The average person spends a third of their lives in bed so making sure that you create the right environment for sleeping is essential, so those hours are not wasted with restlessness and insomnia. To help ensure your next sleep doesn’t leave you tired and aching, let’s take a look at four easy steps to optimize your sleeping space.
Darkness is Your Friend
One of the easiest ways to ensure you get a good night’s rest is to eliminate as much light from your room as possible. A human’s sleep cycle is governed by their internal sleep clock, which uses light to determine when it is time to rest. Make sure your room is as dark as possible when you go to bed. This will help you get the most REM (rapid eye movement) sleep possible.
Aside from obvious sources of light such as lamps, electronic devices also emit small to large amounts of light, which could disrupt your sleep cycle. Covering these devices such as TV’s and digital clocks could help prevent restlessness, so consider investing in a TV cabinet with closable doors and leave your cell phone to charge in another room.
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Clear out the Clutter
While you may be entirely used to the pile of clothes next to your laundry basket, studies have shown that having clutter in your bedroom affects how well you sleep. This is because the clutter in your space weighs on your mind, consciously or unconsciously, and prevents you from properly recharging during the night.
The purpose of your bedroom is to be relaxing and comforting and having clutter in every corner does not induce either of these emotions This is great news because a clean-up is one of the easiest and cheapest ways you can improve your sleeping environment.
Cool Temperatures Make for Good Rest
The temperature of your bedroom is one of the most important factors that can affect sleep, and this is thanks to our own internal processes that govern our sleep cycle. Our bodies naturally start cooling as it becomes dark and we become tired, so if your bedroom is too hot or too cold it could result in restlessness and disrupted sleep. If you have a thermostat, then a simple fix would be to set it to between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature range recommended by sleep experts. If this isn’t an option, then the use of fans or heaters or even heavy curtains to try and retain warmth (or keep it out) are also viable options.
Choose the Right Bed
The last step to optimizing your sleep environment is potentially the most expensive but also arguably the most important. Sleeping on a bad bed and mattress can have a massive impact on your sleep, and thus your physical and mental health, so choosing the right mattress for your needs is imperative to ensure a good sleeping environment. Your mattress should be comfortable but also give your back adequate support, so you don’t wake up with more aches and pains then you went to sleep with. The size of your bed is also equally important, as you need enough room to account for any shifting in the night, especially if you are sleeping with another person.
While finding the right mattress to ensure a good night’s rest is important, it doesn’t need to break the bank. Check out the best memorial day mattress sales so you can invest in quality sleep without adding additional financial stress.
Getting the right amount of quality sleep has a massive impact on your overall health. Ensuring the best environment for sleep is a simple way to improve your life. Follow the above tips and you could be on the road to quality sleep in just a few hours.