Sleep guide - How to get 8 hours of sleep
A few honest thoughts on changing your sleep habits, from Juniper's founder.
Robe, newspaper, and grapefruit before the day starts.
Going to bed earlier from one day to the next almost never works. It's the same reason every gym is packed in January and half-empty by February: big, sudden changes rarely stick. So how do you actually make one stick?
The key is changing the routine slowly. I've been working on this myself for a long time. I'm not at the finish line, but I've come some of the way, and the biggest thing I've learned is to make the change as easy as possible for yourself at first, then gradually make it more demanding. Here are some of the changes I've actually made, one at a time.
Start with two nights a week
My husband and I started by deciding that Thursday and Sunday nights would be the two nights we really prioritised sleep, since those are the nights that set you up for the week ahead and the weekend ahead. After a few months, once that felt like the new normal, we added another night.
Feet up, orange juice, no rush to get up.
Set a yearly goal, not a nightly one
If you use a sleep tracker, I'd also recommend setting a goal for the year. Something like clocking 150 nights with more than seven hours of sleep is a reasonable, positive step up from wherever you're starting, though the right number is different for everyone.
The key is changing the routine slowly.
No alarm, no rush, just a book.
Consider two duvets instead of one
If you sleep under one shared duvet, it's worth trying two separate ones. A small change, and fewer disturbed nights.
Get the mattress right
Routines only get you so far if the mattress itself isn't right for you. It's worth treating as its own decision, not an afterthought to the bedding.
Coffee on the windowsill, before the room wakes up.
Keep the room dark
Light is one of the easiest things to fix and one of the most overlooked. Blackout curtains or blinds do more for sleep than most routines on their own.
Keep the room cool
A cold room makes for a good night's sleep, more often than not. If anything, err on the side of too cool rather than too warm.
Make the room somewhere you want to be
A bed and a bedroom cosy enough that you actually look forward to going to bed does more than any single habit on this list.
A bed and a bedroom cosy enough that you actually look forward to going to bed does more than any single habit on this list.
Mathilda, always happy to talk it through.
If you have any questions, I'm always happy to talk. You can also reach our team directly at care@jun-per.com, or call us at 08-83 90 06 — we're available by phone Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00 (not available by phone in weeks 28–29).
These are the seven things I've actually put into practice, not just seven things that sound good on paper.
Best,
Mathilda