The best sleep gadgets to give you a good night's rest

We all know that sleeping like a teenager is neither likely nor desirable beyond a certain age. 

But a good stretch of quality sleep is still important – and there are a lot more ways of encouraging it these days than a mug of cocoa and the strangely reassuring sound of the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4. 

One of the best methods I know to get to sleep – or get back to sleep when you wake in the small hours – is slow, steady breathing. But it’s not easy to maintain for long.

A £159 gadget developed in Belgium, Moonbird, can help.  It works as a kind of handheld, tactile metronome and attracts rave reviews from insomniacs. The idea is to breathe along to its pulses, the frequency of which is determined by the inevitable phone app.

In my experience, it has a strangely mesmeric – and helpful – effect.

I also love and rely on an Australian-invented Apple Watch app, AutoSleep. It doesn’t help get you to sleep, but the mind-boggling amount of data it collects is immensely useful in gauging how you’re sleeping.

I particularly love the ‘readiness’ rating it gives you when you wake up – it seems unfailingly accurate.

You end up experimenting with different ways of improving your sleep quality – a Scotch before bed, which you think might help your readiness the next morning, actually sends it plummeting.

You do need to wear an Apple Watch in bed, however, and have an iPhone. Techie sleep aids don’t come cheap, you know. 

Scientists will tell you that one of the keys to good sleep is a consistent wake-up time. 

Cambridge-based Lumie has been making light-based gentle alarm clocks for nearly 35 years and its latest, the Bodyclock Shine 300, includes a radio. It is exceptional value at £149.

Until recently, sleep headphones have been pretty cumbersome and uncomfortable. A combination of Bluetooth wireless and ultra-thin, flexible headphones has given rise to a new generation of sleep masks with high-quality headphones sewn into the sides.

There are some expensive brands like Manta, but the Musicozy brand makes a version for under £30 – and the fabric is real silk.

It won’t block out the snorer in your life, but will play you sounds to take your mind off them.