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Sleep Environment, Sleep Quality

Alexa L. on 24th Sep 2019

So maybe like me you take all of your floor clothes and put them on the infamous laundry chair. And I think that's a good start. It can definitely seem like an overwhelmingly annoying task to clean your room after a full work day, but I can attest to feeling a lot more relaxed and my space and almost like I have my life together if I do this. Second, and I'm sure you were expecting this one, but hoping I wouldn't mention it, electronics. Now as we've mentioned in previous videos your bedtime routine and your bedroom don't necessarily have to be technology free zones.

Hello, and welcome back to sleep hacks where we give you simple tips to sleep better so you can tackle your day as your best self.

My name is Alexa, and in today's episode we're going to learn how your sleep environment affects your sleep quality. Our bedrooms are supposed to be the spaces where we are able to fully unwind from the day and feel 100% comfortable. And while escaping work and other everyday stressors by plopping down your bed might seem like the best option for relaxing, there are some surprising contributors to your inability to feel fully relax and get the best sleep that you possibly can. A study done by St. Lawrence University found that those who have cluttered bedrooms have a harder time falling asleep and overall anxiety in and outside of the bedroom.

So yes, I guess I'm siding with all of our parents here and recommending that you keep your room tidy. Let's start with baby steps.

But if your relaxing podcast or playlist aren't quite doing it for you, you might want to consider going 30 minutes before bedtime without any screens.

So, no checking emails no Instagram and no texting your best friend back until the morning. If you are sensitive to light in general, especially from electronics, a nice easy fix is to turn your screens whether that's your phone or your alarm away from your sight when you're sleeping, so the flashes or notifications don't wake you up. And I'm one of those people who miss calls, texts, everything all day long, and as soon as it's time for me to go to bed, somehow one light from a Facebook notification can wake me up for 30 minutes. Thankfully there are kind of easy solutions to that.

I personally found a phone case that has a front cover, so I don't even have to turn it away. I just leave it be and it is not distracting while I'm trying to sleep and if somehow there is a light that wakes me up, it's not mine and I guess it's my boyfriend's and I guess I have to kick him out. And finally there is a way to adjust your decor to make your room more conducive to relaxation and sleep.

If you're able to adjust your spaces base, you can paint your room a light blue or light green color and even in some circumstances where you have a larger room warmer colors, like a deeper orange or red or actually nice for bringing a little cozy feeling into the room and if you paint, I even can't do it, I have lots of other options for you. There's been proven success with bedrooms that have a more minimalistic style over an overall vibrant look. Kind of a space where there are pops of color but not too much and there's just a good balance overall.

So go find your minimalist inspiration on Pinterest and then head over to your local discount store to make your own version. And while you're at it, don't forget a nice cozy rug to put beside your bed since that's something that you would touch first thing and last thing in the day before you hit your bed.