It’s critical to have a sleep-promoting bedroom to achieve high-quality snooze every night. Yes, you still need to stick to healthy sleep hygiene habits and practice a soothing, consistent bedtime routine, but a great sleep environment has been proven to extend the duration of your sleep and boost its quality.
Try implementing these tips shared by The Huffington Post into your life:
1. Change your sheets more often: Replacing your sheets at least once a week keeps dust mites from bring on nighttime allergies. It’s even more critical to frequently change your bedding if your pets sleep with you.
2. Use light to your advantage: Soak up plenty of natural light in the mornings and throughout your day and avoid bright lighting in the hours leading up to your bedtime to keep your circadian rhythm on track. Blackout shades at night will also help you enjoy deeper sleep by helping reducing disruptions.
3. Seriously, put away those electronics: Exposure to blue light at night tricks your brain into thinking it’s daytime and slows the production of melatonin, the hormone that make you feel drowsy. In addition, put away digital alarm clocks to prevent the stress of worry about falling asleep on schedule.
4. Control the noise in your environment: Many of us don’t live in a naturally quiet environment, and the sound of traffic, airplanes, night owl neighbors or a snoring partner can easily diminish your sleep quality. Opt for ear plugs or enjoy deeper sleep with the help of consistent white noise by using a fan or a sound machine.
5. Don’t forget to make your bed: This simple task helps you feel accomplished upon waking up and makes your bed look even more inviting at the end of your day. Plus, it’ll prevent wrinkles in your bedding, which can be uncomfortable and make it harder to sleep.
6. Choose restful décor and colors for your bedroom: While it’s tempting to bring in bright colors and over-the-top designs into your space, doing so can create too much stimulation at night.
7. Keep cool—literally: Don’t take your soothing, warm bath or shower too close to your bedtime. Your body needs time to cool you down enough to feel drowsy, so aim for a hot bath or shower in the earlier in the evening. And, remember to turn your thermostat down for cold environment to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
8. Invest in a new mattress and pillows: You may start off feeling great fall asleep, but wake up feeling exhausted due to the trapped allergens inside your mattress and pillows. Change out pillows every 6 months or whenever you experience neck pain or headaches, and your mattress every 7-10 years to keep up the physiological changes that occur every decade.
9. Embrace simplicity in your bedroom: Don’t turn your bedroom into a home office, gym, dining room or theater. Focus on what you need for sleep and relaxation, a quality bedroom set with nightstands, and possibly a comfy recliner and/or soda. Avoid mirrors and reflective accessories as they can be distracting at night.
10. Stick to old-fashioned light bulbs: Newer LED bulbs are more energy efficient, but the constant bright light exposure can make it harder to fall asleep at night. Keep dim, incandescent bulbs in your bedroom to prevent feeling alert at bedtime.
11. Embrace subtle fragrances: A soothing, calming fragrance such as lavender impacts your mood as well as your snooze. Find out which scents put you most at ease and invest powerful oils to help keep your mind relaxed while you snooze.
12. Keep a notepad handy: Jot down any worries, grateful feelings, creative ideas and dreams to keep them from taking over your thoughts. Don’t pick up your smartphone or turn on the lights, it’s best to stick to pen and paper to prevent the blue light of your cell phone or tablet keeping you awake.
How you sleep does have an impact your quality of life. Make tonight special by tucking in early for an extra hour of snooze. If you feel more refreshed upon waking up, consider making it your new permanent bedtime along with implementing a soothing routine for even more rejuvenating sleep!
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