There are many ingredients in an entrepreneur’s recipe for success. For business owners to make smart decisions, work hard, and celebrate victories, they need a good night’s rest!
Besides a good diet and regular exercise, sleeping well provides many benefits. After getting a full night of great sleep, you can notice:
- Improved decision-making abilities
- A more positive overall mood
- Increased energy levels
- Better resilience to stressful situations
If you find yourself feeling tired or, even worse, not sleeping at all, your bedroom might be to blame. Fortunately, there are several simple but effective ways to solve this problem. Here are several great ways to optimize your bedroom for better sleep.
1. Leave the Electronics Out
An entrepreneur regularly spends long stretches on electronic devices. From preparing a website landing page on a laptop to surfing social media on a smartphone, most business owners find themselves surrounded by electronics.
While these devices can make your life easier, they can wreak havoc on your ability to get quality sleep. For one, the blue light laptops, phones, and tablets emit can reduce your body’s ability to produce melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for inducing feelings of sleepiness.
Playing a game on your smartphone, scrolling through social media, or something similar engages your brain. This state of engagement also makes it hard for your brain and body to wind down. So, leave the electronics in another room before bedtime.
2. Create Your Own Illumination Lamp
Some people can sleep in a completely dark room. For others, sleeping in these environments doesn’t come so easily. Fortunately, there’s a way to compromise between bright overhead lights and a pitch-black room.
When building, buying, or modifying your bedroom’s lights, your options are endless. For example, some people enjoy having dim lights in their bedrooms while winding down. Others may install LED strips along the underside of the bed just in case they need to get up in the middle of the night. Another possibility is to have an illumination lamp with controllable switches near your bed or another convenient location. It’s even possible to control your lights from a smartphone!
3. Cool Things Down
If you find it difficult to fall asleep in warmer environments, you’re not alone. As the sun sets and the outside temperatures cool, these signs help signal your body that it’s time to wind down.
The Sleep Foundation recommends setting your bedroom temperature anywhere from 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal sleep. But why? That’s because cooler temperatures can help the body fall into a deep sleep and remain there for longer periods.
If your home has air conditioning, keeping your thermostat low can help you get a great night’s rest. But you don’t necessarily need air conditioning for a cool room. Opening your bedroom windows and buying a fan can also lower your bedroom’s temperature. Foam and gel-based mattress toppers also help dissipate heat and cool your bed.
4. Block Out External Light
Not everyone has the luxury of sleeping surrounded by the dark of night. Unfortunately, whether natural or artificial, bright lights disrupt your circadian rhythm. A circadian rhythm is an internal, 24-hour clock that regulates when you feel awake or sleepy. Ideally, you should feel more awake during daytime hours and sleepy when it gets dark outside.
Whether your schedule has you sleeping during the day or bright lights surround your bedroom, you can still get excellent sleep. Blocking out external light is easy with a set of blackout curtains. The material and size of blackout curtains block all light from entering your room. Consider placing a visually appealing rainbow decal over your windows if you prefer something more adventurous.
5. Utilize Bedtime Aromatherapy
With a darkened room and soothing music, you can relax easily into a good night’s sleep. But your sense of smell also plays a vital role in the relaxation process. For our final tip, it’s time to talk about aromatherapy.
If you’re unfamiliar with aromatherapy, it involves applying or breathing in oils or essential oils as they’re often referred to. These oils are highly concentrated from flowers, roots, and other natural sources.
Whether you drop a few dabs of oil in a home diffuser or apply lotions made with concentrated oils, several scents can help promote relaxation. Essential oils commonly used to induce sleepiness include:
- Ylang ylang
- Peppermint
- Clary sage
- Valerian
- Frankincense
Going without enough sleep can make you mentally and physically exhausted. Instead of dealing with another night of poor sleep, use the previously mentioned tips to optimize your bedroom. Then, wake up refreshed and ready to take on your entrepreneurial endeavors.
