Studies strongly imply that lack of sleep and sleep disorders can do serious harm to our health and well-being.  So numerous organisations around the world have launched events to make us more aware and to help us sort out our priorities!

To encourage a good night's sleep, numerous organisations around the world have launched events and awareness campaigns. We'd happily take part. Would you?

Good Sleep Fair, South Korea

http://goodsleepfair.com/goodsleep2013/healingfair.html

Held in Seoul once a year since 2011, the Good Sleep Fair sees industry experts from around the world, showing off the latest developments in bedding, sleep aids and sleep services. We’ve heard there are even ‘classes’ in sleeping given by the experts – time for a trip to South Korea!

National Sleep Awareness Week, USA

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/event/national-sleep-awareness-week

Every year in March, The National Sleep Foundation are “Waking America to the Importance of Sleep” with a National Sleep Awareness Week. This kicks off with a Sleep in America themed poll and has a different focus each year - this year it’s the relationship between exercise and sleep. This should help stir up the subject of good shuteye in the media and give it the respect it deserves.

National Bed Month, UK

http://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk/national-bed-month/

Did you know March is National Bed Month in the UK and has been since 1990? It's the perfect time to revel in sleep, glorious sleep.

The Sleep Council's longest standing campaign aims to remind Britons of the importance of a decent kip and the role a quality bed plays in ensuring this. When was the last time you replaced your mattress, duvet and pillows?

World Sleep Day

http://www.worldsleepday.org/

Also in March, the World Association of Sleep Medicine organises World Sleep Day, a celebration of sleep and an invitation to nip sleep-related issues in the bud. March is a busy month for The Sandman!

You can get involved by organising events on a local scale, check out the website for more information on this.

In honour of the event, in 2013 the Portuguese Sleep Association produced a leaflet on “Snoring and apnea in children”, doctors from all corners of the world organised workshops and local campaigns, and seminars and conferences were held.

Remember, don't let anything get in the way of a good night's sleep….it is important!

Let us know if you decide to get involved in one of the campaigns, or organise your own! We'd love to hear your bedtime stories.

http://a.pgtb.me/cgJcFm

In a study this week by the duvetandpillowwarehouse.co.uk they found that by having a warmer duvet you could easily turn the heating off for 3 extra hours per evening.  Saving a typical household £312 per year.

Whilst the exact amount of savings will vary depending on a range of factors such as boiler efficiency, how high the heating is set and the thermal efficiency of the house, what is clear that there are potentially big savings to be made.

For those people who have the heating on all night the savings could be even higher by turning it off for more than 3 hours!

There is also an environmental impact too, with an estimated reduction of around 700kg of CO2 per year

The duvetandpillowwarehouse.co.uk conducted the following experiment.

They tested how much gas was used over a 3 hour period to heat a typical 4 bed detached house.  They found that by using a really warm 13.5 tog down duvet you could switch the heating off for 3 hours less around bedtime and still have a great nights sleep.  Based on the British Gas Clear and Simple tariff (the most popular UK tariff).  This equated to a saving of  £1.73 per day.   Over a 6 month period (180 days) this equated to a £312 saving.  Phew!

Jonathan Attwood a spokesperson for dapw.co.uk said.  ‘Many of us have not changed or even cleaned our duvet for years.  By replacing our old duvet with a thermally efficient 13.5 tog duvet we would need less heating at night, saving a substantial amount of money whilst still having a super nights sleep!

While the producers at ITV educate us in the charming history of British retail by presenting us with the period drama about *the rather handsome* ‘Mr Selfridge’ we could also be facing its next transformation. As we wait in anticipation to hear the future of the 92 year old gem in the crown of the British high street, HMV, I not only have concerns for the future of Nipper (the HMV dog), but also for the future our high streets and my Saturday afternoons.

There is no doubt that online shopping is taking a larger proportion of shoppers than ever before. It is often cheaper, there is more variety, price comparisons take minutes rather than hours and there is the obvious advantage that you can internet shop in your pyjamas at 2am. But can ‘live chat’ really substitute a gossip with a shop assistant? Can photography create that feeling of hankering that you feel as you stare at a shop display trying hopelessly to decide whether your love for the red jeans outweighs the practicality and your genuine need for the black ones? Can sitting in a dark room with nobody but your laptop for company really replace the fun of meeting up with friends, browsing the shops and having a coffee?

