Your bedroom is your sanctuary. As such, it is important to make it as peaceful an environment as you can. After all it’s a BED-room, y’know, named for that aforementioned piece of furniture you sleep on. If you find it hard to rest there, then what’s the point of it at all? Well…if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know we got you covered with a handy listicle. Here are three easy-to-do, minimal effort habits that will help you to be well on your way to a restful night sleep.
STAY OFF THE BED: You wake up, and you’re like, “God, this is so comfy. I could just stay here all day.” You fantasize about working from bed, maybe making coffee and bringing it back with you. NO! STOP! Gonna pop you out of that day dream there. Now, as tempting it is to stay in the comforting embrace of your blankets, research shows that using the bed for anything other than sleeping and sex will actually prevent you from getting restful sleep in the long run. The bed is a stimulus or cue for these activities, and when we introduce new things, like say, working from bed, it disrupts the pattern that we’ve conditioned for our body.
KEEP THE ELECTRONICS OUT: It’s tempting to keep your phone on your nightstand. You may rationalize it’s for emergencies or to use it as an alarm clock, but we know about your texting and social media scrolling. We all do it, or have done it, so no shame. That being said, electronics are a massive sleep disrupter. For one, the blue lights of a phone are disruptive to your circadian rhythms, as it suppresses the melatonin production you need in order to sleep. Second, the constant accessibility to the outer world prevents your mind and body from truly being able to focus on the present reality–sleeping. We recommend that you keep all electronics away from the bedroom, or at least, store them in a place that is least convenient to get to for just “a quick look.”
ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE: So remember a paragraph or two ago we mentioned that being on the bed should be a cue for your body that it’s time to sleep, or sex? Well, if you really want to help yourself to sleep, it’s a good idea to have a routine before you get into bed. Find activities that help you relax such as making yourself chamomile tea, taking a hot shower, practicing meditation, writing in a journal. Be creative (check out here for some ideas)! The point is to take the time to get your body to slow down, and having the habits be routine will help your body to that point even sooner.
Getting good sleep is so important, yet over a third of Americans aren’t getting the sufficient sleep they need. If you find yourself among them, we suggest trying out these above suggestions.
Or, if you have an idea that’s worth sharing, leave a comment below. We’d love to hear it.
