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Having a snooze. Getting forty winks. Taking a trip to the land of nod. Drifting off into a deep sleep. 

Whatever words you use to describe going to sleep, it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough of it.

According to a study by the Harvard Medical School, getting a good night’s sleep is good for your health and helps to maintain your overall well-being. 

People who suffer from sleep deprivation are more likely to be involved in accidents or suffer from medical conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease - amongst other things.

That’s why it is essential to do everything you can to make sure getting some quality sleep is an important part of your daily routine, especially as March is National Bed Month.

Getting a great night’s sleep: A dream or a reality?

Although it can sometimes be hard to forget about the daily stresses and strains of everyday life, doing so before you go to bed will help you to get some quality rest and relaxation time. 

If you are able to do that, researchers at Harvard believe the dreams you experience will also be very different in nature too.

Although not everyone wakes up and remembers having a dream, all of us are thought to have between 3 to 6 dreams per night.

Dreaming is a unique state of consciousness which enables us to experience the present, process the past and prepare for the future.

Whilst some dreams are fun or romantic, others can be disturbing, frightening or sometimes just bizarre.

So, why do you dream and what’s the reason for these nightly stories?

In short, no-one knows 100 per cent why we have dreams. However, various theories exist about why the sleeping brain comes up with these often nonsensical images.

10 interesting theories about dreams

1. By the time we wake up and get out of bed, it is estimated we will have forgotten around 95% of the dreams we’ve had.

2. Dreams are believed to act as a visual representation of our unconscious desires and wishes.

3. Women are more likely than men to dream about family and children.

4. Dreaming is believed to help us develop long-term memories.

5. If you recall something from last week in your dreams this is called the ‘dream-lag effect’.

6. Dreams are thought to be a way for us to consolidate and process information we’ve gathered during the day.

7. We can usually only recognise around half (48%) of the people who appear in our dreams.

8. Insomnia sufferers are reported to remember their dreams much more vividly. 

9. Our ability to remember dreams decreases as we get older and is faster for men than women.

10. People with dementia have less dreams than older people without the illness. 

The top ten dream themes

1. School, teachers, studying

2. Being chased 

3. Sexual experiences

4. Falling

5. Arriving late

6. A person who is now alive dying

7. Flying through the air

8. Failing an exam

9. Being on the verge of falling

10. Being stricken with fright

How we can help you get a better night’s sleep

As the nation’s favourite Bed Retailer of the Year for 2014 & 2015, we know a thing or two about helping you get a great night’s sleep.

Not only do we sell a wide collection of beds and mattresses, we also sell bedroom furniture which can help to make your sleeping environment a calm and relaxing space.

If your bedroom is blissful but you’re still struggling to sleep, take a look at our sleep tips and learn how to drift off effortlessly every night.

Or speak to one of our instore experts during National Bed Month (or any month for that matter!) and find out why buying a new bed could give you a new lease of life and more energy.

Win with Slumberland and Furniture Village

As part of National Bed Month, we’ve teamed up with Slumberland to help you enjoy sweet dreams every night – by offering you the chance to win a new mattress.

Just answer the question below and you could soon be sleeping soundly with Slumberland.

Terms and conditions

Each entrant must be aged 18 or over and live in the UK.

Each entrant can enter a maximum of three times, plus three bonus entries. One entry for each question correctly answered, plus one additional entry per attempt if you use the form to share the competition on Twitter. The bonus entries are not a requirement. Only one entry and one bonus entry per question will be accepted.

Entries must be submitted before midnight on Tuesday 29th March. Entries submitted after this date will not be accepted.

The winner will be randomly drawn from all entrants who have correctly answered the question shown on the entry form at the time the entry is made - note that the question will change throughout the period of the competition.

The prize winner will be contacted via the email address provided on the entry form by 31st March 2016.

The prize is one mattress from the Slumberland Harmony Collection; either The Divine, The Bliss, The Paradise, The Rhythm, The Tempo, The Wave, The Melody, The Grace or The Serene only.

These rules are applied in conjunction with our competition Terms and Conditions.

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