Even if you’ve got good sleep hygiene sometimes you need help to get to sleep. In these cases it’s worth looking at some of the sleep aid products on the market, as there are many effective items available.

Tackling the source of a disturbance is often the best way to ensure good sleep, and the simplest sleep aid products follow this approach. Ear plugs and eye masks are inexpensive and effective ways to combat noise and light pollution respectively, and help you drift off to sleep without being disturbed.

Another common sleep disturber is an overactive mind, and it can be surprisingly difficult to ‘switch off’ when you’ve got lots of thoughts running through your head. Sleep-friendly drinks, aromatherapy and specifically relaxing music or sounds are all effective ways to relax your mind, and in turn, your body.

Hi-tech sleep solutions are coming out on an almost daily basis. ‘Sunrise’ alarm clocks are a novel way to beat the usually dreaded beeping or buzzing of a traditional alarm, as they work by gradually lighting up the room and gently waking you in something of a ‘natural’ way. While this of course isn’t a sleep aid per se, it does contribute to a generally better quality of sleep hygiene overall.

Some of the most novel new sleep aid products come in the form of smartphone ‘apps’. These range from audio-based programmes that produce binaural pulses to complex software that measures your sleep quality and only emits an alarm when you’re in a suitably light state of sleep.