12 Tips to Create a Sleep Haven

Don't just fall into bed. Use these guidelines to make your bedroom a place of utter respite.

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Tips 1-5

To lull you to sleep, you need to make your bedroom a sensuous haven, adding all the accoutrements of comfort and serenity in a beautiful setting.

1. Buy a New Mattress. Don't even try to comparison shop. Every mattress in every store has a different name. And every owner of every mattress shop says that the mattresses in his shop are different -- and better -- than every other mattress shop on the planet. The truth is that the right mattress for you is the one that you try in your home for 30 days. Find a mattress shop that offers that option, pick out the mattress that you and your partner think is the most comfortable, make sure it has a guarantee, and flash your plastic. Don't worry about coils and foam and luxury toppers. The mattress that allows you to sink into a deep, natural sleep and wake up in the morning without aches and pains is the one you want. And there's only one way to find out which mattress that is.

2. Bask in Comfort.Buy silky, natural tree-fiber sheets in a soothing color. An exquisitely soft cashmere throw for the bed. A hypoallergenic down comforter. A sunshine silk duvet cover. Pillows, pillows, and more pillows. A roll for behind your neck, a wedge for behind your back, a full-body pillow for when your bed partner is away. Hypoallergenic, of course. And don't forget the teddy bear. No girl can sleep without one.

3. Spritz. A quick spritz of soothing lavender water on your pillows before bed will help calm your exhausted mind.

4. Chill Before Bed. Lower the temperature of your bedroom before you climb into bed, says Becky Wang-Cheng, M.D., a medical director at Kettering Medical Center in Ohio. Lower temperatures signal your body it's time to sleep. If your bed partner objects, just tell him to bundle up.

5. Soak. A hot bath also helps you lower your body's temperature. Yeah, your temperature goes up while you're in the bath, but your body's response to the heat will be to drop your temperature way down low.

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8 or more 6-7 6 or less

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