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How much did you sleep last night?

How much sleep do you need to function?

It fascinates me that different people need different amounts of sleep and can sleep so differently too. I am a really deep sleeper, I can place my head on the pillow, fall asleep and be snoring within seconds and my eldest daughter is very much the same. However my other half and youngest daughter take time to wind down and both need complete darkness to prepare themselves for sleep, so when we were asked to take part in a sleep study by Silent Night, we leapt at the chance.

Research by the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has found that sleep appears necessary for our nervous systems to work properly. Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormone in children and young adults with many of the body's cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep.

So how do we sleep in our house? 

Apparently a new baby typically results in between 400-750 hours of lost sleep for parents in the first year and my other half would argue that this isn't restricted to the first year. My youngest daughter has never been the best sleeper and when she is poorly, it seems that sleep literally goes out of the window. Our "typical" night is usually broken by a toilet break or one wake up at the very least!

We were sent the Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask and whilst I was dying to try it, the man on the Lilypad needs to sleep easier and as it conforms to the contours of your face, I felt it was only fair to let my other half try it out. I am not suggesting for one moment that he has big ears but the sleep mask has a really good strap that does not hurt the ears as it has high enough placement and soft material. Being a typical woman, I had to check it out myself (when he wasn't looking) but it seems really durable and there are no edges that could fray over time.

A sleep mask is never going to be the most glamorous bedtime accessory and with small children, managing to stay in bed for the whole evening is a successful night's sleep in our book but the Tempur Pedic Sleep Mask did mean that if my other half was repeatedly getting out of bed, he was enveloped in darkness as soon as his head lay back down again, which helped to ease him back into slumber.

Sleep accessories are good but for me, nothing beats a good bed and I can be terribly grouchy if I haven't had my 8 hours sleep (I think my grouchiness levels have increased since I am repeatedly woken up pre 6am). Part of the Silentnight Sleep Study reveals that many of us are victims to others' tired and irritable behaviour through lack of sleep. 

• 84% have been on the receiving end of someone who is tired and irritable
• Over half have been victim to rude and irrational behaviour from tired folk
• 30% have ignored irrational behaviour from someone who is tired
• 87% said ill manners and queue jumping topped the poll for getting us in a bad mood after a good night's sleep
• 15% take their lack of sleep out on others on the road

Silentnight know how important sleep is and want to help make all our daily commutes and routines as easy as possible by providing a range of comfortable mattresses for all different types of sleepers, to have a good night's sleep. After all, 80 per cent of people sleep better on a new mattress. (wow, that is a major statistic!)

A good night's sleep has become like the holy grail in our house, what with light sleepers, snoring, toilet breaks, poorly little ones and sleepwalking children but sometimes, just sometimes (maybe with a little help) we get that elusive silent night.

What helps you go to sleep?

Disclaimer : We were sent the Tempur Pedic Sleep Mask for the purpose of the sleep study.