HEALTH & T

HERE is never a time when sleep isn’t important. But with the shorter, vitamin D-deprived days, gloomy weather – and the dread that it’s going to drag on for months – at this time of year, solid slumber is more vital than ever.

Winter, like all the seasons, has its joys (little beats a stroll on a perfect, crisp winter’s morning; stark blue sky, robins and the last of the leaves glistening with dew). But the reality for many is it can be quite hard work, too, whether it’s loneliness, worrying about the cost of Christmas or suffering the mood-zapping effects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), not to mention those winter bugs doing the rounds.

And so we’d do well to give ourselves – and our immune systems – a helping hand, which in so many ways, starts and ends with decent dozing.

Here are some points to think about if you want to win at winter sleep. HOT AND COLD NOBODY wants to lie shivering in bed with feet like ice blocks. But overheating can actually be more detrimental to sleep, so it’s important to get the temperature just right.

“Ideally, the brain temperature needs to be fractionally lower than the body’s core temperature, so ideally your bedroom needs to be cool, around 19˚C,” says physiologist and sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, author of Fast Asleep, Wide Awake: Discover The Secrets Of Restorative Sleep And Vibrant Energy (£12.99, Harper Thorsons). “So you’ll walk in and find it a bit chilly, but you can put a hot water bottle into the bed which you then discard as you get cosy.

“It’s important not to overheat as this will make sleep fretful and restless. I find it helpful to keep a fan in my room, even in winter, carefully positioned so I don’t get too cold if I use it.

Also, a eucalyptus stick on your bedside table’s a good idea. Eucaplytus is cooling, so if you wake during the night – 2 to 4am is the most likely time for overheating – you rub the menthol stick between your eyebrows and temples and it has a cooling effect on the brain and, surprisingly, the mind.”

Go for layers of bedding, rather than one thick duvet, “so you can discard some through the night”. COMFORT IS KEY A COMFORTABLE bed, that’s just right for you, makes a big difference – but often it’s only when you actually experience it, that you realise just how much. A calm environment can equal a calm mind, but when it comes to designing your bedroom, “quality of sleep should be the top priority”, notes James Cox, co-founder and CEO of British brand Simba Sleep, who offer 2,000-spring/Visco memory foam mattresses (simbasleep.com and selected John Lewis stores).

“So ditch the lumpy, uncomfortable mattress.” The best mattresses aren’t likely to be the cheapest, but if you are looking to make investments, few things are more rewarding than years of good sleep. A good mattress can also play a role in helping manage and reduce aches and pains. TECH IT OR LEAVE IT WE BANG on about the importance of stepping away from those screens before bedtime, but the message just isn’t Ditch the tablet at bedtime getting through for many of us (according to a recent survey by Simba Sleep, almost one in six Brits spend at least two hours a day on social media in bed).

Bottom line: if you want to nail a solid sleeping routine, you need to switch off those devices.

Dr Ramlakhan recommends an “electronic sundown” of around an hour before getting into bed, in order to calm those dopamine hits from constantly looking at a screen, and cut down on the blue light exposure that suppresses melatonin – “the sleep hormone” – production.

“We might associate the device with being mentally engaged and in work-mode too, especially if we also have access to email on the device,” she adds.

Try old-school bedtime reading – with actual books – instead. “Neuroscience shows that the reading brain responds differently to reading on paper than it does to reading on a screen. With the latter, the reading rate tends to be faster, less mindful and more skimming – sort of multi-task reading – as if looking at a social media feed.

“Reading on paper tends to be more mindful, and we slow down and read in more detail (neuroscientists call this deep reading).”