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How Your Home Environment Affects Sleep Quality
4 Vital Considerations
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Poor quality sleep is a major problem which plagues an increasing number of people in our 21st Century society today.
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Factors such as stress and your schedule have heavy influences in sleep quality. And, of course, the very home you sleep in has a major effect on your quality of sleep every night. As has sleep deprivation. Or insomnia. Or food cravings, all of which can lead to resistant fat, weight gain and obesity. The list is endless! And the consequences, dire.
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Your body reacts to the environment it finds itself in in ways which can either be beneficial or detrimental to your sleep patterns. Hence, it is essential that you create the right atmosphere for sleep every night. And without fail. Otherwise, your health is compromised.
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People, in general, are getting fewer and fewer hours of sleep every night. Therefore, it goes without saying that the quality of that sleep you get becomes terribly important. Why? For maintaining your physical and mental wellbeing, that’s why.
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Below are four critical factors in your home environment which have major influences on how well or badly you sleep. And hence, which affect your sleep quality each and every single night.
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1. The Quality & Hygiene of Your Home Environment
When it comes to getting quality sleep, the air you breathe is extremely important. Low levels of oxygen to your brain makes it wake up when it should be resting.
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This is influenced by more than just carbon dioxide, however. Particles in the air, such as dust mites, mold and bacteria, can hurt your respiratory system. These nocive things make it harder for your body to get the right amounts of oxygen into your system.
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Additionally, these particles may also act as allergens. In doing so, they can also trigger an immunity response in your body. Such an occurrence will mean your body will be spending effort fighting off the allergens when it should be focusing on creating REM cycles.
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Dander and dust mites can collect in your sheets if these aren’t washed regularly. Don’t forget your mattress either, if it doesn’t have a protective cover. Putting a protective water-resistant cover on your mattress extends its useful life. The benefits of this smart move will allow you to keep it hygienic. So, in the end, the only consideration left is not so much when it should be replaced, but how comfortable it is!
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To prevent bacterial growth in your home, you’ll want to maintain low levels of humidity, especially in your bedroom. This is because bacteria thrives in moist and dark places.
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Bacteria can also grow and multiply in your sheets if they aren’t regularly washed. And just like dust mites and dander, it can grow in the mattress if it isn’t protected.
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2. Avoid Blue Light Like The Plague! When You Sleep…
Sunlight contains levels of UVB and UVA light. These trigger hormones in your body which tell it that it’s time to be awake and active.
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That same UVA light, however, can be found in the blue light of LED screens. And if your home environment has advanced with the speed of the 21st century, it will certainly be filled with all kinds of electronic devices and gadgets. Smartphones, tablets and large screen televisions.
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You need to use blue light filters to reduce this effect. Alternatively, and a better solution, stop using your electronic devices a few hours before bedtime. This smart move will give your body time to wind down for the evening. And it will help your body be more adequately prepared for better quality sleep.
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Make sure that you get the proper amount of natural light during the day. Doing so will also help your sleep patterns. How? This strategy will train your body to want to be awake during the day. And to associate the absence of blue light to mean that it’s time for bed. Clever!
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3. Sleep in Complete Pitch-Black Darkness
Unfortunately, blue light isn’t the only kind of light that could be keeping you awake. Because any light at all, blue or otherwise, that reaches your eyelids will stimulate a chemical reaction in your body. And that makes for lighter sleep and shallower REM cycles.
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It is not just important ~ BUT CRUCIAL ~ that you create total pitch-black darkness if you want to get real, effective quality sleep.
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If you have light coming in under your bedroom door, turn that hall light off. If you have to sleep into the morning, ensure that you have super thick, light-blocking curtains over your bedroom windows. And you can use an eye mask to significantly improve your sleep by blocking light from reaching your eyelids.
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However you accomplish it, it’s vitally important to create an environment of total darkness while you sleep.
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4. Optimal Temperature and Good Ventilation for REM Sleep
The temperature of your bedroom can prevent your from falling asleep easily. And staying asleep. While a comfortable warm temperature can be relaxing and make you sleepy, it’s also important that you have the correct ambient temperature in your home.
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In order to slip into quality sleep, your body temperature needs to drop, as much as 1 to 2 degrees. If your room temperature is too warm, then the heat will be trapped in your body. This is conducive only to the shallower stages of sleep, not at all the proper REM cycles that you really want to achieve.
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Therefore the correct temperature and ventilation for proper air-flow are terribly important to ensure quality sleep. You don’t want to be so cold or so hot, or so stuffy that you’re uncomfortable. Therefore, you should ensure your bedroom has the correct temperature and proper ventilation to permit you to achieve proper REM cycles.
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Create the perfect sleeping environment is crucial to the quality of sleep you get each and every night. This is incredibly important to your mental and physical wellbeing. Your mind needs up to 7 hours of quality REM sleep in order to properly reset for the following day.
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Additionally, memory, focus, creative thinking, and emotional stability are all extremely dependent on your quality of sleep. You can augment quality sleep time, and hence the above-mentioned benefits, with soothing and relaxing massages.
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Your immune and lymphatic systems are directly affected by your sleep cycles as well. This is because quality sleep time is when your body takes the time to flush out toxins and repair previous day-to-day damages.
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You may be getting the right number of sleep hours. But still, it is vital that you tailor your home and sleep environment to be conducive to proper sleep and REM patterns. Because these are the smart steps to take if you want to achieve optimal physical and mental wellbeing.
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Contributing Author: Mehan Belnap
meghanbelnap@gmail.com
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Do you have a comfortable bed? Do you do screen time before bed? If so, you might have problems getting good sleep at night. Post your comments below.