Very few things impact your entire day the way a good night’s sleep can. Yet multiple studies show that more than 1/3 of all adults regularly fail to get the proper amount of sleep. If you’re one of them, it might be time to examine how you can address this. Some things might be outside of your control, such as a job that requires lots of travel or a young kid that affects your sleep.
Some things are within your control, though, including whether or not your bedroom provides the proper setting for quality sleep. There are so many ways to create a bedroom oasis and improve your sleep, from cool mist humidifiers for bedroom quiet to removing bright lights in the room. We’ll take a closer look at some of these in a moment, but it’s important to understand how much your sleep quality can affect your overall health.
How Much Does Quality Sleep Matter?
You might realize how a bad night of sleep affects you the next day. Perhaps you are more irritable, or maybe you struggle to focus all day at work. Are you aware of the additional long-term effects caused by insufficient sleep? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), failure to get enough sleep consistently can lead to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and more.
How Much Sleep Do I Need?
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society both recommend a minimum of seven hours per night for adults at least 18 years old. They recommend eight to 10 hours per night for teenagers and even more for younger children.
How Can I Improve My Sleep?
Having a set time when you go to bed and wake up substantially increases your chances of getting the proper amount of sleep, even if you have to adjust it every once in a while. Once you have that, consider some of these ways your bedroom can become more conducive for quality sleep.
Add a Cool Mist Humidifier
Cool mist humidifiers for bedroom quiet provide so many benefits that it’s tough to list them all. They reduce airborne viruses and bacteria. The increased humidity also helps people with asthma or allergies breathe easier. If you are looking for cool mist humidifiers for bedroom quiet, try to find one with ultrasonic technology. This allows the unit to operate so quietly that you won’t notice it during the day or while you sleep.
A few cool mist humidifiers for bedroom quiet include the ability to add some drops of therapeutic essential oils. This lets the scent fill the room as the air humidifies. The added humidity will also help hydrate dry skin or chapped lips while you sleep comfortably in your bedroom oasis.
Choose Cool Colors
If you haven’t changed the colors of your bedroom since you moved in, it might be time. Your walls should provide a relaxing, peaceful tone. Blues and greens, especially light blues and greens, can give a sense of calm that permeates throughout the room.
Power Down Your Devices
It’s tough to be awake and not check your phone for the latest e-mail or social media post. For the sake of your sleep, create the discipline to shut down your devices as you prepare for bed. Bright lights can cause the body to remain awake and alert. The blue lights that come from your phone and computer are even worse offenders.
Televisions in the bedroom also present the risk of keeping you up to watch “one more episode.” Recommendations for shutting off all screens can range from 30 minutes to a full hour before you go to sleep. Try starting with 30 minutes and see if you notice a different in your sleep. Once you establish a habit of turning off your screens 30 minutes before bedtime, you can increase it to an hour if you want.
Create the Proper Lighting
Turning off your screens is a good start, but those aren’t the only light sources that can stimulate your senses as you try to wind down at night. Clocks emitting bright lights or bright incandescent bulbs can have an adverse effect as you try to wind down. See if you can install a dimmer or find bulbs that give off a softer light to send the proper signals to your body as you go to bed.
Conclusion
Sleep is a critical factor in how you function day-to-day as well as your long-term health. If you find yourself constantly struggling to get seven hours of quality sleep, you may need to alter your external environment. Cool mist humidifiers for bedroom quiet and removing bright lights are a couple of ways to start. These slight adjustments can have major impacts on your sleep quality.
