大象传媒

by Rosie Stopher

In the Duvet Days podcast, top guests let presenter Abby Hollick climb under their duvet to have a deep and meaningful chat about what makes them want to stay in bed and how they’ve dealt with life's ups and downs.

From Jordan Stephens’ bright pink bed, to Camilla Thurlow’s jungle-themed duvet cover, our guests have figured out exactly what works for them when it comes to kicking back and switching off.

So who better to ask for their best hacks for winding down and getting great sleep?

We’ve all heard the usual advice: dial down the blue light, switch devices off an hour before bed, and take them out of the room where possible. Even celebrities try their best to follow those rules.

But sometimes chilling out is about finding the things that only work for you. And sometimes, those things can be a bit weird.

But we’re not judging, so here are some of our favourite tips from our Duvet Days guests.

Derry Girls actor Nicola Coughlan admits that she finds it pretty hard to get to sleep.

"I think it’s because I’m the youngest child and when I was younger my siblings were allowed to stay up and I wasn’t, so I have inbuilt FOMO," she says.

But she has a fail-safe method to send her off.

"I have to sleep on my right hand side which I feel like is squishing the right side of my face, and then I sleep with a pillow on top of my head," the Derry Girls star says.

"I didn’t intentionally do that but I started doing it in my sleep and it just happens now.

I sleep like my head’s a sandwich!"

Not the usual type of midnight snack, but whatever works for you.

While Nicola might be keeping her head beneath the pillow, children’s author and poet Laura Dockrill has got something else under there: handwritten notes.

Laura suffered postnatal psychosis and started keeping notes of encouragement with her to remind her of what she loves.

"One says ‘You are safe, you love it here’, this one says ‘Loosen your attitude, take as long as you need.’

They’re things to remember about my illness, and just positive things.

If in the night, I can’t sleep, they’ll bring me comfort and I’ll fall back to sleep."

It’s an old cliché that counting sheep is the right level of boring to put you to sleep.

But Rizzle Kicks star Jordan Stephens sees your sheep and raises you a dreamscape where you get to be the boring one.

"I create a story where I’m the main character, capable of all the things I want to be capable of," he says.

"Then the I bring in other characters, and by the time I’m into the second act, I’ve kind of bored myself and I’m actually asleep."

Speak for yourself Jordan – a world in which we’re capable of everything doesn’t sound like one we’d get bored of very quickly.

Are you a pre-bed showerer? Maybe you like feeling clean before you getting under the sheets – or perhaps you’re way too tired to even consider it.

Model, DJ and activist Munroe Bergdorf takes a pretty hard line on it.

"I can’t go to sleep without having a shower and I don’t understand people who do go to bed without one!" she says.

"I just feel like I need to have a bath and shower, get away everything that’s stuck to me throughout the day, get on a sheet mask and jump into bed, cocoa butter everywhere.”

A home spa before bed time? Yes please!

The truth is, you have to find your own ways to chill out and get good sleep.

Try starting with the basics. Almost all of Duvet Days’ guests had obviously done their homework as they told us about the importance of taking green screens out of your bedroom. Singer-songwriter Christine and the Queens admitted she found it pretty hard to get off her phone but that she’s noticed a real difference since she had. And wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft recommended picking up a book an hour before bed instead.

Lighting some candles was also a popular suggestion: singer Emeli Sandé told us she’d just bought a mojito scented one, and VICE writer Joel Golby took things one step further and recommended his scented humidifier.

Singer Ray BLK said relaxing music was essential for her. There are lots of brilliant chilled out mixes available on the 大象传媒 Sounds app.

Happy sleeping!

Download Duvet Days to listen in to intimate honest chat about mental health, fame, and self-care.