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If you’re a shift worker, or you’re simply trying to catch up on some rest from a poor night’s sleep, you might find yourself struggling to get good quality sleep during the day.

And there's a good reason for that.

Our bodies have been hard wired to follow the patterns of the day for thousands of years, using the day to find food and shelter, and taking advantage of the darkness to catch up on rest by sleeping during the night.

Nowadays, however, there are an increasing number of reasons why people might need to sleep during the day.

Here are some tips for sleeping during the day that will help you get the good night’s sleep you deserve.

5 Simple Tips For Sleeping During The Day

1. Avoid Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant that can temporarily make us feel more alert by blocking sleep-inducing chemicals in the brain and increasing adrenaline production, making it much more difficult to fall asleep.

In doing so, caffeine shortens the amount of deep sleep

If you’re a shift worker or a particularly light sleeper you might have considered blackout blinds to help you get a good night’s sleep.

But what are blackout blinds? How do they work? And are they worth it?

What Are Blackout Blinds And Where Are They Used?

Blackout blinds block 100% of the light filtering through the fabric, and they are ideal for blocking out sunlight and adding privacy in your home.

The blind is a made from a single piece of blackout fabric, wrapped around a casing, that is ideally installed inside the window recess or it can be positioned outside the recess.

This type of blind operates via a pull cord which is attached to the bottom of the blind or a sidewinding chain mechanism that is attached to the casing itself. They are simple to use and are popular for homes and businesses alike.

Blackout blinds can block out daylight, street light, car lights and provide more privacy compared with standard blinds, in winter months they help keep the room warmer, and in the summer

You have decided that you would like to completely block out light in a room, and the ideal solution is blackout curtains. As the name suggests, blackout curtains block out light, but not all to the same degree, that can vary from 85% to 100% - depending on the curtain fabrics.

So How Do Blackout Curtains Work?

100% blackout curtains do not allow a single ray of light to get through and it is the only product of its kind to be able to completely blackout the light. 

Made from our innovative, proprietary 100% Blackout fabric, blackout curtains use triple weave technology to provide a three layer approach to functional curtains. 

Special black yarns are woven tightly into the middle of a unique multiple layered thermal lining, and it is the middle yarns that deliver block out properties to a room.

What Are The Benefits of Blackout Curtains?

Block out sunlight, car lights, street lights.  

Ideal for a shift worker, babies nurseries and anyone living on a main road.

Energy-efficient.

Just imagine those long summer evenings and early sunrises.  

Wonderful, don’t you agree? That is, until you want an early night, lie in or you are a shift worker, you simply need to block out the light.

When that’s the case, blackout curtains are the ideal solution.

What Are Blackout Curtains?

While standard curtains are made from one layer of fabric, which allows light through, blackout curtains are made in a special blackout fabric that works to completely block out light from entering a room.

We have a range of curtains here at Blackouts Direct, and our 100% Blackout Curtains are the only product of their kind, able to create total darkness in a room with the only way for light to enter the room being through a gap in the curtains.

How Do Blackout Curtains Work?

Blackout curtains are made differently to standard curtains. 

Special yarns are woven tightly into a multiple layered backing, and it is this backing that enables the curtains to block out the light, provide insulation, increase privacy

A regular sleep pattern is important to maintaining your health, mood and mental wellbeing.

Sleep can help boost your immune system, strengthen your heart, and reduces our chances of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

Getting a good night's sleep can be extremely difficult and challenging when you work shifts.  Your body is working against the circadian rhythm which is largely based on the light-dark cycle, which is sleep during the night, awake during the day.  

If you’ve recently started working nights, or have been struggling to get good quality sleep during the day, here’s 9 sleep tips for shift workers that will help you get a better night’s sleep.

1. Stick To A Routine

Try to work the same shifts consistently, rather than jumping between different schedules. 

Although this can be difficult to organise with your employer, it always pays dividends when it comes to sleep. Remember some pattern is better than no pattern, and the closer you can keep those patterns the better.

Wake up and go to bed at a similar time each