Just over 100 years ago that Harry Gordon Selfridge founded London’s 7^th and most exciting department store, Selfridges, where customers suddenly saw all the products laid out in front of them and were allowed to touch and try before purchasing…. I wonder ‘has the British shopping experience gone full circle?’ and if so, ‘where does leaves the future of our high streets’?

So then, what would Mr Selfridge say? His ideas for changing the shopping experience to what we know and love today were not exactly popular in his time, but to use a phrase coined by him: ‘the customer is always right’, and the customer is online shopping!

Ever wondered: what’s a tog… and why is there one in my new duvet? Tog is a unit of measurement telling you how much heat a duvet will retain.  As a rule of thumb, you’ll want a 4.5 tog duvet for summer, a 9 tog for spring or autumn, and a 13.5 tog for winter.  Don’t panic – no need to buy three.  Get an All Seasons set of 4.5 and 9 tog duvets that pop together for winter.

1. 2. Size up

To combat duvet-hogging, buy a size bigger than your mattress.  Standard sizes are:  Single - 135 x 200cm; Double - 200 x 200cm; King - 230 x 220cm; Superking - 260 x 220cm.

1. 3. What’s under the covers?

Choose from a NATURAL or SYNTHETIC duvet filling.  Natural Feather and Down is our most popular – it’s warm, soft, and breathable (but choose a duvet with a high ratio of down, because it’s lighter and warmer).  Shake them out for comparison and you’ll easily see that goose is the lightest and best sort – followed by duck.  Other NATURAL choices include wool, silk and cotton.  They’re good at extracting body moisture and are naturally hypoallergenic (unlike feather and down).  If you want a SYNTHETIC duvet, microfibre is the thing to look for.  It’s really hardwearing and feels a lot like down, but it will get flattened a bit more quickly.

1. Duvet care

Washing any duvet too much will weaken the fibres in the case and eventually cause the filling to leak. To combat this, choose high thread-count duvet covers to protect your duvet (and wash it less frequently). Air it every fortnight and give it a good shake daily to get rid of dust.  When there’s nothing else for it, get your duvet professionally cleaned – especially if it’s a feather and down duvet.  Make sure your duvet is properly dry through and through before putting it on your bed.

We’d suggest taking a browse through the Duvet and Pillow Warehouse website to see all the offers available but here are a few popular offers you may be interested in.

Pure Duck Down Pillow

Our standard size – medium support pure duck down pillow is on offer from £49.98 down to £24.99. This 100% natural duck down filled pillow will support your head but has some ‘give’ to help you relax after a long day at work.

Pure White Duck Down Duvet

To perfectly compliment our duck down pillow, this 13.5 Tog duvet will keep you warm all year round and quite possibly the best duvet for lazy Sundays in front of the TV and long lie ins the morning after the night before.

Luxury Mulberry Silk Duvet

Goose Down not your thing? How about our luxurious 100% silk duvet which comes in winter, autumn and summer tog ratings for all climates at all times of the year.

Mulberry is not only a prestigious grade of silk but it’s cool, hypoallergenic and comes with a 5 year guarantee.

Ultimate Canterbury 1600 Mattress

We never knew quite how popular our range of mattresses would be when we first started offering them but we believe that’s because our customers know we put quality above all else when developing our products.

Our mattresses are no exception and in the Spring Offers mean you can experience them at a discounted price. The ultimate Canterbury 1600 range starts at £682.49 which means a massive saving of £292.50 if you buy now!

Duck Feather Mattress Topper

Last but not least our popular duck feather topper that comes thickly stuffed with just a touch of down for extra softness. Depending on how soft you like your bed you can choose between 5cm and 7cm thickness – the 7cm brings extra comfort but is better for the cooler seasons.

That’s just a small selection of the fantastic offers on across the DAPW range so head over to the main website to start browsing and find the best deals on the products you want.

Mattress toppers are an excellent way to enhance your mattress or get more life out of one that has lost its padding and while every mattress topper can help its memory foam mattress toppers that do the job best.

A Memory foam topper is made from polyurethane, a viscoelastic material that remains firm until you lie down and moulds around the contours of your body.

We offer two two variations on the memory foam mattress topper, each with different properties to ensure you have exactly what you need to make your nights sleep even more comfortable.

Classic Memory Foam Topper

Our classic topper is 5cm thick and has a density of 55kg/m3 which we class as medium support for the neck and spine. This topper comes with a cotton-polyester mix cover with a zip for easy removal.

