Your bedroom plays an important part in getting a good night’s sleep. There is a lot to consider including temperature, light and comfort. Here are some tips to help you to turn your bedroom into a little haven to help you get a good night’s sleep:
- Decorate in neutral colours, bright colours can be over stimulating and affect your ability to sleep.
- If the room is too hot or too cold it can disturb sleep, around 16-18 degrees is best (check with your parents before you use with the controls).
- Make the bedroom a gadget free zone. If possible, keep TVs, gaming devices, tablets and phones out of the bedroom. Using them before may suppress the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin, and make it more difficult to nod off.
- White noise can help mask out background noise.
- Don’t do schoolwork on your bed and pack away school books at bedtime to help avoid distraction.
- A dark bedroom can help with melatonin production making us feel sleepy at the start of the night. Blackout blinds can also help in the summer to stop us waking early.
- Some people prefer a little light in the room at nighttime. If a dark room is distressing or disorientating, try using a soft glowing night light that can be left on all night. Those with visual/hearing impairments for example can find total darkness disorientating.
- Keep conditions the same throughout the night. Avoid using products that switch off during the night or having landing lights turn off after bed that can disturb your sleep.
- Comfort is important, we all have different needs when it comes to what we prefer and what suits our bodies. The firmness of the mattress and pillows, the texture of the bedding and nightclothes are all important considerations when planning our sleep environments, especially for those with sensory needs. For more information on mattresses, visit Bed Advice UK.