Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to our everyday health and wellness. But it isn’t always easy to fall asleep. Creating the perfect sleep environment is the first step to achieving a good night’s sleep. 

• Make sure that your bed is comfortable
• Change your bedding
• Declutter
• Remove electronics
• Create a sanctuary 
• Experiment with aromatherapy 
• Darken your room
• Decrease the temperature
• Silence any noise

Make sure that your bed is comfortable 

The first step in creating the perfect sleep environment is to make sure that your bed is supporting you. Do you find yourself wasting hours trying to find a comfortable sleeping position? Or wake up with a stiff and sore body? If so, you may need to invest in a new mattress and/or bed. Our bodies respond differently to different mattress firmness, so explore different options before you commit to one. You may find that your current mattress is too firm or soft for your body. If your bed is old, or ill built, consider getting a new one that is strong and unlikely to fall apart. You want a bed that makes you feel comfortable, safe, and completely as ease. 

Change your bedding 

Getting into a bed with freshly washed sheets is one of the greatest pleasures in the world, and can immediately make you feel as ease. Your bedding should be cleaned every two week to get rid of lingering bacteria and dead skin cells. To enhance the calming effect of fresh bedding, buy a detergent that you like the smell of. This will help you to feel happy and relaxed as you drift into sleep. 

Declutter 

A cluttered room causes a cluttered mind. Your bedroom should be your sanctuary for sleep and nothing else. You should not be keeping any items in your bedroom that could distract you, most importantly exercise equipment and work materials. Instead, move all potential distractions to another room in your home where you do not have to see them, and therefore think about them. Out of sight, out of mind. 

Remove electronics

Part of removing all distractions from your bedroom is removing all electronics. There should be no technology, including a TV, in your bedroom, and you should be avoiding it an hour before you sleep as well. Technology emits a blue light that suppresses the melatonin levels in your body that help you to sleep. Additionally, the content consumed on technology is likely to keep you awake due to its level of engagement, leaving you alert hours after you’ve put your phone down. Instead, switch off all of your technology, leave it in another room, and let your bedroom be a place of relaxation.

Create a sanctuary 

Your bedroom should be the most relaxing area in your home for you. As such, you should decorate it in a way that makes you feel at ease. For most people, this includes calming colours, soft furnishings, and maybe even a couple of plants. You want your bedroom to make you feel comfortable and safe, so decorate your room to reflect this. At the end of the day, when you enter your room, you want to instantly want to crawl into bed and drift off into a relaxing slumber. 

Experiment with aromatherapy 

Aromatherapy is the process of using aromatic materials, such as essential oils, to improve your psychological and physical wellbeing. Aromas, such as lavender, chamomile, and ylang-ylang can help create a serene environment that relaxes your body and mind and helps you drift off more easily to sleep. Try experimenting with a couple of essential oils, perhaps using them in a diffuser, to see if they have a positive impact helping you sleep. 

Darken your room  

It’s best to sleep in the dark as this is when we produce melatonin, which helps relax the body and enables us to sleep. Our bodies are sensitive to light, and when it is bright we assume that we should be awake, regardless of what time it is. To ensure that your bedroom is perfectly dark invest in a pair of quality, well-lined, curtains and/or a blackout blind. This will help keep out any early morning sun or street lights. For further protection, you may want to keep an eye mask on hand for when light may break through your curtains. 

Decrease the temperature

As the evening progresses your body’s temperature naturally drops to prepare you for sleep and begin the production of melatonin. If your room is too hot, draughty, or cold, you will find it difficult to fall asleep. The optimum temperature for your bedroom is 16-18 degrees Celsius. Curtains and/or blinds will help with cold and draughty rooms as they block out any wind coming from your window. For particularly draughty rooms you may want to buy a draught excluder to prevent air from your home being blown under your door. If your room is too hot, try cooling it down by opening a window and encouraging air flow into your room. Use a duvet with a lower tog and cotton sheets that are more breathable. Finally, tie back long hair and make sure that you stay hydrated. A room that is a comfortable temperature will help send you in to a comfortable sleep. 

Silence any noise 

The final way to create the perfect atmosphere for a good night’s sleep is to silence any noise. Sudden, loud, and repetitive noise can hinder, awake, or startle us from sleep, leaving us feeling groggy and less refreshed the next day. Some noises are beyond our control, such as traffic or other outdoor noises. The best way to combat this is with double glazing that helps to muffle the sound. For the summer months, and for extra noise pollution protection, try using foam earplugs.

Don’t let laundry get in the way of a blissful nights sleep. Let us take care of it for you. Book your Laundryheap order today by heading to the Laundryheap website or downloading the free Laundryheap app.