Recent research about sleep and sleep behaviours was carried out by the British Wool organisation, and with some surprising results.  Here’s a few things they discovered:
·      On average, Brits wake up three times a night. There are many reasons for this, including being too hot; 48% polled specified this issue as the cause for a disrupted night’s sleep.
·      48% of us find it difficult to ‘switch off’ with 22% worrying about work and what we need to do at the office the next day.
·      Of those asked as part of the study, 78% of Britons insist on sleeping on the same side of the bed each night.
·      Almost two thirds (62%) confessed that they snore at night – with 12% admitting they do it all the time!
 
The study also revealed that Britain is home to a nation of night owls, with six in ten Brits saying that they go to bed late and like to sleep in, compared to 40% who describe themselves as morning larks or early birds.
 
Morning Larks tend to go to bed early, wake up early and feel their best as the day begins. They also tend to have less energy in the late afternoon and evening, resulting in them finding it hard to stay awake past a certain hour. Research has shown that early risers tend to have an easier time adjusting to standard daytime schedules, which can make it easier to function at workplaces that operate during the day or have an early start.  Morning Larks are also known as ‘early birds’, a term which has its origins in a 17th century proverb – ‘the early bird catches the worm’.
 
Night owls tend to stay up late and enjoy sleeping in. They feel their best later in the day and have more energy at night. The downside to this is that they often feel tired after waking up early and can have a hard time staying alert duri

SIMON’S SLEEP STORY

We mentioned in a previous blog that we would be sharing some of the Sleep Stories from our customers, as it may help you to find the solution to your own Sleep Story.

Simon has recently purchased a new mattress. It supports him well but he is finding it a little hard so he can’t get really comfy. He said that when he tried the mattress in the showroom, it felt a bit softer but realised that a showroom mattress would have had some use. Simon did not want to go to the expense of changing his mattress again and so was looking for something that would help. He chose one of our award-winning British wool mattress toppers because they add 5cm of comfort.

Each topper is individually handcrafted by  talented seamstresses, here in our own workshops in Devon and are made using  a combination of wool layers and hand fluffed wool, encased in luxurious brushed cotton. We recommend that our toppers are aired regularly as this helps to keep the wool nice and fresh. We also recommend that they are turned regularly and so we make them with elastic straps on each corner, so that Simon can easily do this.  

Find out more about our British wool toppers here.

More and more of us are discovering the benefits of bedding made from 100% natural and sustainable products – and this is especially so when it comes to wool. It’s breathable and temperature regulating, so can help us to keep our core body temperature balanced as we sleep. It’s also resistant to dust mites and the build-up of micro bacteria, so is hypoallergenic and more hygienic. It is also naturally fire retardant. Wool is better for the environment too, because it is sustainable and environmentally friendly and so won’t sit in landfill for decades when the times comes to replace it. It biodegrades quickly and releases essential nutrients whilst it does so. You can even compost it and use it in your own garden!

This all adds up to make wool a perfect filling for duvets, pillows and toppers! However, before you buy, how do you decide what makes the best wool bedding product? There are lots of factors you might want to consider, so we’ve put a few pointers below:

• Where is the wool from? Wool comes from many countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, China, Russia, Argentina and, of course, the UK. If you want to choose bedding that’s made from 100% British wool, then you need to look for the British Wool ‘crook mark’ logo on the product pages of the websites you are browsing. The British Wool organisation represents over 35,000 British farmers, helping to collect, grade, market and sell their wool. By buying wool from British flocks, you are helping our farmers, boosting agriculture, and supporting local economies. At Devon Duvets we only ever use fully traceable 100% British wool that has been certified by the British Wool organisation.
• Is the wool traceable and responsibly sourced? The standards for sheep welfare vary enormously around the world, so it’s only natural that you would want your wool bedding to be made from wool where the sheep are treated well and looked after. British sheep are amongst

