Design your bedroom with a good night’s sleep top of mind
There’s plenty of advice floating around about the various ways you can ensure a good night sleep. It can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which ones to follow and which to simply ignore. To simplify things, consider these 5 golden rules to help you create the bedroom of your dreams.
1. Start with a well-designed bedroom
Though you’re not going to be entertaining family and friends here, your bedroom is your sanctuary, a private oasis from the rest of the world. And you spend more time in your bedroom than in any other space. If you’re lucky, many of those hours will be devoted to sweet, restorative sleep. This gives your bed – and your bedroom – a starring role in your life.
Spending a little extra time to make your bedroom a welcoming, relaxing space will set the tone for a good night’s sleep. Remember color choice, bedding, rugs, curtains and furniture play a part in making your bedroom a relaxing oasis. Think about texture, soft, luxurious fabrics that create a cozy, intimate space. Keep your room uncluttered, clean and dust-free for ease of breathing.
2. Let there be darkness
While some people claim they can sleep anywhere and that light doesn’t bother them, darkness plays a key role in healthy sleep. Brandon Peters, M.D., who is trained in clinical sleep medicine and neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, believes that our mind and body’s natural circadian rhythm lean towards following dark-light cycle of night and day. When your brain receives a signal that there’s light, it interprets that as a sign it’s time to wake up – whether you’ve had enough sleep or not.
Choose your curtains carefully. If you can see your hand in front of your face at night, then there’s too much light in your room. Beware of other sources of light including alarm clocks, cell phones, chargers, etc.
3. Snack wisely
Struggling to fall asleep at night? The reason might be that late-night rendezvous with Ben & Jerry. Or the greasy buffalo wings leftover from dinner. Face it, your sleep is going to be as messy as the food stains on your sheets.
How does your bedtime snacking stand up against sleep? The simple (but not-so-easy-to-do) answer is healthier food choices before hitting the hay. Try these simple recipes on for size:
4. Unplug to the max
What’s the simplest trick to getting a good night’s sleep? Turn off the gadgets and power down. Whether it’s answering emails, playing games, surfing the web or watching TV, we’re surrounded by electronics and gadgets that serve as distractions from focusing on our slumber time. The price we pay for leading fully wired lives is high.
“As you stay up later on a consistent basis, you readjust your internal clock, and delayed sleep phase syndrome sets in,” says Mark Rosekind, PhD. “Now, your body physically can’t fall asleep until that new, set time, whether it’s midnight or 2 a.m.”
The lesson? The numero uno way to get better sleep is turning off your tech in the sanctity of your bedroom.
5. Create a mattress masterpiece
It’s time to say goodbye to a mattress that’s lumpy, bumpy and out of shape. Having the right mattress is literally the foundation for a great night of sleep and, let’s be honest, it should take you longer to buy a mattress than it takes you to order pizza.
Buying a new mattress might feel like a daunting task, but check out our easy mattress buying guide to make it a simple, no-sweat/no regret process. You’ll sleep better for it!
Hungry for more sleep info? Check out these articles:
- Why we yawn
- 8 mind tricks to help you relax and sleep better
- Growing older and your changing sleep habits – this is GOOD news!
