HEALTH

 

Your bedroom is your go-to place to express creativity and store your most sacred belongings. From your makeup collection to the stuffed teddy bear you've had since you were three, your room is *literally* your life. But have you ever considered that your room might be the reason you aren't sleeping so well? Below are the cinchy steps to beauty-sleep proof your girl cave.

Ditch the electronics.

All of your electronics from phones to TVs to tablets emit artificial light that can rob you from your sleep. They are a *huge* distraction, and looking at a small screen for such a long period of time can cause problems to your eyes and brain in the future. Play it safe and stow all electronics away when you’re ready to go to bed. Trust us, we all love falling asleep to Riverdale, but you'll snooze better if you don't.

Use a digital clock with red light.

Any form of light can inhibit your melatonin (the body’s natural sleep drug) and prevent you from sleeping long and relaxing hours. But interestingly enough, the color red is the least disruptive to your eyes so make the switch to a red-light clock ASAP.

Clean up the clutter.

In order to sleep well all night, you need to get rid of any potential distractions. A lot of mess and clutter can stimulate your mind and make it hard to wind down in the evening. Also, using your bed for more than just sleeping makes your brain associate it with everything from doing homework to playing video games...and that keeps you awake subconsciously.

Paint the walls.

It’s been proven that the color of your bedroom can greatly impact how long you sleep—especially the colors blue and yellow. These shades are often associated with calmness and serenity whereas brighter colors like pink and orange are associated with creativity, making you less likely to sleep as calmly and peacefully.

Spray lavender perfume *everywhere*.

Lavender calms the body and mind, so take a sweetly scented perfume and spray it all around your room, especially on your linens. Not only will it make your space smell lovely, it will relieve stress and make you feel way more zen. You can also light a candle or dab some lavender aromatherapy oil on your pulse points before bed.

Keep your room dark.

Before you go to bed, make sure to cover any windows with blinds or curtains. You want to keep the lighting very minimal, so your mind can recover from the busy day you had and wind down. So turn off those night-lights and flip over your phones—this is your time to relax.

Stick to an ideal temperature.

You want your body to adapt to one temperature while you sleep (we all hate the feeling of waking up sweaty!). You don’t want to feel too warm or cold—it's important to find what's just right. Studies have shown that the ideal temp is between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Change your sheets often.

We highly recommend changing your bed sheets weekly. Although it sounds like a lot, the cleaner you keep you bed and your sheets, the better you’ll sleep. If you sleep on soft and nicely scented fabric, you have a better chance of scoring that recommended 8-10 hours of snooze time.

Do you have any tips that help you sleep better? Share them with us in the comments below!

Photo credit: Favim.

by Yasmeena Fakhouri | 3/23/2017