Clearing Clutter to help create the perfect bedroom!

This is a previously published post that I would like to share again to coincide with my Clearing the Clutter for Sleep Event that I'm holding on Saturday. If you would like to join this free event then please sign up by clicking here!  Looking forward to seeing you there! 

In the last post, I encouraged you to look at your bedrooms and see if they could be made more sleep friendly by taking things out. This time, it's about putting things in!!

Doing these things is not going to cure insomnia overnight, but will definitely help. A lot of insomniacs dread going to bed as it brings up associations with not sleeping, with lying in bed awake, tossing and turning, in fact bed is associated with everything but sleep.
In order to start changing this mindset, it helps to make your bedroom somewhere where you want to go, a place that you want to spend time in.

In my London flat, the bedroom was the last place I decorated. My logic went along the lines of the other rooms - where I would be spending most of my waking time and where I would entertain, seemed to be the most important to get looking good. So by the time I got round to my bedroom, it had already become a dumping ground and the thought of moving all the stuff out seemed too daunting, so I kept delaying and delaying! Then when I did get round to painting - I painted it a bright and cheery yellow.

In hindsight all these things were big mistakes and I was not creating a calm, relaxing place to sleep.

Since then I have done a lot more research into sleep and especially (the horribly clinical sounding) 'sleep hygine'. It all makes sense!

Your bedroom should be a calm, relaxing place to be and my bright yellow walls were more stimulating than calming. So think about your colour scheme - is it calming or stimulating?

What is your bed like? Does your mattress need replacing? It is recommended to replace them every 10 years. It is also worth spending quite a lot on a good quality mattress that supports your back. It can seem a waste to spend a lot of money on something as simple as a mattress, but you do spend a 3rd of your life in bed, might as well be comfortable when you're there! Take your time buying a mattress, spend an afternoon or two trying out different ones, go on, lie on all the beds in Ikea!! I like a good quality sprung mattress, but if anyone has tried the tempura ones, please comment below and let us know what they are like.

How about the bedding? I like pure cotton, it feels so good! I also prefer white sheets, this may be something to do with Feng Shui that I learnt in Hong Kong, but it could be just because I like the look, the reasons are lost in the mists of time. I also have one of the 4 seasons type duvets and even in the winter have them in two separate duvet covers as I like to be able to adjust the temperature. I also have a feather duvet as I was going for luxury and the feel good factor, but again, this is a personal preference. I also sleep on an anatomical pillow. At first it was strange but now I really like it and don't feel as if I have the same support from a traditional pillow. I also have a feather pillow that I hug!

The bedroom should also be slightly cooler than the other rooms, as again this helps sleep. I know that I find it difficult to sleep in a heated room and like to have the window open.

I know some people swear by blackout blinds. I did have one when the bedroom window was East facing and the sun would come in early in the morning, but apart from that one place have not felt the need for one. What about your bedroom window, would one help you?

So look through the list and think about the different areas and if there are things you could change. You may say to yourself - but I need to have 3 pillows, but if you are not sleeping with 3, is it worth trying something different? You could be saying - I need to warm whan I sleep, but again, could this be something to change to see if you sleep better?

I used to read these articles and ignore them, but the reality has been that changing things, little by little, has improved my quality of sleep. I love going to bed, I know I'll be cosy and comfortable and that helps a lot when I'm going to sleep. Let me know what works for you - it could really helpful for another reader too.

Sweet dreams!

Caffeine - the acceptable addiction?

The other day I tripped when walking down the street and landed on my knees - very hard! After a weekend of constant pain and lack of sleep, I went to the doctor's (and as is typical in France) came away with a long prescription of various drugs to 'help' the pain and recovery.

To my interest one of the drugs proudly stated it was a mixture of paracetamol, opium and caffeine. (I'm presuming the caffeine is to counteract the opium.)
Normally when caffeine is present in medications, it is hidden away in small letters on the info sheet and you have to use a magnifying glass to find its listing! So to find it in large letters on the front of the bow was very unusual.

Now, I've not properly drunk caffeine for years (since I was about 18) as the doctor thought that my 6-cans-of-diet-cola a day habit might possibly be a cause of my insomnia, and there was I thinking I was being healthy because it was 'diet'.
Fortunately I did not really like coffee anyway, and the cola was surprisingly easy to give up. It was the tea that was difficult. I really love tea, still do in fact. If I'm up really early - maybe because I have a flight to catch, I may still sneak in a cup of tea but these are very rare occasions.

Nowadays I don't really think about caffeine. Sometimes the question will raise its head, such as when I moved to France, where it seems that everybody drinks coffee. Fortunately there are plenty of other options available. When I first gave it up there were only a few herbal teas available and decaff coffee, now there is a whole range of flavours and tastes to choose from Rooibus is one of my favourites, followed by fennel tea.

People ask me if I miss it, I do not really, and one lady spontaneously threw her arms round me and gave me a hug as she felt so sorry for me that I could not enjoy a morning cup of coffee.

So here's the rub - people need a morning fix of coffee because they are , heartburn addicted to it. Caffeine causes a little high immediately after consumption and then as its affect wears off it causes a slump, so reaching for another cup of caffeine restores the feeling of a high. If you were to completely come off caffeine your body would not need a morning 'fix' anymore.

Caffeine in moderate quantities has been shown to have positive health benefits such as protection from coronary disease, Parkinson's, diabetes and some cancers however an excess causes stress to the body such as osteoporosis, stress, heartburn and other stomach disorders. Caffeine's biggest downfall is that excessive consumption leads to insomnia which, in turn, leads to many other health problems such as diabetes, heart problems, weight gain etc. As well as triggering insomnia which in turn adds further stress.

