Sleep is essential, and by extension, so is having a quality sleep environment. It can be an essential component of combatting insomnia. Continue reading to learn the ideal bedroom set up for improved sleep in the face of insomnia. 

1. Get Blackout Curtains

Your room should be dark. Really dark. Barely-able-to-see dark. If you live out in the country, away from city lights, this is much easier for you – you might not even need blackout curtains.

However, most people live in or near a city that has lights. If that’s you, get blackout curtains. No outside lights should be visible from your room.

You can make blackout curtains yourself, or buy them online for relatively cheap (about $20). Some things to keep in mind with blackout curtains are:

• Make sure they hang down a couple of inches below and out from the edges of the windowpane
• Make sure they are thick enough to keep all light out
• Use them over blinds for increased effectiveness

In the same vein of thought, make sure no lights are on inside your house, such as night lights, flashing lights from electronics, etc. Remember, your room should be almost pitch black!

2. Avoid Light from Electronics Before Bed

Blue light significantly interrupts melatonin production, and keep you from getting to sleep and sleeping deeply. Melatonin is the hormone that helps you regulate sleep – it makes you tired and induces deep sleep. As its production wanes in the morning, we start to rouse.

While it’s certainly nice to watch a movie or show, check email, play games on your phone/tablet, or browse the web before bed, these electronics are all sources of blue light, and they will interfere with blue light release, thus hampering your sleep quality.

Here’s the easy fix: in the hour before bed, you should avoid using blue-light emitting electronics. No computers. No phones. No television. Simply remove them from your room. If they are in your room they tend to be too tempting.

In a related conversation, make sure there are no other sources of light in your room, such as lights on inside your house, night lights, flashing lights from electronics, etc.

3. Wear Blue-Light Blocking Glasses

Blue light stimulates the body and increases production of cortisol. Remember that cortisol levels, naturally, are highest in the morning. Therefore, exposing your eyes to blue light late at night can induce a level of cortisol that is inappropriate for nighttime. Blue light basically tells the body, “HEY WAKE UP!”. Try reducing your screen time or wearing blue-light blocking glasses if you NEED to watch that most recent episode of your favorite show before bed.

4. Use a Dimmer on Your Screen

Many options are available for reducing the blue-light exposure from screens. A simple search of “blue light blocker” or “blue light filter” will give you access to many apps that would work for your smart phone. Similarly, there are many options for tablets, laptops, TVs, and most other blue-light sources in your life where the screen can shift to a "night mode". This normally reduces the brightness and hue of the light so you are not as affected.

5. Set Your Room to a Cool Temperature

You do not have to have an AC unit installed full-time in your house in order to cool off your sleeping environment. There are several options on the market which are inexpensive and can help the temperature in your room a few degrees. Blaux is a company that offers one for under 100 bucks. 

In trying to decrease the temperature of her sleep environment, every bit counts, so even if you decrease lower could drastically improve your sleep quality and quantity.

6. Take a Cold Shower Before Bed

This one is a cheap, quick, and effective tip. Taking a cold shower for even 1 or 2 minutes can really drop the body temperature. And it does not have to be ice cold water either. Even with just a lukewarm or cool shower, the benefits can be felt. Most people can give this one a try without changing anything about their routine. If the concept of a cold shower does not sound appeasing to you, you can take a warm shower, and at the end, decrease the temperature until it feels cool.

7. Use a White Noise Machine 

It’s a good idea to include some sort of ambient noise when considering your sleep environment. Most of us live in or around the city where there is noise. Noise is not good for sleep. It can keep you from sleeping. Sudden noises can wake you from deep sleep or, just as frustrating, pull you back from the brink of sleep.

A great thing to do is get a fan, set it near your window (where the noise comes in), and set in on low at night. This white noise will help down out the noise and, for many people, is even helpful for sleep.

Commonly, there are white noise machines used for infants, which include a whole host of sounds. Experiment with different volumes and sound types: for example your preferred sound may be a babbling brook, or a windy day. Or it could be just your standard white-noise.

Other options include an AM/FM radio, a nice fan, or a fountain. The most important aspect here is to make sure your room has a calming sound quality. It can make a big difference!

8. Wear Earplugs

If the noise pollution in your house is too much to be compensated with from a white noise machine, it may be time to break out the ol’ tried and true earplugs.  They are very inexpensive, and can buffer from all sorts of noises.  A loud snoring sleeping partner, the neighbor’s dogs or chickens, traffic on the street below, etc. can all be mitigated with the use of quality earplugs.  Worse comes to worse, give them a shot!

If you are struggling to make your sleeping environment ideal, then please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and get in contact with one of our sleep health professionals.