OUR PLANT-BASED BOTANIC DUVETS WIN THEIR THIRD AWARD

Hot on the heels of our third award for our lightweight British wool duvets, the team at the Evening Standard have chosen our Ultralight Botanic duvet as ES Best Top Pick and their overall favourite in their Best Summer Duvet awards, for the third time.
https://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/esbest/home-garden/home-accessories/best-summer-duvets-a3881196.html 

Having previously been chosen in 2019 and 2021, this year the ES team said that the duvet was their frontrunner as it gives the best summer night’s sleep yet. They loved that it was made with natural and sustainable plant-based materials from ethical sources and that it was easy to care for.

 Our Botanic duvet range was launched in 2019 as an option for customers who wanted a wool-alternative product but did not want to go down the non-sustainable synthetic duvet route. Our Botanic duvets are soft and silky, and made with 100% plant-based fibres containing TENCELäLyocell, from certified sustainable wood sources, and processed through an Eco award-winning process. These fibres are used for the filling and the casing for the duvets, so we are literally

OUR LIGHTWEIGHT WOOL DUVETS ARE NOW TRIPLE AWARD WINNERS

At Devon Duvets, we put a lot of love and care into every stitch of our individually handcrafted British wool duvets to ensure that our customers can sleep better. So, it’s only natural that we are very proud when we win awards!  This year is special though because the team at the Indie Best Buy Awards, which are run by The Independent, have chosen our lightweight (summer) wool duvet as Best Wool Summer Duvet for the third year running.  https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/house-garden/bedroom/best-summer-weight-duvets-a6934276.html

The Indie highlighted that the Devon Duvets lightweight wool duvet was beautifully handmade in Devon, using fully traceable British wool from British farmers for the filling, together with ethically sourced, unbleached 260 thread count cotton for the casing. They also said during testing they noticed it was breathable and effective at regulating their tester’s body temperature, making it ideal.

Everybody has their own Sleep Story - and we speak to customers every day about theirs. At Devon Duvets we want our customers to achieve a better quality of sleep, and this is why we put so much love and care into individually handcrafting our award-winning duvets, toppers and pillows, here in our Devon workshops.

We thought it would be helpful to share some of these stories in a series of mini blogs as you may find that you have a similar Sleep Story and can see how our 100% natural, filled bedding products can help.

SUE’S SLEEP STORY

Sue has problems with dust mite allergies and so she currently has a duvet with a ‘hypoallergenic’ microfibre filling. However, she also has eczema and finds that because her synthetic duvet is not breathable, when she becomes hot it traps the heat. This can inflame her skin condition and then she struggles to have a good night’s sleep. Wool is naturally dust mite resistant as well as being breathable and so works with your body core temperature to help provide a more balanced sleeping environment through the night. Sue chose one of our lightweight British wool duvets (4 – 7 togs) and found it made a real difference in the quality of her sleep. Find out more about our British wool duvets here.

Keep checking our blogs for more Sleep Stories!

New research, conducted by British Wool to mark its ‘In Bed With The Menopause’ campaign, found that 65% of women didn’t know the menopause could affect sleep until going through it. The research also looked at the wider effects of the menopause and the symptoms women were experiencing.

These included hot flushes (68%), night sweats (62%), difficulty sleeping (58%) and experiencing low mood or anxiety (53%). Lack of sleep was highlighted as a big issue in terms of the impact it could have on daily life, causing a feeling of exhaustion all the time. Those taking part in the research said they had tried various ways of tackling the problem, including sleeping with the window open, sleeping naked and trying lavender pillow spray. However, eight out of ten (81%) had no idea that using wool duvets, pillows and toppers can help regulate the body’s changing temperature, and therefore help with sleep. Wool is breathable and so can dissipate heat and, although it can’t stop flushes, can help to manage them so that you don’t keep waking up.