Luxury Memory Foam Topper

This topper is designed to give those with neck or back pain a far more comfortable night sleep. At 7cm thick and with a density of 85kg/m3 it’s able to mould around and cradle the pressure points we all have when we’re ling down, including the shoulders, necks and hips. You’ll have more or less pressure points depending on your sleeping position which is what makes the memory foam topper suitable for all.

The luxury memory foam topper comes with a cotton jersey-polyester mix case with with zip for removal with the addition of an inner case made from polycotton.

We’re proud of all our products but there’s nothing as good as hearing our customers’ feedback:

“I’m now having the best nights sleep in my 89 yrs of living. The mattress topper was top drawer. Thank you”

I bought this for my grandson at uni as his bed is very lumpy and he was sleeping on the floor He was highly delighted and says his house mates want to steal it He text me to say he has to stop himself going for a lie down on it. Thankyou”

“…My 4 year old son kept getting up at night and he felt cold to touch. Since putting it on the bed we haven’t seen him until the morning, proof is in the nights sleep he and us are getting!”

If you’ve been suffering from a bad nights sleep or waking up with aches and pains we recommend getting a memory foam mattress topper. If you’re just looking for a little luxury try one of others in our range, including goose down, pre wool and mcrofibre.

If you've got any of your own photos you'd like to share, please send us a link in the comments, you can never have too many cute animals doing things!

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At this time of year we’re all looking for a bargain. We also know that with winter in full swing it’s more important than ever to have good quality bedding for a great nights sleep. That’s why we’re currently running a massive January sale with up to 40% of range of luxury duvets and pillows.

We’ve introduced a number of new products to our range in the last few months but none so popular as the beautiful Supreme Canadian range of duvets and pillows – and for January only they’re available at 30% off!

Our Supreme Canadian range is made with Hutterite Goose Down which comes from small Hutterite communities in western Canada where traditional farming standards are preserved. All Hutterite Geese are raised free-range and allowed mature to old age before the down is collected by hand and used in our luxury duvets and pillows.

Of course we’re also offering our range of quality pillows at discounted prices too, with pure wool and pure duck down offered at 40% off for a limited time only, so if you’re waking up with a sore neck or just fancy somewhere nicer to rest your head, make sure you check out our special offers for full details and the chance to save hundreds of pounds on a full duvet, pillow and bedlinen set!

A few more offers that you might be interested in:

• Our Tuxedo Stripe and Satin Stripe Cotton Bedlinen is 15% off
• Single Luxury Pure Wool Duvet - 15% Off
• View all Duvet and Pillow January Sale Offers

Based on these statistics, we can estimate that this is roughly one third of our lives spent asleep! With such a significant amount of time spent in bed each night, it would make perfect sense to ensure that we make our night time experience as pleasant as possible.

Here are five handy hints to help you get the most out of your bedtime

1. Stick to a regular sleep pattern:

By trying to go to bed at more or less the same time each night, you can train your body to feel sleepy at the right time each evening.

2. Cut down on caffeine and alcohol:

Too many cups of tea and coffee or a quick nightcap before bed can stimulate the mind and our alertness, making it more difficult to fall asleep. Instead of caffeine-filled beverages, why not try a milky drink like hot chocolate to help you relax and wind down in the evening.

3. Create a relaxing bedtime routine:

Instead of blaring out loud music or television programmes before you go to bed, try to do something more calming. Have a hot bath with scented oils or listen to some peaceful music. By combining this calmer activity with a milky drink and a cosy pair of pyjamas, you should start to feel more relaxed and, as a result, find it much easier to fall asleep at night.

4. Keep an eye on the temperature:

If your bedroom is too hot or too cold it can have a negative impact on your quality of sleep. Try to keep a window open or turn the thermostat up a little higher to ensure that you achieve a comfortable room temperature to suit you.

and most importantly of all...

5. Don’t scrimp on comfortable bedding:

Having a comfy bed is vitally important for getting a good night’s sleep. Don’t be kept awake by a scratchy duvet or a thin pillow. If your mattress is too hard then it’s time to upgrade to some better quality bedding. Your bedding should ideally provide your body with plenty of support (especially if you suffer from neck or back pain) and be pleasurable to sleep in each night. Choosing a high quality bed set over the cheap and cheerful option will reward you with extra comfort and a more satisfying sleep. After all, with such a large chunk of our time spent in bed, we deserve to make the experience as comfortable as possible.