The recommendation is that between 200 and 300mg a day is a safe level, over 500mgs can start causing health problems.
The problem with this statistic is that the amounts of caffeine in drinks and food varies widely, so you need to keep an eye on how much you drink. Remember that it is not just in tea and coffee but also in green teas, colas and some other soft drinks, chocolate and of course energy drinks.

So if you are having trouble sleeping, is caffeine dependency your problem? Like any drug, coming off caffeine can cause withdrawal symptoms including headaches, sleepiness, lethargy, flu-like symptoms, muscle aches and depression. Try reducing caffeine bit by bit, cutting out a cup or two of caffeine at each stage or swapping high caffeine drinks for ones lower in caffeine and, best of all, stop drinking it at least 6 hours before bedtime. If you suffer from withdrawal symptoms remind yourself that they are only temporary and will diminish.

If you would like to know how much you are drinking then check out this list.

Good luck and sweet dreams.

If you would like more help with achieving overcoming insomnia and other sleep problems then please contact me at charlotte@charlottewelply.com and we can set up a free introductory coaching session.

Tips for fasting and sleep.

I have recently taken up IF (intermittent fasting) after seeing the BBC documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer and joined an on-line forum to help me pick up ideas and tips to cope with my 2 'fasting days' per week, where I only consume up to 500 calories a day.

To my surprise I found that on fasting days I found it difficult to sleep. After having overcome the insomnia bug I was upset by this. As it was just on the nights where I was fasting going back and redoing my sleep condensing programme was not going to help me, so I spent a few (sleepless) nights trying to work out the best approach forward. I did not want to give up on the fasting as I was interested in seeing if it helped my health but really did need to sleep. Reading some of the posts on the forum and a conversation with a friend who is also fasting, I realised I was not the only person this happened to.

Some of the usual advice for insomnia is not going to help in this situation - drinking cherry juice has been shown to improve sleep, but for a faster drinking fruit juice is a waste of calories and fruit juice can cause big spikes in sugar/insulin levels which just leave you feeling even hungrier a short while afterwards.

So here are my best tips for fasters.

1 Are you warm enough? 
Being just slightly too cold can prevent sleep - and it was something that I had noticed on the forums that some people felt cold on fasting days. This was not something that I have noticed so far, as it is still quite hot here in France and it is hard to feel cold when the temperature is in the mid 30's. For me this was the problem at night time and once I had worked out what was going on, I now add a layer on my bedclothes on fasting nights and my sleep has improved!
Try placing a lightweight blanket on top of your duvet, or wearing warmer bedclothes and bedsocks to see if this helps your sleep.

2 When are you eating?
Having a growling stomach is not conducive to sleep. I save up my calories during the day and have an evening meal and a bedtime snack, which really does help.
If you are new to fasting, see if you can reduce the meals you eat to allow for more food in the evening. Fasting is an individual process and if this does not work for you relax and try one of the other approaches. More experienced fasters may find this easier, as many people find that eating earlier in the day makes you feel hungrier throughout the day, but not waking the stomach with food helps keep the hunger pangs at bay.

3 What are you eating? 
Although restricted to 500 calories there are some foods that we can eat on a fasting day that will help promote sleep. These include bananas, turkey, dairy products, sweet potatoes, lettuce, oatmeal and almonds.
Turkey is a lean, low calorie meat that can easily be part of your 500 calories, along with a small portion of sweet potatoes. Or maybe a turkey salad?
For a bedtime snack - how about a small bowl of porridge (with low fat milk), a low fat yoghurt, or a small portion of almonds.
My favourite bedtime snack is to blitz a banana with low fat yoghurt (and a splash of water) to make a banana smoothie. If I have enough calories left over then I might add a few berries as well. Depending on exactly the quantities and brands used, this comes in at between 130/150 calories.

4 What are you drinking? 
This is a tricky one as the recommendation for fasters is to drink plenty of water, as this helps with weight loss and with stopping hunger pangs. the downside is needing to go to the toilet in the night. Experiment with when to stop drinking water - maybe an hour or so before bed.
Green tea is also recommended for its weight loss benefits but green tea does contain caffeine. Caffeine can stay in your system for several hours and the general advice is to stop consuming caffeine after 2pm to allow you a good night's sleep. Maybe you are not normally sensitive to caffeine but the affect of restricted calories may change this balance in your diet.
Also remember that caffeine is present in coke and some other soft drinks - maybe you are glugging back the diet coke to help curb your hunger? Again try stopping in the early afternoon to help improve your chances of sleep.
Try drinking other herbal teas instead, they provide warmth and comfort and are generally caffeine free. Also chamomile and valerian tea are both known for their sleep inducing properties! Valerian is also available as a supplement.
Diet soft drinks such as lemonade do not contain caffeine, or try flavoured fizzy water to keep hunger at bay.
Some posts on the forum recommend a low fat calorie hot chocolate as a bedtime drink (40 cals) I have been unable to try this out as they are not available here. My only warning would be to avoid this if you find you are more sensitive to caffeine.


For me it was the combination of an extra blanket and a bedtime banana smoothie that helped and now I sleep normally on a fast night.
Please feel free to comment below about any sleep tips you may have to help fasters sleep better!

Sweet dreams!

If you would like more help with achieving overcoming insomnia and other sleep problems then please contact me at charlotte@charlottewelply.com and we can set up a free introductory coaching session.

Disclaimer - please talk to your doctor before undertaking any type of fasting or calorie restricted diet. The intention of this blog post is to give advice around sleep and not whether you should fast or not.