Our bedrooms are supposed to be relaxing and tranquil places. We go to bed to rest and recharge from a stressful day, ready to wake up refreshed and do it all over again. If you are one of the people dealing with sleeping problems though, then your bedroom may not be the relaxing space it should be. With that said, here are 10 bedroom items that could be ruining your sleep.
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Technology
Most people are already aware of how technology affects their sleeping patterns. Just about any kind of technology, including TVs, tablets, and smartphones, has a negative impact on sleep. They release artificial light that reduces melatonin production. Melatonin is the important sleep hormone that makes you feel sleepy and maintains the sleep-wake cycle. Without it, you’ll have a lot more trouble sleeping than usual.
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Blankets
While you might like the idea of having a warm bed with a cozy setup – and it seems like it would be conducive to sleep – your electric blanket could be wreaking havoc on your sleep schedule. Increased body temperatures can disrupt sleep. You should keep things light and simple to make it easier to fall asleep.
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The Walls
While the physical walls themselves won’t make it harder to sleep, the color they are might. If you have brown, grey, gold, purple, or red walls, they can negatively affect dream. Travelodge performed a study of the bedroom colors for 2,000 homes and how they affected the quality of sleep for their owners. If you’re looking to get better quality sleep, you might want to consider painting your room a nice calming blue.
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The Snooze Button
It can feel good to hit the snooze button and sleep for another 15 minutes or so, but doing this can disrupt natural REM sleep. According to DailySleep, REM is the deep sleep you get when you dream. Hitting snooze and sleeping a little longer disrupts your dream and makes you feel even more tired than before. Wake up with your alarm and stay awake.
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Your Mattress
The Natural Sleep Foundation suggests that having a worn out and saggy mattress increases back pain and stiffness. It makes you feel more uncomfortable and leads to problems sleeping. It’s worth replacing your mattress every so often to avoid this. The good news is that a good quality mattress can last you up to ten years. You’ll get a lot of use out of a mattress, but don’t be afraid to swap it out for something new and fresh when the time comes.
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Your Chargers
So you’ve made the smart choice to get rid of your phone and other technology when in bed. That’s great. The bad news is that just charging your devices in your room could be disrupting your sleep. It’s especially likely if there’s some blue light around. Blue wavelengths of light are “potent” forms of light that can affect the circadian rhythm. You should charge your devices during the day or, if they are to be charged at night, in another room in the house.
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Your Partner
There are lots of reasons that your partner could disrupt your sleep quality. You might even be able to think of some of them on your own – such as their snoring, blanket hogging, movement, and body heat. If you are being kept up at night by your partner, then you have some options to consider. You can get separate blankets, invest in a bigger bed, or get a memory foam mattress to reduce motion shifting. When it comes to snoring, consider having your partner get checked out to see if there are underlying health conditions or not. Either way, there are treatment options for snoring.
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The Clutter
We’re all guilty of having some clutter in our room. It turns out that our parents were right when they insisted we had clean bedrooms, though. Having too much clutter in your room has been shown to increase anxiety and reduce sleep quality. Take some time to keep things clean.
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The Pillow
Using the wrong kind of pillow causes a range of problems. It causes nerve pain, muscle stiffness, tendonitis, and a lot of overall discomfort during a time that you’re supposed to be resting. You should consider investing in a new pillow, and maybe even an entirely different kind of support depending on how you sleep.
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Your Pets
One study showed that around a third of all people who slept with their pets woke up at night because of them. Two-thirds of pet owners reported having reduced sleep quality, and 5% said that they had trouble getting back to sleep after being woken up by their pet. We know you love sleeping with your pet, but you might want to consider getting them a bed of their own.