British Wool’s Head of Sleep, Julia Robinson, said that British Wool’s research had shown that many women still suffer in silence but that making small changes, like using wool bedding can help. Diana Danzebrink, founder of the not-for-profit community interest company, Menopause Support, said that everyone in the UK will be affected by symptoms of the menopause at some point in their life, whether that’s directly or indirectly. She added that there are over thirty psychological, cognitive and physical menopause symptoms, many of which can be debilitating for some. She stressed the importance of educating ourselves and each other to ensure that those experiencing menopause don’t feel alone.

The research also revealed the top life lessons according to women over fifty and what they would like to share with the younger generation. Top of the list was to make ti

We’ve all been there - trying to change our duvet cover and wondering if there is an easier way. Single duvet covers are manageable, but when it comes to a King, Super King or Emperor size then it becomes far trickier - especially if you have having to do this by yourself!

According to research carried out by Which? magazine, there are several methods, including  the ‘inside out’, ‘the roll’, the ‘all in’ and ‘the ghost’. The easiest, but slowest, way is the ‘roll’ and the fastest is the ‘inside out’ method, taking an average of 1 minutes and 23 seconds, but this needs a certain level of stamina!

For the ‘Inside Out’ method:

1.     Lay your duvet flat out across the bed.

2.     Turn your duvet cover inside out and put your arms inside it, reaching for the two furthest corners of the cover (away from the fastenings).

3.     Still ‘wearing’ the duvet over your arms, with your hands holding the two corners, reach down to the duvet and grab the two closest corners of the duvet up towards you.

4.     Lift your arms up and shake the duvet cover down over the top of the rest of the duvet.

Each one of our duvets - whether it’s made from British wool, British alpaca wool or our 100% plant-based Botanic filling - is individually handcrafted by our wonderful seamstresses at our Devon workshops. All of our duvets have 100% natural and sustainable fillings and casings.

We also have beautiful 450 thread count 100% PIMA cotton duvet covers to go with our duvets, specially made for us by another family run business. What’s more, if you purchase a duvet cover at the same time as one of our duvets, then you’ll get 50% off the duvet cover. Then all you’ll have to do is de

Experiencing a great night’s sleep is important for body and soul and what you sleep under or on can have a big impact on that. At Devon Duvets we know all about duvets and that’s why we’ve made sure we know exactly what goes into ours, down to the last stitch! In fact, thanks to years of research and experience, you can say we know our duvets inside and out - and this goes back to the time when our products were just a twinkle in the minds of our founders, Dick and Pauline Beijen.

It all started when they left their busy international careers to live a more sustainable lifestyle in Devon but, being the creative thinkers that they are, it wasn’t long before they wanted to find a way to make beautiful, handcrafted duvets that would not only be sustainable and eco-friendly but would also support British sheep farmers. So, the search began…

The key part of this was knowing the journey of every part of our duvets and making sure we chose to work with farmers, cotton growers and mills that shared our commitment to responsible sourcing. This required a lot of research to find high quality wool, the right mill to wash our wool, the best and most ethically produced cotton fabric and the best seamstresses to work their magic in our workshops on the edge of Dartmoor.

Our wool has always come from British farmers, whom we know have the highest standards of animal husbandry. Our wool is also certified by the British Wool organisation and is fully traceable from farm to duvet. We were the first soft bedding company to pioneer the British Wool organisation’s traceability programme, and our farmers receive above market value for their fleeces. We also only ever use wool from live sheep and from Spring and Summer shearings, when the sheep need to lose their heavy winter fleeces.

For the washing of our wool, our research led us to a long-established British mill and as we only select natural white wool, there is no need for bleach to be used. Neither do

June is named after the goddess Juno (also known as Hera by the Ancient Greeks), the Roman goddess of marriage, children and family. It was said to be especially lucky to marry in June, when marriages would be blessed by her. June is also the month when the summer solstice falls in the northern hemisphere and the ‘longest day’ is still celebrated by many cultures.