01 Jun Guest Blog: 5 Tips For Creating A Great Sleep Environment. By SleepX
5 tips for creating a great sleep environment
Achieving the Holy Grail of a great night’s sleep takes a common-sense approach. And your bedroom environment is the place to start. Read SleepX tips on creating the perfect sleep environment
Who doesn’t love a good night’s sleep? But if you struggle to reach the Holy Grail of a refreshing, deep sleep, perhaps it’s time to consider your sleep environment? Managing your sleep environment is an important aspect of good sleep hygiene.
Sleep hygiene is all about having good sleep habits. Practicing good sleep hygiene will help you make the most of those precious hours of shut-eye. It includes what you do before bed and what you eat and drink. It also includes external factors, such as the set-up of your bedroom.
Some good sleep hygiene advice is plain common sense.
- We know we shouldn’t drink three cups of coffee before bedtime.
- We understand that having a huge three course meal, washed down with buckets of our favourite tipple, is best avoided in the evening.
But what are sure-fire ways of creating the best environment for sleeping?
5 ways to turn your bedroom into a sleep haven
- Keep it cool and comfortable
For the best sleep environment, keep the temperature in your room a little on the cool side. As you drift off to sleep, your temperature naturally drops a few degrees. If the temperature is too high, the brain has trouble switching into sleep mode. Of course, being too cold will not help you sleep either. We often lose heat from our hands and feet. So, if you feel the need, wear some socks to bed and tuck your hands under the covers. The ideal sleeping temperature is around 18 degrees.
- Dim the lights
Despite the fact that most of us can create ‘daylight’ at the flick of a switch, our bodies still work like they did thousands of years ago. Our natural state is to wake-up when the sun comes up and sleep when the sun goes down. Light signals to our body clock when to wake and when to sleep. But of course, the invention of the electric light changed all that. Being exposed to light in the late evenings delays our body’s natural inclination to go to sleep. To help us get to sleep more quickly, it’s essential we darken our bedroom, blocking out any source of light. Close the blinds and draw the curtains. You might even find an eye-mask works for you.
- Create the sounds of silence
Most people slip off to sleep better if it’s quiet. That might mean shutting your bedroom door if other people in your household are still awake. Wearing earplugs is sometimes necessary if outside noises still invade your sleep space. Others find adding some soothing ‘white noise’ in the room can help them sleep. A simple fan can work well, or you could try one of the many white noise apps now available. Many of these apps feature the sounds of flowing water, waves at the beach or soft rain.
- Colour your sleep
Can colour really affect your sleep? Oxford University researchers believe it can. And we’re not just talking about the colours you can see. Their research showed that green light produced ‘rapid sleep onset’. Blue and violet light had the opposite effect of delaying sleep. Admittedly, these tests were done on mice. But others have found that colour has a significant effect on sleep and wakefulness on people too. Banning blue-light-emitting devices, like smartphones and tablets, at bedtime, is a good start to reducing the type of light that interferes with your sleep. Apart from these ‘invisible colours’, some studies have shown that the colour of your bedroom walls or the hue of your sheets can affect your sleep. Some colours – like red and orange – are more ‘energising’ and aren’t conducive to snoozing. Green is the best colour for creating a relaxing, soothing environment.
- Ditch the clutter
Is there a pile of books on your bedside table? Have you left clothes lying on the floor? Clutter could be the culprit in preventing your bedroom from becoming a sleeping oasis. The world has gone mad for Japanese cleaning sage Marie Kondo and her seductive promise that a tidy life is a life with more meaning and joy. Whether or not you’re taken in by her particular approach, there’s no doubt that a tidy room can be less distracting and make you feel more peaceful. And that’s surely the recipe for a good night sleep.
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