neck nestle down into the pillow. It truly is wonderful, and I was surprised just how much I wanted to rave about it.
I’ve heard that TEMPUR® are very confident that their products will give you the best night’s sleep of your life, so much so that you can try them for 30 nights before making up your mind. I can safely say this pillow has gave me much better sleep with no exaggeration. I’ve had mine for a couple of weeks now and have removed the soft fabric cover and washed at 60°C, incase anyone wondered how they worked in terms of washing.
Sleep Benefits I’ve Noticed
Since clocking up many more hours during the night, and not having such a long drifting off period, I’ve noticed these incredible benefits of getting better sleep:
- More energy in the mornings
I’ve always enjoyed mornings, and before having a baby I saw them as a chance to really get on top of the day. A green tea, big bowl of porridge, and attacking my emails. To do lists would be made, and I’d try and work in some exercise. These days, mornings don’t quite look like that with a one-year-old. However, waking up feeling groggy, tired and bleary eyed meant I didn’t have a ‘nice’ alternative to my old mornings. I’d try to lie in for as long as possible, but every time I got up I just felt exhausted. Now that my sleep has improved, I am actually enjoying that alarm clock going off and springing out of bed! - Brighter eyes
Now sleep doesn’t work any miracles on the increasing number of fine lines around my eyes – that’s down to aging! But, the shadows that once permanently lived under my eyes are definitely starting to fade, and I’m looking much more healthier, awake and dare I say it, a little more glowy than I was a few weeks ago!
- More focused
My attention span over the past few months has been pretty low. I’ve been getting my little one ready for nursery in the morning and then heading to my office, to find myself thinking of a million distractions from actually working. I’ve had no motivation, no energy, and a foggy head when looking at my workload. I was feeling very overwhelmed, especially in the mornings, and even had days where I was worried, I was losing all interest in running my business anymore. Turns out, when you clock in a lot more uninterrupted hours of sleep, that motivation comes rushing back like it never left! - A positive mental attitude
By far the most important of them all, I’ve noticed that with more quality sleep, my positive mental attitude has been re-appearing again. I’ve been starting the day feeling much more optimistic and positive about life in general, whereas a few months ago when I was really struggling with sleep and getting around 4-5 hours a night, I was much more drained and negative. It was affecting my decision making and putting me off making any nice plans. Now, I have found I’m happily attending more plans and events, squeezing more into my day, and reducing the time I spent lazing around scrolling on my phone – because my mindset didn’t take me any further than this time zapping activity.
Sleep is so detrimental to health, both mental and physical, but sometimes it takes for your sleep patterns to take a beating before you realise. Don’t get me wrong, I am not quite where I want to be in terms of being a picture of health. My diet isn’t as healthy as it should, and I could certainly benefit from much more exercise. But, with better sleep behind me, it paves the way for improving other areas of your life.
To any new mums reading this – do hang in there. I am not saying for a moment that a new TEMPUR pillow will stop a crying baby through the night! I see you, and I feel you!
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