Why and how to turn your bedroom into a cave for great sleep

When it comes to getting great sleep, we could do worse than going with the recommendation of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

They recommend turning one's bedroom into a cave: It should be dark, quiet and cool. It's hard to understate how important that recommendation is for getting the 90 minutes of deep sleep we need each night. Here's why.

First, your bedroom should be dark. Although you won't notice it, even small amounts of light go through your closed eyelids. While you sleep, this decreases activation in the parasympathetic arm of your autonomic nervous system, which is also known as the calmness system. As I have explained in my post on the digital sunset, that prevents you from getting the deep sleep you need in the first half of the night.

Second, your bedroom should be quiet. As it turns out, we're very sensitive to noise when we're asleep – and that noise doesn't have to be loud, let alone wake us up. Even minor acoustic disturbances – your neighbors talking to each other, say – reduce activation in the parasympathetic arm of your autonomic nervous system, similar to light. That's why noise keeps you from getting into deep sleep. 

Third, your bedroom should be cool. Your body needs to drop its core temperature by 1 to 1.5 degrees Celsius to get into deep sleep in time. The general recommendation is a room temperature between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius; the closer to 18 degrees you can tolerate, the better. But don't worry, you don't have to freeze. Feel free to use as many sheets as you need.

In a nutshell, turn your bedroom into a cave to get the deep sleep you need each night. Eliminate all sources of light and make it as quiet and reasonably cool as possible.

Pro tip:
If creating complete darkness or eliminating all sources of noise in your (hotel) bedroom is not an option for any reason, all is not lost. Eye masks and earplugs provide an effective and affordable remedy. I've been using Manta Sleep's eye mask and earplugs for years when on the road. If you've tried earplugs before and found them on the floor the following morning, combine the two: An eye mask will help to keep the earplugs in place throughout the night.

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Until next week,
Christian