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Sleep Tips

Life is always so much easier when you have had a good night’s sleep isnt’ it? And we hear from so many customers who are struggling to find that good night’s sleep.

Everyone has different needs for sleep but one thing is true – you must get enough or you won’t function as well as you could. There have been many studies that show if you are well rested, you will get more done in the day. We have discovered over the years many “sleep tips” that you may find helpful.

Establish a schedule

Go to bed and get up at the same time every day and keep the schedule. (we do it for our children, why do we forget about ourselves?) As much as we love those naps during the day, it will mix up your schedule. If you have to nap, keep it to 15 minutes or less and this shouldn’t disturb your regular sleep pattern. Put away those phones and I pads and find something that is calming and peaceful before you go to bed. Some examples are a light novel, having a nice relaxing bath, listening to serene music. If you are upset, delay your bedtime until you can settle your mind; you will have a lot of trouble getting to sleep if you are distressed. We have discovered and now sell in the store some wonderful natural teas made ethically by Boreal Wildcraft in Manitoba and the “Peace Tea” has ingredients such as lemon balm, catnip, chamomile, hops, St John’s Wort, which is ideal for calming down before bedtime. Also exercise, exercise and exercise (but earlier in the day!!) will help you sleep at night as well avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed. And avoid heavy meals and too many liquids before bedtime.

Still Waking Up?

Don’t look at your clock, in fact, always keep it facing away from you otherwise, no matter what time it is, you will fret about it. If you can’t get to sleep, get out of bed. You don’t want to associate your bed with restlessness. Don’t start anything interesting or you won’t get back to bed until dawn! And if you do get up in the middle of the night, don’t eat a snack simply for something to do. Otherwise, your stomach will think it is a good idea to wake you up in the wee hours every night.

This information however is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have tried these tips and still have trouble sleeping or you still feel too tired during the day, we urge you to see your doctor.

Building Your Dream Bed

If you think about it, the average night’s sleep is 8 hours, which is one third of the day. That means we sleep for around one third of our lives. To get even more specific, if you live to 75 years, that’s 25 years of sleep or 9,125 days. Knowing this, why wouldn’t you want to take the time to make your bedroom, and most importantly your bed, a luxurious place of comfort and relaxation? 

The elements of your perfect bed do include style but go much deeper than that. Quality and comfort are essential. At Shades of Sleep, we offer all the needed elements to build the bed of your dreams from in-store selections to custom orders. 


Let us take you through the elements we believe to be your bedding essentials. 

  • Bed Skirt:not all bed frames require a bed skirt but for those that do, it’s important to know the measurements of your bed taking into account the distance from the floor to the top of the bed skirt. A bed skirt can help bring together the overall look and feel of your luxury bed. 
  • Fitted Sheet: your fitted sheet is the closest element of your bedding to your body. It should be comfortable and soft for sleeping. It should also fit snuggly over your mattress meaning that the mattress length, width and thickness will be important in determining the size.
  • Flat Sheet:a flat sheet is meant to go between you and your duvet. It is much easier to clean than a duvet and adds an added design element to your bedding. 
  • Coverlet: a coverlet is a lightweight, non-reversible bedspread that is traditionally used as a decorative layer over your thicker bedspread. They can be used as a stand alone bed covering depending on their weight. 
  • Decorative Shams: decorative shams are a great way to add a pop of colour or texture to your bedding. Adding in grand shams behind your regular shams also helps to add height. 
  • Decorative Cushions: adding in decorative cushions is a great way to get creative. A wide variety of cushion types are available depending on the style you’re looking for. 
  • Duvet Cover: the duvet cover is the main focal point of your room. It should complement the theme and colours of the room as a whole and should be a light weight fabric to create an airy feel.
  • Sleeping Pillows: sleeping pillows are one of the most important elements of a bed. They should be soft to the touch, comfortable for your head to rest on and high quality so that they maintain their shape over time.  
  • Duvet: the type of duvet that you choose will help to determine the type of sleep that you have. Investing in a high-quality duvet will keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter while being comfortable all year round. 

While these are the elements of a luxury bed that we feel are the essentials, there are others that can be added in such as back pillows for an additional layered look and a mattress protector to keep your mattress clean and in great shape.  

We invite you to stop in and design your dream bed with us. We have a large selection of bedding that we know you’ll love.  

The Blanket that can Successfully Combat Stress and Anxiety…

For many of us, stress and anxiety are components of our everyday lives. Unfortunately, this stress and anxiety can cause insomnia and an increase in cortisol levels. Have you heard of a weighted blanket? If not, your life is about to change! 

Weighted blankets have been scientifically proven to help you go from stressed and anxious to calm and ready for sleep. Created to help patients suffering from sleep anxiety, ADHD, OCD, Sensory Processing Disorder and more, these magical blankets help to naturally lower cortisol levels. 

