Room Conditions

After establishing a consistent bedtime routine it is important to create a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere in your bedroom. The more cozy and harmonic your bedroom is the more relaxed you will feel.

Your goal is to promote a calming and restive atmosphere. This can be achieved by creating a bedroom environment that is not only appealing to you but also functions without interruptions or annoying irritations.

Ensure that the room temperature is set according your preference. Ideally your room should be on the cooler side; however you should experiment with your own comfort level.

You don't want to wake during the night either too hot or too cold and then find yourself wide awake once again. Sleep experts say that the ideal room temperature is 65 to 70 degrees F.

If at all possible try to sleep with the window open, however slightly. This will allow for proper room ventilation. Adequate air current is necessary for you to breathe in circulating air. This will aid your body in breathing deeply and correctly.

You may be sensitive to noises around you and outside of the bedroom.

If this is the case and you find that noise is disturbing or interrupting your sleep you may want to consider purchasing ear plugs.

Ear plugs may take a little getting used to, however there are plugs on the market that are specifically designed to be comfortable and unobtrusive to your sleep. Take time to try what works best for you.

If you find ear plugs to be too uncomfortable you may want to use a

"white noise" machine, such as a fan. "White noise" from the fan is used to

over-ride or mask other sounds that may be disturbing to your sleep, such as

traffic and voices.

Ideally your bedroom should be as dark as possible so that you

experience the daytime/nighttime cycle. Light may disrupt your normal

circadian rhythm and signal your body that it is time to wake up.

If you find it difficult to fall asleep in a room that is infused with too

much light, try purchasing an eye mask. There are eye masks on the market that will be comfortable to wear as well as effectively block out any interfering

light.

If you find an eye mask to be too uncomfortable try hanging thick

curtains or install blinds.

If you find yourself listening to the sound of a ticking clock you may

want to remove the clock from your bedroom and replace it with a digital

clock.

If you find yourself constantly looking at the time to see how many hours

you have left to sleep you may want to turn the digital clock to the wall.

Knowing that time is passing will only increase your anxiety and stress about

not sleeping.

Make sure that your room has no stimulation to lure you from sleep.

This includes the television, computer, stereo equipment. You want to ensure that your bedroom is only used for sleeping and sex.

If you have a CD player in the bedroom make sure that you only use if

for playing relaxing music or sleep inducing CDs.

If you find that your room is too dry you may want to purchase a

humidifier, especially in the winter months.

Wear comfortable, loose clothing. The more constrained or

uncomfortable you are the more likely you are to wake up during the night.

The goal of this chapter is to encourage to you find the ideal sleep

conditions for you personal preferences. You may have to experiment and try a

variety of techniques to find what works best for you.