Spring has finally sprung, the clocks have gone forwards and the lighter nights are here. Many of us will already be feeling the benefits of giving our homes a spring clean. This blog post encourages you to take your spring clean a few steps further to bring the benefits of a spring clean to your sleep routine.
Image Credit:Flickr
Cleaning your Bed
A spring clean for your bed calls for more than just washing and changing the bedding. We need to make our bed feel fresh and new like the new season. So here’s how.
- Strip off all the bedding so that you just have a mattress and pillows without pillow cases on the bed.
- Using you Hoover and its attachments, thoroughly Hoover over all of the mattress, paying attention to the ‘buttons’, where lots of dust and fluff can be lurking.
- Do the same for your pillows – they harbour tremendous amounts of dust – more about this later.
- If you have a steam cleaner, use the wand attachments to go over the mattress and pillows. The high temperature steam will help kill any bugs and remove any dust that the hoover left behind. Remember to check the care labels on your mattress and pillows before using the steamer.
- Turn your mattress. If your mattress can be turned (again check the care label), now is a good time to do it. Repeat the steps of hoovering and steaming the side that you have just turned to be the top.
Are your pillows past it?
According to an article on Business Insider, “Your pillows are full of dust mites and dead skin cells”, and should be replaced every two years. Your pillow has an important role to play in the quality of sleep that you will get, so if your pillows are over two years old, or are of an uncertain age, there’s a good chance they’re no longer providing you with adequate support either.
There’s a huge number of types of pillow, each suited to a particular sleep style. To help you find the perfect pillow for you, Sleepy People have put together a pillow selector that offers you a selection of pillows based on your answers to some questions about how you like to sleep.
An MOT for your mattress
Another useful online tool by the UK’s Sleep Council will help you determine if your mattress is ready to be renewed. An average mattress is used for 10 years, supporting you through literally 1000’s of nights sleep. The Bed MOT again asks a series of questions about your mattress and offers tailored advice based upon your answers.
Time for a lighter duvet
With the arrival of warmer weather, it’s time to start using a lighter duvet. Typical duvet Tog ratings that are suitable for spring / summer are between 7.5 and 4.5. The lower the Tog rating, the cooler the duvet.
Putting it all back together
Now you’ve got the lighter duvet out and you’re ready to re-make your bed, consider using pure cotton sheets and covers. There’s nothing quite like the smooth and cool feel of Egyptian cotton on a warm summer’s night.
As always, thank-you for reading my blog post. I hope you found some helpful tips here and that you get a great night’s sleep in your new spring cleaned bed.