Your Year of Better Sleep: 5 Intentions to Start 2026 Feeling Truly Rested

There’s something about a new year that makes you take stock of how you’re actually sleeping—not the number of hours, but the quality. If 2025 left you moving through mornings in a fog, overheating under the covers, or jolting awake with your mind still buzzing, you’re in very familiar company. If better sleep is on your list of New Year's intentions, this is where it starts.

The good news? You don’t need a strict routine or a full bedroom makeover to feel better. A few practical shifts—the kind you can actually stick to—can reshape your nights and your mornings.

Here are five realistic sleep resolutions to help you step into 2026 feeling clearer, calmer, and more restored…

1. Make Rest a Priority, Not a Reward

If your evenings look like most people’s—bright lights still on, TV noise in the background, mind racing through tomorrow’s plans and to-do lists—your body never gets the chance to slow down. You go from “doing” straight into nighttime darkness, and your sleep feels shallow as a result.

Try This:
Carve out a simple “wind-down” window. Even just 15 to 20 minutes should do the trick. Dim the lights until the room feels softer, step away from your phone’s glow, and let the pace of the day drop a few notches.

Why It Helps:
Sleep research shows that your brain transitions more smoothly into deeper sleep when there’s a clear drop in stimulation beforehand. Lower lighting, reduced screen exposure, and a slower evening pace help quiet the parts of the brain responsible for alertness, making it easier to fall into more stable, restorative sleep once you get into bed [1].

Cosy Upgrade:
Luxury Bamboo Duvet — designed to prevent that “heat bubble” that forms under traditional duvets. The bamboo-viscose fabric feels silky and breathable against your skin, moving heat and humidity away so you stay comfortably cosy. Soft, airy, and lightweight, it creates the kind of settling-in moment that makes winding down feel natural.

2. Create a Bedroom That Calms, Not Clutters

Even if you don’t consciously “see” clutter at night, your brain does. Laundry piles, wires, paperwork, bedside chaos—it all signals to your brain unfinished tasks. And that background noise keeps your brain more alert than you think.

Try This:
Tidy one small spot before bed. Clear the bedside table so the lamp feels warm, not messy. Fold the blanket that’s been sliding off the chair. Put away any stray clothes strewn across your floor. Clean up papers on your desk and put everything away in its proper place.

Why It Helps:
Visual calm becomes emotional calm. Why? Studies on cognitive load show that visual clutter increases mental workload, even when you’re not consciously focused on it. A calmer environment reduces sensory input, which helps the brain shift out of problem-solving mode and into the relaxed state needed for better sleep continuity [2].

Cosy Upgrade:
Everyday Fleece Blanket — the kind of plush, velvety-soft layer that instantly makes a room feel warmer and more inviting. Fluffy and cosy, it adds gentle texture and a “settled” look to your space—a quiet visual cue that this room is for resting, not rushing.

3. Choose Materials That Work With Your Body

If you’ve ever woken up with your skin feeling damp, your back too warm, or your legs overheated under heavy fabric, you’ve experienced how bedding can sabotage sleep. Synthetic fabrics and traditional cotton trap heat, increase humidity, and make mid-sleep temperature spikes far more common. 2026 is the perfect time to rebuild your bed with materials that help your body, not fight it.

Try This:
Swap one surface your skin makes contact with—like a pillowcase or fitted sheet—for a cooling, breathable, moisture-wicking material instead (yes, it’s that easy).

Why It Helps:
Sleep science consistently links temperature fluctuations to nighttime wake-ups. When bedding traps heat or humidity, your body has to work harder to regulate temperature, which disrupts deeper sleep stages. Breathable, moisture-wicking fabrics support your body’s natural overnight cool-down, helping sleep remain more continuous and restorative [3].

Cosy Upgrade:
100% Bamboo Sheet Set — the kind of sheets that feel cool, crisp, and silky the second you climb in. They breathe with your body, pulling heat and moisture away so your skin never feels sticky or trapped. The deep-fit design hugs the mattress, keeping everything taut and snug, and the calming colour palette helps your whole bedroom feel softer and more serene for the new year.

