Your bedroom should be the sanctuary you can retire to after a tough day. But is it actually hindering your sleep rather than helping? Here are five ways your bedroom could be ruining your sleep.
Too Much Light From The Window
This one depends a little on where you live, but if the sun is rising at 6 am and you’ve only been asleep since midnight it’s a recipe for disaster. If your curtains are paper thin and not blocking out the light then it’s time for a change.
Black out blinds might be too extreme after all, waking with the rising sun is healthy after all and complete darkness might disorientate you while you wake up. But getting effective blinds that keep it dark enough to sleep is important so that you don’t get disturbed until you need to wake up.
An Old Mattress On The Bed
The second biggest culprit of a bad sleep is an old mattress. Old mattresses are saggy, full of dust and just straight up uncomfortable!
If it’s sagging in the middle you could find yourself waking up with a sore back every day which is just no fun. And if you spend the night tossing and turning then you’re not going to be sleeping.
Mattresses last about 10 years or less before they need replacing so if you’re uncomfortable night after night it’s time for an upgrade. There are loads of options for a new mattress so it’s worth checking out some different guides like this one from The Dozy Owl on Pocket Sprung Mattresses.
Noisy Neighbors and Surroundings
Another sleep disaster waiting to happen is a noisy environment. Trucks rumbling by, drunken revelers shouting their way home, your TV playing, all of these are having an impact on your sleep even if you don’t realize they are.
It’s hard to find the balance between keeping the window shut to keep sound out and having it open to keep cool because both will help you sleep. I have neighbors who like to party late into the night but heading on to Youtube for some white noise to drown out the extra sounds works an absolute treat.
A Cluttered Room Leads to A Cluttered Brain
Keeping your room tidy is something everyone convinces themselves they’re capable of doing. Well if you can it is worth it! Coming to bed and seeing a dozen different thing scattered on the floor, the bed and everywhere else just whirs your brain into a thinking frenzy.
As I’m sure you can guess this does not lead to a great sleep!
Keep The Office Out The Bedroom
Sometimes space is limited and you have to take work home so you set up a desk in the bedroom. The problem is your brain associates locations with tasks. So if you go into the bedroom at night and see the bed you know it’s time for sleep. Likewise, if you walk in and see a desk your brain will go into work mode and start going double time.
So get the desk out of the bedroom and keep your bedroom as your personal sanctuary of relaxation and rest.