How does a blanket do this, you ask? When you sleep under a blanket that is around 7-12% of your body weight, it creates an effect called Deep Touch Pressure Stimulation. This DTPS reduces cortisol and increases serotonin and melatonin to help you happily drift off to sleep. You’ll find it easier to settle down and fall asleep which will leave you refreshed and rested in the morning. 

The luxurious weighted blankets that we carry are perfect for all seasons. In the winter, they’ll keep you cozy and warm and in the summer cool and comfortable when you remove the outer shell and sleep with the inner blanket.  

Visit us in-store at 1221-9 Avenue SE (Inglewood) to browse the different sizes and weights that we carry or call us at (403) 457-0092 with any questions. 

Sleep Well with Sustainable Bedding

Is there anything sweeter than a good night’s sleep? How about sleeping on luxurious and comfortable bedding that’s also eco-friendly and sustainable? At Shades of Sleep, we’re proud to offer a selection of bedding that you can feel great about resting your head on at night. 

Below is a selection of our favourite lines that we know you’ll love as well. 

Coyuchi

For the past twenty years, Coyuchi has persevered to produce the highest quality, natural, sustainably sourced products on the market. They use only natural fibers and source their materials carefully and minimally. Their linen feels like linen and their wool like wool. Organic farming ensures that less carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases are produced, and conscious processing preserves the natural traits of organic fibers while eliminating the toxic dyes and chemicals used in traditional textiles. 

Libeco

If you’re looking for the finest Belgian linen, Libeco is for you. Made of flax, this linen is one of the most sustainable textiles known to man. The environmental impact of spinning and weaving flax is virtually zero and Libeco invests in new technology and production methods to reduce energy consumption even further. Their certified organic collection is the Libeco Organic line and achieves the highest ecological standards of with the GOTS certification that covers the entire production process. 

St. Geneve

St Genève bed linens are designed and made in Canada using the highest quality fabrics and woven by specialty mills in Germany and Italy. Their collections are designed and meticulously hand-crafted at their manufacturing facility by their exceptional team, many of whom have been with them for decades. Their organic line is the Nico collection and is soft to the touch and kind to the environment. It is made of 100% organic percale with 240 thread count and dye free. 

For these and other brands, visit us at Shades of Sleep in Inglewood at 1221- 9 Avenue S.E.

The Perfect Pillow

Are you in search of the perfect pillow?   We don’t realize how much our sleep is impacted until we either travel and are forced to use a pillow that is too flat or too puffy or we finally take the leap and purchase a new pillow for home.  The wrong pillow creates all sort of issues sore neck, headaches, neck stiffness in the morning and an overall poor sleep.   Side sleepers need more support to keep your neck aligned with the rest of your spine and back sleepers need less support.

There are so many choices out there what to do?

For our vegan clients, we offer the Altro Pillow which you can customize yourself.  Add in more fill, or take some out and create the perfect pillow.  Filled with hypoallergenic Daunlon Cluster Polyester this pillow is a wonderful down alternative.

But we are truly in love with our down pillows!   Treated with the Zurguard down processing system, the down is sanitized, eliminating bacteria and any odors making the down truly hypoallergenic.   Your down pillow can be customized with fills ranging from extra soft to extra firm, in standard, regular, queen or king size.  And for those customers that need that little extra support, try the Chateau which comes with a solid core of feathers surrounded by down.    All down pillows are washable and down can be added at any time if you find you are needing more support.

Once you experience sleeping with a pillow that is properly made to accommodate how you sleep, you will wake up refreshed and ready to face the day.

LINEN – Sustainable by Nature

Linen is made from flax and flax is one of the most sustainable raw materials in the world. During the growing season, the flax plant does not need additional irrigation, rainwater is sufficient. Compared to other crops, flax uses considerably less crop protection agents and fertilizers and the fibres are separated from the trunk in a natural way via dew root.

The best flax in the world grows in the north region of France, Belgium and the Netherlands (and these are known to be the longest flax fibres) and which is responsible for 80% of the global fax production. This climate, where sun and rain alternate regularly and where the soil is deal for cultivating a stronger fiber, makes this known worldwide for its quality.

Did you know that linen is actually stronger than cotton and does not pill.    Linen also has natural anti-bacterial properties, retains moisture (up to 20% of its weight) and releases this moisture back into the air very quickly and because of that, linens dry almost instantly because the fibre itself cannot hold air or heat.  So it was not a surprise to us to learn that linen is always fresh and cool and very effectively aids inflammatory conditions, reduces fever and provides a healthy respiratory exchange.  Linen is famous for its durability and improves with use, making it  stronger, shinier and softer. 

We love our linen bedding from Libeco where the flax is grown in Belgium,  spun into yarn and woven into the most beautiful linen sheets and duvet covers.