4. Upgrade the Small Habits That Have Big Impact

Scrolling in bed doesn’t just stimulate your mind—it physically strains your body. Side-lying with your head tilted forward, holding the phone too close, or letting the bright screen (hello, blue light) hit your eyes in the dark all build tension where you need relaxation most.

Try This:
Keep your phone off the bed entirely. Place it on the bedside table so you’re not tempted to scroll sideways or hold it above your face. Then take a moment to assess your pillow. If it’s flat, lumpy, or loses shape quickly, your neck never fully releases, and it’s high time for a new one.

Why It Helps:
Neck and shoulder strain stimulates the body’s stress response, making it harder to maintain longer sleep cycles. Reducing awkward positions (like scrolling in bed) and improving head-and-neck alignment lowers muscular tension, which helps the body stay calmer and reduces the micro-awakenings caused by discomfort [4].

Cosy Upgrade:
Luxury Bamboo Pillow — cool, smooth, and softly cushioned the moment you lie down. The breathable bamboo-viscose cover and plush, supportive fill keep your head and neck in an easy, natural position—no stiffness, no overcorrecting—so everything feels settled from the start.

5. Embrace “Slow,” Even When Life Isn’t

When the day moves fast—constant chatter, bright screens, quick dinners, tasks piled on tasks—your body doesn’t just magically switch off at bedtime. You carry that pace straight into the dark. Building in one small “slow moment” each evening helps your whole system exhale (think of it as a little buffer of calm you gift yourself before tomorrow begins).

Try This:
Turn your evening wash or bath into a small ritual. Let the warm water loosen your shoulders, switch to softer lighting, light a scented candle, sprinkle in some Epsom Salts, and move at a pace that feels unhurried. Even a minute or two of this slower rhythm signals to your body that it’s safe to drift out of the rush of the day.

Why It Helps:
Warm water and slower movement activate the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of the body responsible for rest and recovery. This shift lowers physical tension and helps regulate heart rate and breathing, creating ideal physiological conditions for easier sleep onset and more settled overnight rest [5].

Cosy Upgrade:
Luxury Bamboo Towel Set — thick, soft, and perfectly smooth against the skin. Quick-drying, fresh-feeling, and gentle, these towels turn an everyday wash into a calming, spa-like moment that sets the tone for the rest of the night.

Ready to Sleep Better in 2026?

Don’t wait for a full bedroom overhaul. The right comfort pieces can change your nights fast. Cooler sheets. Better pillows. A space that finally feels restful.

Shop our top picks and set your 2026 sleep routine in motion.
Soft, breathable, supportive—every night.

BLOG10 gets you 10% off today!

Resources: 

1. New England Institute for Neurology and Headache. NEINH. Aug 20, 2025. Sleep: The Brain’s Night Shift. https://www.neinh.com/post/sleep-the-brains-night-shift 

2. Nuvance Health. Health Tips And News. Neurology And Neurosurgery. 05/01/2025. How Clutter Affects Your Brain Health. https://www.nuvancehealth.org//how-clutter-affects-your-brain-health

3. Li X, Halaki M, Chow CM. How do sleepwear and bedding fibre types affect sleep quality: A systematic review. J Sleep Res. 2024 Dec;33(6):e14217. doi: 10.1111/jsr.14217. Epub 2024 Apr 16. PMID: 38627879; PMCID: PMC11596996. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11596996/ 

4. Lee WH, Ko MS. Effect of sleep posture on neck muscle activity. J Phys Ther Sci. 2017 Jun;29(6):1021-1024. doi: 10.1589/jpts.29.1021. Epub 2017 Jun 7. PMID: 28626314; PMCID: PMC5468189. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5468189/

5. Cui J, Gao Z, Leuenberger UA, Blaha C, Luck JC, Herr MD, Sinoway LI. Repeated warm water baths decrease sympathetic activity in humans. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2022 Jul 1;133(1):234-245. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00684.2021. Epub 2022 Jun 23. PMID: 35736952; PMCID: PMC9291418. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00684.2021