Visions of sugar plums should be dancing in your head as you slumber peacefully…instead, you’re tossing and turning yet again. What’s going on?
Your recurring insomnia might be caused by something as simple as your sleep setup. The human brain is wired to pay attention to its environment, even when you're resting.
Small things, like a gently flashing smoke alarm light or an air conditioner humming almost silently in the background, can be enough to keep your mind from falling into restful sleep. This guide shares 4 simple tweaks that may help improve your sleep setup tonight!
1. Turn Down the Temperature
Your body has a few specific requirements to initiate sleep. One of these factors is a drop in body temperature. A room that’s too warm can keep you from falling asleep or wake you up in the middle of the night.
What temperature do you set your climate to before bed? Many of us try to push those digits up a little to save money, but some sleep psychologists say the optimal thermostat setting is between 60-67°F, similar to a cave.
Body temperature shifts throughout sleep stages through a process called thermoregulation, and a room that's too warm can disrupt REM sleep. You may feel nice and chilly when you first crawl under the blankets, but as your body shifts through sleep stages, extra warmth or humidity can wake you up.
Keep your room cave-like (dark, cool, quiet) for minimal mid-night disruptions. (And if those childhood horror movies didn’t scare you too much, try kicking out one foot from under the covers to regulate your core body temperature.)
2. Cover Any Visual Distractions
Even the subtlest ambient lights that don’t register when you’re awake can be enough to disrupt your sleep. Light of any kind plays a role in your melatonin production, which tells your brain when to rest and when to wake.
For the best chance at restful sleep, eliminate all visual noise, such as:
LED lights from glowing alarm clocks, TV standby lights, your smoke alarm, or power strips. Cover these with electrical tape or a similar safe option.
Smartphone notifications that turn the screen on throughout the night.
Streetlights or a bright moon. You can’t cover these, but you can invest in a sleeping mask or room-darkening shades.
The darker the room, the better your sleep is likely to be each evening.
3. Style Your Bed Based on Your Sleeping Alignment
As children, we can usually sleep anywhere, anytime, anyhow. But by adulthood, we’ve likely shifted into a specific sleep alignment, whether that’s on our stomach, back, or side. If your mattress and pillows don’t match that style, it can be challenging to find and keep a restful position for 6-8 hours.
Pay attention to your preferred sleeping patterns, then look for ways to enhance your bed to minimize tossing and keep your spine neutral all night.
Side sleepers: Your hips and shoulders should take most of your body weight. Choose a thick, firm pillow for your neck, then get a body pillow to hug between your knees and arms. Instead of a new mattress, add a plush memory foam or quilted mattress topper to cushion your joints.
Back sleepers: You’re already in the ideal position for spine health, but you want to support your spine's natural curve without letting it sag. Use a contoured, medium-firm pillow under your neck and a bolster under your knees to relieve pressure on your lower back.
Stomach sleepers: This position is hardest on the body because it flattens your spine's natural curve and keeps your neck turned for hours. To minimize damage and maximize comfort, use a very flat pillow under your head and another under your hips to keep your lower back from arching. Soft mattresses let your body breathe while compressed.
Aligning your bedding to your anatomy may take a little tweaking to find the perfect setup, but once you do, you’ll enjoy the results!
4. Manage Your Nighttime Grinding
If you’ve already turned your room into a sanctuary and done all the things to increase comfort, but you’re still tossing and turning, the solution might be in your head, or rather, your teeth.
Bruxism, the term for teeth grinding and jaw clenching, affects nearly 22% of the global population, with a massive 31% of those affected concentrated in North America. Teeth grinding has multiple potential causes, but the number one reason for bruxism is stress.
Symptoms of bruxism include morning headaches, jaw and neck soreness, and sensitive teeth, as well as fatigue and restless sleep. If you think you may have this condition, talk to your doctor or dentist to find out what might be causing it.
In the meantime, a custom night guard, like those discussed in this JS Dental Lab article, might be all it takes for you to stop grinding and finally get those much-needed zzz’s.
Conclusion
Improving your sleep setup doesn’t have to mean adding hours of meditation, yoga, supplements, or prescription meds to your routine (although any of these might help). The answer to your resting woes might be as simple as tweaking the temperature, darkness, and bedding, or grabbing a night guard to control your teeth grinding.