It’s true! When you have a space to sleep in that you can feel safe, comfortable and happy, your sleep has a better chance of being quality, and you have a far better chance of waking up happy in the morning. Is your sleep space happy? Consider the following to determine if there are changes you could make to improve your sleep space and make it a happier place to drift off to dreamland.
- The right mattress
- Enough blankets and pillows
- Calming scents
- Nightly rituals
- Darkness
When Is It Time for a New Mattress?
If you’re sleeping on the wrong mattress bedtime and your bedroom can be a truly miserable place. It’s the first thing to check when you consider how happy your sleeping place is. Do you prefer soft? Firm? Spring, foam, or a combination. According to Sleepcountry.com, if it’s been over 7 years, your sleep will improve with a new mattress.
Blankets and Pillows
How many is too many? Most decorating sites will tell you that you can never have too many pillows. But the key is quality vs. quantity. Sure a pile of colorful pillows looks inviting and can definitely ramp up the happiness factor in your bedroom, but give consideration to how you use pillows and what you enjoy. There’s no hard and fast rule. Sleepcomfortably.org recommends “enough pillows to remove the angle between your shoulder and your head.”
They state that the average pillows usage runs as follows:
- One pillow for the head
- Two pillows, one for the head, and one that they hug
- Two pillows, one for the head and one for the feet
- Three pillows, one for the head, the feet and one below the knees
It depends on what you prefer. Give the same consideration to blankets. You need enough, and of a weight that you personally find comfortable. Depending on the temperature it is usually helpful to have options that don’t require you getting up in the middle of the night to track down another blanket.
Calming Scents and Nightly Routines
As when a child gets ready for bed, adults can benefit from nightly routines. Having lavender sachets or potpourri nearby, scented candles burning for a brief time, or even a lavender scented room spray can be a signal to yourself that it’s time to quiet the mind and put yourself in the mood for sleep. Other routines people use include:
- Reading
- TV
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Talking/Expressing the positives in your day
Basically, anything that puts you in a positive mindset and doesn’t start your mind pondering puzzles, topics that cause stress and upset, or activities that re-energize you.
Darkness is the Key
These days so many of us use our cell phone as an alarm, sleep with a TV and cable box in the bedroom, or even have computers and night lights shining in the dark. If you can’t remove these light sources from your room, consider a sleep mask. The National Sleep Foundation comments that certain types of light can trigger the brain to stay alert. In fact, if you’re the type of person who gets up during the night, try to avoid turning on lights since they also can send a signal to your brain that it’s time to wake up. Then you’ll lie awake for hours wondering why you can’t get back to sleep.
Giving yourself the best chance of a good night’s sleep, then taking a few minutes each morning to remind yourself of the positives in your life, will give you a head start on the day and on living a happy life.
