Sleepmaxxing: “I’m a sleep expert - this trick will make you a morning person”

As the clocks spring forward and the mornings grow lighter, the change in daylight is more than just a sign that spring is here; it’s a golden opportunity to transform your day.

Dave Gibson said: “We all inherit natural sleep / wake chronotypes which dictate what time of the day we’re most alert and when we feel the tiredness kick in.

“While you can’t completely change your natural body clock from being a night-owl to a morning lark, if you ensure that when you wake up, you make it as bright as you can straight away, you can help reset your body clock earlier. Here, exposure to morning light and consistent sleep schedules can help you shift your natural rhythms over time.”

But who wants to jump out of bed to switch on the lights and open the curtains the moment they wake up? Not many of us! So, Blinds 2go has created the solution.

Combining style with cutting edge technology, the company has a range of electric blinds that can be pre-programmed to let the natural sunlight seep into your home and hack your morning routine.

Dave adds: “Natural sunlight is one of the key mechanisms that strengthens our circadian rhythm, which is what helps us get a more restful sleep.

“It’s recommended that you get 30 minutes of exposure to natural light every day as early as possible to get the 1000 lux our bodies need to function at their best. Even if you can’t get out – after all, life can get in the way sometimes – just letting the sunlight stream in through your window can deliver 700 lux, which is a vast improvement compared to artificial indoor lighting.”

The benefits of natural light include regulating your circadian rhythm, boosting your mood, enhancing vitamin D production. Crucially, sunlight is the most natural way of waking.

Blinds 2go’s electric blinds, powered by the Tuiss SmartView app ), can be manually controlled via your phone to open to a preference that suits you. Conveniently, users can also set specific timers for blinds to open or close, acting as your own personal natural sunlight alarm clock.

When asked about the ‘sleepmaxxing’ trend, Dave Gibson said: “Positively, it is putting the focus on sleep hygiene techniques and habits that can help you improve your sleep.

“Being woken up by sunlight is one of the most productive ways to engage in this trend as it is essentially the most natural way of waking, as long as you have had sufficient sleep.”

Sunrise-style alarm clocks have soared in popularity in recent years, with searches of ‘sunlight lamp’ breaking out on Google – meaning the search interest has increased by over 5000% in the last five years.

Leah Aspinall, Head of Design at Blinds 2go, said: “We know that natural light is so important to our sleep, so making it work for us was paramount when designing our range of blinds and curtains.

“Our electric blinds mean you can control your wake up routine with natural light – not artificially-created sunlight – and set yourself up for the day ahead.

“What’s more, our electric blinds come in a huge range of styles, colours and patterns and are all made-to-measure, so there’s something to match all bedroom aesthetics. From Roller to Roman blinds ) that are available with an innovative solar charger, to Pleated blinds for all year-round insulation. Living beautifully – both within yourself and your home – has never been easier!”

While electric blinds are an expert-backed method of improving your sleep cycle and becoming more of a morning person, Dave also explains that investing in blackout blinds in the bedroom is also beneficial to your sleep hygiene.

“ Blackout blinds and curtains are an essential part of a good sleep hygiene toolkit. Exposure to light is one of the key mechanisms that wakes us, and conversely, the absence of light is a key initiator of sleep along with a decreasing body temperature.

“These blinds and curtains are the best option for stopping light leakage into the bedroom from streetlights in the evening and the rising sun in the morning. It is the absence of light after the setting sun that stimulates the pineal gland in the brain to release melatonin, which is the hormone that creates our ‘desire to sleep’.

“Photoreceptors at the back of the eye track a specific blue wavelength of sunlight. It is the absence of this wavelength of light that stimulates the release of melatonin, and then when there’s sunlight, it correspondingly suppresses its production in the day.”

Combining the two, Blinds 2go has a range of blackout electric blinds on its website too including basics, eco-friendly and patterned designs.

For more information on Blinds 2go, visit: https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/.