Sleep medicine experts stress the importance of creating a sleep friendly bedroom to promote both quality and duration of sleep. When you watch the video below, you’ll hear about some simple strategies you can use to help you conquer sleep disorders like insomnia.
Distractions
This expert recommends keeping your bedroom comfortably cool, as being too hot at night can lead to tossing and turning. You should also eliminate sources of light from your room. Invest in blackout shades, and find an alarm clock that doesn’t have illuminated numbers. Keep TVs, smartphones, and computers out of your bedroom. The light emitted by these screens can interfere with your body’s production of melatonin, which helps you sleep.
Routines
Other experts suggest trying to only using your bedroom for sleep. This means removing things that may be distracting, such as work items. or workout equipment. Creating the standard that the bedroom is only for sleep will help condition your brain and body that the bedroom is a place of rest, not activity, which will help you fall asleep faster. If possible, you should also try to limit the noise and distractions from outside your bedroom. You can do this by talking with housemates about keeping it down when you go to bed. Another option is investing in a white noise machine for the noises you cannot control, like a neighbor’s barking dog.
Overall Health
Incorporating all of these suggestions, or even just a few, can help you create a more sleep friendly bedroom environment, which will help you wake up feeling well rested. Healthy sleep affects more than just your energy levels, however. Sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain, diabetes and dementia.
Sleep Dynamics & You
Sleep Dynamics provides a full range of sleep medicine services in New Jersey. If you suspect you might have a sleep disorder, or if you’ve been referred for a sleep study, you can get in touch with us at (848) 217-0240.
