Sisters Lauren and Nicole founders of ARDERE share their sleep habits and how they are huge believers in the power and science of scent therapy.
How important is sleep to your personal daily life?
Hugely important. We know the significance of sleep deprivation and how it can increase our risk of cancer, diabetes, obesity and many other health concerns, so we always make sure to fit adequate sleep into our routine.
If we haven’t slept well, we will most certainly feel it. Our productivity slows, our concentration declines and we become more irritable during the daytime. It’s definitely something we can sense if we’re not getting enough shut-eye.
What does a typical sleep routine look like to you?
We can all struggle to distance ourselves from technology throughout the day and evening, but we try and reduce our technology-time and stay away from our laptops and phones by leaving them in a different room during the evening.
If we do have to use them then we will always put them on “Night Shift” to bring down our exposure to blue lights. Exposure to blue lights late at night can suppress our melatonin production, which is our sleep hormone - we need adequate levels to help us feel sleepy.
So our sleep routine typically involves distancing ourselves from technology as much as possible, as it can cause so many disruptions when getting to sleep.
What is your bedroom like?
White, cotton bed sheets and white walls - we love a clean and airy room that has a de-stressing energy about it. We both have a Himalayan salt lamp for that soft-warm glow and some fairy lights around our headboards.
What is your sleep position?
Lauren: I tend to sleep on my back, which helps to keep my spine straight as it doesn’t tend to bend into any contortions.
Nicole: I tend to sleep on my front and then move around a lot during the night, I can end up in so many different sleeping positions!
Do you follow any rituals to help you sleep better?
We tend to light our ARDERE Provence in the lead up to going to sleep. We are huge believers in the power and science of scent therapy. The soothing notes of lavender and earthiness of carrot seed really help to melt away any tension, cocooning us in our very own sanctuary of calm.
We also make sure to avoid caffeine in the afternoons. This is because caffeine has an incredibly long half-life, which means that it can remain in your system up to 9 hours after drinking it. This can of course impact our nearest and dearest friend, sleep!
What are your top “sleep well” tips?
Write down your gratitude’s for the day in a gratitude journal. Often what can prevent many of us from getting to sleep in a timely fashion is that we tend to ruminate on all the things that went wrong in our day, the things we didn’t manage to fit into our day etc. Countless good things happen in our day but too often we are so busy that they tend to go unnoticed. By taking the time to acknowledge what we are grateful for we can truly help to combat stress. This takes us further away from our stress threshold and fills our brain with positive information, leaving less space to ruminate on the negative and have a sound night’s sleep.
Have you read any good bedtime books lately?
Lauren: I’m currently reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It’s an excellent read for those who are into personal development. The book helps you to understand how the routine things that you do each and every day are wired into your brain and how habits actually work. Most importantly, it talks you through how habits can be changed. So, if you are interested in improving anything from the food choices that you make, to trying out a new skill, or even wanting to promote the efficiency of an entire workplace, I couldn’t recommend this one more! It’s a great read before bed.
Nicole and Lauren x
