This post is sponsored by TEMPUR®
I was eight years old, crying silently in the bottom bunk of my Brownie camp dorm. Was I being bullied? Worrying about being away from home? Scared of the dark? Nope. Instead, my distress stemmed from the fact that, at the shockingly late hour of 10pm, my fellow Brownie Guides in their pastel pyjamas, revved up on toasted marshmallows and the glee of forbidden conversation, WOULD NOT SHUT UP AND LET ME SLEEP. As I lay there, tears pooling in my dirty little ears, all I could think was, “I’m going to feel RUBBISH tomorrow!”
I’ve always been acutely aware of how the quality of my day is affected by the amount of shuteye I’ve managed the night before. A good eight hours’ sleep means I can run faster, climb higher and think quicker than if I’m not well rested. A great sleep turns me into a morning person, a jump-out-of-bed, look-on-the-bright-side, Ferris Bueller-quoting kind of person. Basically, a person who, when life moves pretty fast, has the energy to ensure I don’t miss it. For me, sleep deprivation is akin to an illness, with similar mental and physical effects.
So you can imagine the birth of my first child came as rather a shock!
In fact, the sleep deprivation was SO bad that my husband and I sold our lovely flat in our beloved London and, in a daze, headed back to Scotland and the waiting arms of our respective mothers, desperate for a rest. While health visitors assessed me for signs of postnatal depression, I knew a few decent nights’ kip was all I really needed. And sure enough, when my son eventually learned to sleep through the night, my world instantly brightened and I started to feel like myself once again. Finally, after our second child also started to sleep through, we moved back to London!
Since those dark days, I’ve come to appreciate sleep more than ever before. My kids are older now, rarely requiring night time attention, and I cherish every sleeping minute. In practical terms, this means investing in quality mattresses and pillows so I’m as comfortable as I can possibly be, and my sleep is deep and replenishing.
Which is why, when TEMPUR® asked me to partner with them to share my benefits of sleep on this, World Sleep Day, it was a no-brainer of a YES. I’ve had the excellent fortune to test-sleep a TEMPUR® pillow and mattress and let me tell you – they’re out of this world. Quite literally!
Unfortunately, TEMPUR®’s technology hasn’t quite advanced to ensuring babies don’t cry in the night, but I’m sure they’re working on that while we sleep…
This post is sponsored by TEMPUR®, but all thoughts, opinions and decisions to quit the Brownies are entirely my own
