If you suffer from chronic insomnia and have trouble sleeping most nights, there's bound to be a variety of factors involved, but one common contributor is a bedroom which has stopped functioning as a place for you to rest and rejuvenate your mind. So one strategy in your pursuit of a good night's sleep should definitely be to take a look at your environment and the things that you can do to make your bedroom more peaceful and conducive to good sleep habits.
These are just a few of the things you can do to immediately improve your bedroom environment and starting treating your chronic insomnia:
1. Use your bedroom only for sleeping and romance
Your bedroom is supposedly to be your haven, but nowdays many of us find ourselves doing everything in our bedrooms, except for the most important thing – sleeping. Most sleep doctors recommend that we should attempt to return our bedroom back into the type of environment it was meant to be, a restful one.
So move the television back into the den and if you have a computer in your room, try and place it in another part of the house. Do you work on your laptop in bed? Think about moving to the living room couch with your laptop instead of surfing the web propped up on pillows. It will probably be better for your back anyway.
2. Return your bedroom to full darkness
In this age of technology that we live in, you probably have stopped noticing that you rarely experience a pitch black environment. Between the computers, the television, the alarm clock radio and the surge protector that keeps them all safe, soft light is constantly glowing around you. I've even seen light switches that have LED lights so you can find them in the dark!
The problem is, light disinfects sleep, especially for those who already have trouble sleeping, the chronic insomniac. If you have not taken my advice to move most of the electronics out of your room, then reconsider it now. If you really can not do it, then try to turn everything off completely when you go to bed. You may need to actually unplug some equipment since often the LED lights only come on when a device is turned off, but if you have your electronics plugged into power strips, you can just shut everything off at the strip with one flick of the switch.
If light comes into your room from the street, be sure to have good blinds or curtains heavy enough to block this inviting light completely. And finally, turn your alarm clock towards the wall or consider replacing it with an analog clock that does not glow in the dark.
3. Consider your Mattress and Pillows
How old is your mattress and when was the last time you flipped it over? I will not be shocked to discover that you've never flipped it over at all, as most people do not even realize it is necessary. Your mattress should be rotated or flipped over repeatedly because it is subject to the same wear and tear as the tires on your car. Each night when you go to bed, your body is molding a huge indentation of itself into your mattress. Most mattress manufacturers recommend rotating your mattress monthly, but even every 3 or 6 months will make a huge difference in how comfortable your mattress remains through its life.
Now what about those pillows? Pillows are an important part of a good and comfortable night's sleep. They should be replaced frequently and you definitely should not stint on the purchase. The $ 4 pillow from Walmart is not going to cut it, especially if you already have problems sleeping. Investing in the right pillow for you is important. You may consider some of the new latex pillows that are available. There are also many contoured pillows available and designed for different sleep positions. So do some shopping to find the pillow that suits you.
I hope you'll find these tips from changing your bedroom from Grand Central Station back into a delightful place to rest and restore yourself helpful.