There’s a lot of work that goes into establishing healthy sleeping habits. Trying to establish a regular sleep schedule takes more than just going to bed at a designated time every day. External factors like temperature, the way your room smells, the amount of light in the room, and the sounds that creep into your non-soundproof room can affect your ability to sleep and your sleep quality in general.
Fortunately, there are ways to deal with these obstacles and help you get a good night’s sleep.
Temperature Control
One of the most common reasons we find it difficult to sleep is because it’s either too cool or too warm. Adjusting the room temperature is the primary solution but it’s a different case with couples.
Finding the right temperature can be a challenge when each partner has their own ideal sleep temperature. This may seem like a small thing but it actually has a huge effect on one’s health. Your body temperature is affected by the temperature in your environment. When you feel too warm or too cold, you’ll feel uncomfortable and unable to doze off.
This happens more often during blanket months, where it’s too cold to go without a blanket but can get too warm if you keep the blanket on the whole time. To remedy the situation, a blanket with a high-quality dual-zone wireless thermostat is what you need.
This type of blanket makes it possible for couples to set the thermostat to each of their ideal sleep temperatures because there are two independent temperature controls. As a result, each person can sleep comfortably. Once you feel comfortable, the rest of your body goes into a relaxed state, allowing you to fall asleep shortly after.
When you get high-quality sleep regularly, you’ll notice that you’ll feel more rested and energized throughout the day. A dual-zone wireless thermostat blanket will help you and your other half sleep better as you both can enjoy a comfortable sleeping temperature and help you sleep better.
Scents and Smells
Another thing that can affect your ability to sleep is the smell of your room. The sense of smell is powerful and is linked to memory and mood, and in some ways can affect our level of energy. Some scents can be used to induce sleep while some can energize you and may keep you awake as long as you catch a whiff of the scent.
If you’re using perfume, you may want to consider spritzing outside of the room, especially if its scent notes include citrus, peppermint, or cinnamon which can have an energizing effect. Instead, use sleep helping scents like lavender and chamomile. These scents are known for their relaxing and calming effects.
Likewise, fresh-smelling sheets play a huge part in your ability to sleep. Washing your sheets every other week during the cooler months and once a week during the warmer months will keep your sheets and your entire room smelling clean and fresh. Clean sheets keep your mattress clean and deter bedbugs from sharing the bed with you. Clean sheets also feel smoother to the touch, which can be extremely relaxing especially when you love the way it smells and how your entire room smells.
Lighting
Certain types of light can suppress sleep; just like the blue light emitted by mobile devices like phones, tablets, and laptops. If you have your tech and TV in your room, make sure all these are shut before you hit the sack. A dimly lit room is conducive for sleep; you can achieve this type of environment by using ambient lighting with warm tone bulbs and eliminating any blue light source.
If you sleep during the day and you live in an area where you get more daylight, you might want to use blackout curtains to block off light filtering through your room. These curtains can effectively block off sunlight, as well as artificial lights from external sources, and create a night-like environment in your room that will prompt your body to sleep.
The absence of sunlight—or any other type of light for that matter—signals your body to produce melatonin. This is the hormone that signals your body to sleep. The production of this hormone increases at night, and decreases during the day. Ergo, when you’re exposed to light, the pineal gland, which is a pea-sized gland located just above the middle of your brain, will hold off melanin production to keep you awake. The less melatonin you have in your system, the more awake you’ll be.
To ensure you get proper sleep at night and can sleep comfortably during the day, make sure your room only has enough amount of light if you prefer having a bit of light while you sleep. Shutting off devices, using blackout curtains, and the right amount of light will make your room conducive for sleep.
As you can see, all these things can make or break your sleep. That’s why it’s important to get these things right, to create the ideal sleeping environment that works for you. When you’ve got your ideal temperature set, some sleep scent wafting around your room, with the right amount of light, it will definitely create a soothing effect that is essential in promoting better and more restful sleep.