How to Create Your Perfect Sleep Environment

Comfort

Let’s start with the most important element to your bedroom, the mattress. It’s something we know one or two things about. But finding the right mattress for you can prove tricky.

Start with asking yourself some important questions; are you a front, side or back sleeper? Do you find yourself getting too hot during the night or needing to take a hot water bottle to bed? Do you get up and walk around in the middle of the night to ease joint pains or do you find yourself with a stiff back in the morning?

Understanding how you sleep helps you find the perfect mattress. Once you are aware of your needs, you can begin your search. Check out this crucial mattress buying guide from the National Bed Federation to make sure you’re getting everything you need from your retailer when you’re looking for a new mattress.

Temperature

Studies suggest that anywhere between 18-21C is the optimum temperature for sleep. During the night, your body starts to cool down and reaches its coolest during sleep. You may think your your bedroom needs to be insulated and warm to compensate for this. However, if the temperature in your bedroom is too hot, it can cause irritation, excessive sweating and sleep disturbance as most people struggle to sleep when overheated. Being too cold on the other hand can cause the body to tense up and shiver to keep warm. This too can cause sleep disturbance. To ensure optimum sleep temperatures, it is wise to invest in a room thermometer and have the appropriate bedding for the season. Making sure your duvet is the appropriate tog for cold and warm seasons as well as your own preference is also advised.

Lighting

When going to sleep do you have lights left on in other rooms that slip through the gaps in the door? Or mobile phone screens that flash and flicker when notifications come through? For the ideal sleep environment, complete darkness in the bedroom subconsciously enables the body to relax. Try turning all lights off in rooms that pass light to the bedroom and turn off electronic devices or put them in a separate room. Buying blackout blinds can help reduce the amount of sunlight that comes into the bedroom which is particularly useful during the summer can ensure when the sun rises early!

Technology

Your sleep environment should be focused on only one goal and that is to have the best, uninterrupted peaceful sleep possible. Most people are victim to exposing themselves to bright TV screens and mobile devices that cause our brains to stay active even when we’re trying to slump off into a deep sleep. To help prevent this, it is ideal to think of your bedroom as a technology free zone that needs to be associated with sleep. and keeping and to try and resist the urge to look at bright screens and avoid the interruption of sleep from an incoming vibration of a mobile phone. Next time you go to bed, try and leave all mobile devices in another room and give yourself time away from harmful glaring screens and see the benefits of a deeper more peaceful sleep.

Tidy Room, Tidy Mind

It is proven that clearing out your room and organising the space around your bed can help you clear the mind and make the body relax. It is a psychological gain that helps clear out thoughts and allows you to switch off. You can sleep soundly knowing that everything around you is organised; even spending 10 minutes folding clothes and putting them away can help the mind relax knowing that the clutter in your room has been tided.