We often underestimate the importance of sleep for quality of life, even though sleep affects literally everything: work, relationships with loved ones, our appearance, and psychological state. It is important to consider several details: both how much and how well you sleep and the environment in which this occurs. That is, these are two interconnected factors.
Color Scheme of the Bedroom
Entering a bedroom where you will spend the next 8–10 hours and seeing bright colors is a torment for your nervous system after a long and hard day. Our psyche is structured in such a way that bright colors are perceived as irritants. Choose solid, calm colors for the bedroom that are not "loud."
Textile Comfort
Rough, prickly fabric or synthetic materials that cause sweating send signals of discomfort to the brain. Invest in the best you can afford: a mattress with orthopedic properties suited to your weight and favorite sleeping position, and a pillow that keeps your neck aligned with your spine. The filling of the pillow (memory foam, buckwheat husk, latex) is a matter of personal preference. But pay special attention to the textiles: bedding made from satin, cotton, silk, or bamboo creates a feeling of cool smoothness that subconsciously associates with luxury and tranquility, gently lowering cortisol levels.
Complete Darkness: Your Melatonin Depends on It
Light is the main enemy of quality sleep, and it’s not just about a bright street lamp. Even the dim light from a charger or the LED indicator of a television is perceived by the retina as a signal to wake up. This disrupts the production of melatonin—a key sleep hormone that is also a powerful antioxidant. To create ideal darkness, blackout curtains or special pleated shades that completely block light are necessary. Additionally, it’s worth removing or covering all glowing indicators in the room and considering a sleep mask.
Eliminating Unwanted Noises
Extraneous sounds, even those to which you seem to have become accustomed, keep the brain in a state of micro-awakenings, preventing you from entering the deepest and most restorative phase of slow sleep. It is in this phase that the most active tissue repair, toxin removal from the brain, and immune strengthening occur. You can create a quiet space in several ways: installing soundproof double-glazed windows, using dense textile elements that absorb sound waves, and, as a last resort, earplugs.
Ventilated Space
Falling asleep is accompanied by a natural decrease in the body's internal temperature. If the room is too hot and stuffy, this process is disrupted, leading to shallow and interrupted sleep, and a reduction in the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. The optimal temperature for a bedroom is around 18–20°C. This microclimate not only promotes quick falling asleep but also improves skin quality: in cooler conditions, blood vessels at the surface of the skin constrict, which can reduce morning puffiness and redness. This can be achieved not only with air conditioning but also by ventilating the room for at least 10–15 minutes before sleep.
All these simple points will allow you to turn your bedroom into a true sleep kingdom—in a good sense. After a stressful and hard day, you will fall asleep there like a baby, and your condition will noticeably improve, as we discussed above, the key to youth, stable mental health, and energy is quality sleep.
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