Getting a good night’s rest is often hard to come by, but it is essential to a healthy lifestyle and can be achievable through the use of a few tips and tricks.

According to scientists, the average adult human needs eight hours of sleep everyday to function effectively. During this time, the body is reenergizing itself as well working to facilitate the growth and development of the human body, especially for teenagers and children.

Setting your bedroom up in the most comfortable way possible is a great starting point for an improved night of sleep.

According to sleep expert Dr Guy Meadows, here are a few tips that you can use to have a good night’s rest.

1. Invest in comfortable bedding

How much time have you spent trying to find the ‘perfect’ spot to fall asleep? Twenty minutes or more? Well, that time could have been spent sleeping if you had more comfortable bedding.

“If someone has an uncomfortable bed, they are spending more time shifting between lighter sleep phases and wakefulness, which predisposes them to restless sleep and means they don’t wake up feeling refreshed,” explained Dr Meadows.

As such, he recommends investing in a new mattress every eight years to ensure that your body is getting the support it needs. If a new mattress is out of the question, he recommends a mattress topper to help improve sleep.

The firmness of a mattress often depends on an individual’s preference, but medium soft is often the preferred firmness.

2. Keep the room cool

If a room is too hot, it can lead to sweating, which can make it very uncomfortable for you to sleep. Likewise, if a room is too cold, it can be uncomfortable, resulting in restless shifting.

“We need a one degree drop in our core body temperature to fall asleep and an equivalent rising core body temperature for us to wake up,” Dr Meadows explained.

As such, he says the recommended room temperature for a good night’s rest is 16 to 18 degrees.

3. Reduce noise

To no surprise, a quiet room is essential for a good night’s rest.

Meadows explains that this is because your brain is not completely shut off while you sleep. It is still active and any loud noise can alert your body to wake up.

As such, he recommends that people decorate their bedrooms with heavy curtains, soft furnishings and carpets that can absorb a lot of noise, ensuring a quieter bedroom.

Additionally, light colour such as soft blues and earth tones can create a relaxing environment for you to sleep.

4. Light levels

Before going to bed, try and get your room as dark as possible. This can be done through the use of black out curtains or sleep masks.

If you cannot get your room to be completely dark, consider a night light that is significantly dimmer than your overhead lights.

“You want the room and your overall environment to be darkening at the beginning of the night, and then you want to sleep in the dark. In the morning, you want the room to brighten so it wakes you up,” Dr Guy explains.

5. Bedtime routine

For some people, as soon as their head hit the pillow they are out for the night, but for others, sleeping does not come as easy.

To prepare yourself for bed, Meadows recommends having a routine that alerts your body it is time for sleep.

“Having a good wind-down routine helps to create a regular rhythm. This is important because sleep is regulated by our internal body clock, which is a creature of habit. This means that when you begin your wind-down routine, it recognises that sleep is on its way, strengthening the association between that time and the release of melatonin [a sleep hormone], and subsequently helping you sleep better,” he explained.

A routine could be inclusive of bathing, brushing your teeth, turning on a humidifier or spraying scents like lavender, which are known to help improve sleep.

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