If your child has a nightmare, do you put them back to bed or let them cosy up with you in your bed with drawers?

Your answer could determine whether your child experiences obesity problems, a preliminary study has found.

Children who were sent back to their own beds were three times more likely to have obesity issues than the children who were allowed into bed with their parents.

The secure feeling children get from being allowed into their parents bed after a bed dream could prevent overeating in the daytime, researchers at Copenhagen University Hospitals have concluded.

The study looked at 500 Danish children who were at an above average risk of becoming overweight, either because their mother was financially poor or was overweight herself, or because the children were overweight as a babies. All the children were aged between two and six years old.

Nanna Olsen, the study’s author, described the possible effects of negative emotions on the children’s weight, saying: “Types of negative psychosocial responses, such as feelings of rejection when not being allowed to enter parents’ bed, may lead to [being] overweight,” (US News, May 9th).

A nine-hour sleep spell in your ottoman bed could be viewed as indulgent or even lazy in today’s non-stop society, but a new study has revealed it could be the fast-track to a slimmer figure.

The study, led by Nathaniel Watson MD, MSc from the University of Washington, aimed to discover whether the length of time a person slept for changed environmental and genetic influences on that person’s body mass index (BMI). The findings show that shorter sleep was indeed linked to an increased BMI, as it left the body more susceptible to genetic influences which can result in weight gain.

Moreover, sleeping for longer supressed these genetic influences, so could deter weight gain.

In order to judge the effects of various lengths of sleep, the study examined 1,088 pairs of twins. The heritability of BMI was twice as high for the twins who slept less than nine hours a night.

The study authors recommended that the moderating role of sleep time be considered in future studies of genotypes for BMI.

Dr Watson explained: “The results suggest that shorter sleep provides a more permissive environment for the expression of obesity related genes. Or it may be that extended sleep is protective by suppressing expression of obesity genes.”

The results of this study were published in the journal SLEEP.

New mum Hilary Duff recently revealed what shocked her most about motherhood – the lack of time new mothers get to spend in their double storage beds!

In a recent interview with People magazine (April 24th), the Lizzie McGuire star spoke about her struggle to adjust to the new sleeping pattern her baby boy has brought into her life.

For the first week after having Luca Cruz, Hilary thought she could make do with no sleep, though she said she didn’t know where she found the energy.

But it wasn’t long before the dreaded fatigue kicked in.

Luckily, she remembered the advice she had been given during her pregnancy. She said: “So many people were like, ‘Take naps when your baby naps,’ so I tried and it really helped a lot.”

She went on to explain the mistake she was making before this, saying: “I thought when he was napping that was the time I could do all the things I needed to do.”

However, since having Luca the actress has somehow found time to work with Johnson’s, who have created Johnson’s Baby Care Kits as part of a campaign by Save the Children to help families affected by natural disasters.

Cherries have become increasingly popular in recent years, and with numerous health benefits including combatting sleep problems, it’s no wonder they are called super fruits.

The antioxidant-rich fruit is thought to benefit the brain and cardiovascular system as well as slowing the aging process, and was recently linked to better sleep in a report published by Euromonitor International on March 21st.

Cherries are in season during the summer in the UK, and with high levels of phytochemicals – which are understood to regulate sleep patterns – they may be just the thing to send you off to slumber land in your divan beds.

Tart or sour cherries are best as they contain more of these phytochemicals, therefore delivering more antioxidants than normal sweet cherries, according to Euromonitor head of Health and Wellness Research Ewa Hudson.

The report uses the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), which measures the antioxidant strength of a food, to demonstrate the superiority of cherries to strawberries; the ORAC value of fresh sour cherries is around 1,500, while for strawberries the figure is around 1,000.

The health benefits may be attained by eating fresh, dried or frozen cherries, or a cherry juice drink.

There are many reasons why a night away from your own lift up bed may result in a poor night’s sleep, but one San Francisco hotel has found a modern solution to their guests’ insomnia.

Hotel Drisco, located in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood, has installed a device that adjusts the volume of its own output to conceal unwanted noise filtering through into hotel bedrooms.

The SOUND+SLEEP Adaptive Sound machine “responds” to sounds that could potentially disturb its user and masks them with its own more desirable noises.

Insomnia among travellers is rife, and many resort to prescription drugs to aid sleep. The SOUND+SLEEP device has been championed for encouraging natural, drug-free sleep.

According to Sam Nicolino, the president and chief executive officer of Adaptive Sound Technologies Inc – the makers of SOUND+SLEEP – the new device has been attracting a lot of interest from the hotel industry. He said: “With hotel noise ranging from television sets, elevators, and hallway chatter, SOUND+SLEEP is an ideal solution for hotels that want to ensure their guests get the most out of their stay.”

Your perfect bedroom will be a completely different place in spring to the cosy den you created in winter. Single beds, double beds and king size storage beds can all take on a fresh airy look with some simple, inexpensive changes.

Firstly, give your bed a remix. Get rid of that thick quilt and opt for a lightweight sheet in a bright colour. All-over pastels look fresh but how about going for different coloured pillows, sheet and under-sheet for a bright, funky look? Keep clutter to a minimum to give the impression of space and clarity and let the sunshine in by swapping thick, dark curtains for sheer, light-coloured fabrics.

Candles are a great luxurious looking bedroom update. While winter may have seen you light up the spiced apple or vanilla scents, how about choosing freesia or honeysuckle for the new season? Aroma has such a profound effect on the mood; you’ll soon feel full of the joys of spring!

Finally, how about a switch-around? Changing the position of your furniture can seem to change the dimensions of a room, so you’ll feel as though you’ve got a whole new bedroom.