Adam Condliffe

Name: Adam Condliffe

Occupation: Co-founder, nyte

Firstly, what should 'home' feel like to you?

Home should feel like a place you can be yourself. For me home is clean, relaxing, and inspiring. I suppose they are three words you don’t usually see in the same sentence. Increasingly we are working from home and therefore home should be a multipurpose environment with distinct locations/rooms to work, to relax, enjoy food with family/friends and to relax/sleep.

The pandemic has changed the attitudes and habits the world over. What habits or rituals, if any, have changed in the home over the last year?

This is a huge question and I think for myself, like many, the transition of working from an office to working at home has forced the development of self-discipline. My previous routine was to wake around 5:30, shower, miss breakfast, drive an hour into work, finish at 4:30, return home around 5:30, gym, eat, sleep.

With the introduction of home working, I realised I had no breaks... I would work until 9/10PM miss the gym, work from bed and go to bed later each night, wake up later and later each day. My diet even suffered. I found it harder and harder to sleep and my work product started to suffer as a result along with my health.

I needed a change!!! I invested into my sleep ritual (Routine) first by acquiring fresh sheets (of course nyte bed sheets!) I then made sure to maintain a stricter cut off in the evening to exercise, eat and wind down. I prepared as much for the morning as I could the night before so I one my head was clear to sleep and so I could get straight out of bed as soon as the alarm went off, shower, go for a walk and then sit down at my desk for a productive day organised and fresh. My new wind down routine - I add more carbs to my evening meal, shower, shut off screen time at 9PM, use my nyte No.1 pillow spray and for 30-40 minutes read or listen to either an audible or one of our Spotify wind down play lists. When I am feeling tired, I climb into bed and am out within 15-20 minutes. Making sure my circadian rhythm is maintained is a huge help to falling asleep quicker and having deeper less interrupted sleep.

What is the favourite part of your home? Where do you go to escape, create, or unwind?

My bed has become my favourite part of my home it is my place to relax, wind down and reconcile the events of the day. I try to keep it as technology free as possible creating a calm sanctuary, use aromatherapy pillow sprays and candles to really set the scene for the perfect night’s sleep.

An important question that most of us would love an answer for during particularly stressful times. What helps you wind down?!

To wind down I need a clear sleep ritual. After preparing my tasks for the following day I have a shower. To finish i use pillow sprays for smell, candles to set perfect light levels and in the last 5-10 minutes I play relaxing music. Then when I feel myself falling asleep, I blow out the candle and turn off my music.

What would you call your bedroom 'style'? And what does it represent?

 I would say I have a modern, simple and sleek bedroom design with a hint of Scandinavian. This is probably a reflection on my personality I love new ideas whilst embracing tradition.

What does your night-time ritual look like?

• 6pm – Final meal of the day with extra carbs
• Walk
• Prepare for the morning
• Shower
• Shut off screen time at 9PM
• Use nyte No.1 pillow spray (My personal favourite)
• 30-40 minutes read or listen to either an audible or one of our Spotify wind down play lists.

 

One thing to watch, read, listen, and learn to.

Before I answer this, I have to say it is so hard to narrow to just one of each.

Watch – House MD, the creators loved Sherlock Holmes so Dr House is the Sherlock Holmes of the Medical profession and diagnostics. The individual episodes are great in isolation but it’s the on-going social dynamics running in the background that the writers' approach so well adding views from many perspectives. No topic is left out - Nature vs Nurture, True Altruism, ends justifying the means, religion, money. - It will also be my Mastermind topic haha

Read – Difficult one for me because I tend to absorb information via audible much better, however something that changed my life - Who moved my cheese? By Spencer Johnson. It is a short story about two mice and two mini humans in a maze. It sounds strange I know but trust me on this one, if you are struggling to accept a change in any aspect of your life this will really help.

Listen – I should probably put music on here but I am going to cheat and say listen to The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters. This helps with understanding how our brains work on a macro level. When we experience a perceived positive or negative situation how do we react...

This audio book has helped in all aspects of my life to recognise when I was not thinking logically and rationally and how to engage my ‘human brain’ and not my ‘chimp brain’. Also, it teaches how to get ‘Gremlins’ out of my ‘computer’ haha. You probably have no idea what I am talking about but it will become clear when you read or listen to it 😊