5 ways to turn your sleeping place into a sanctuary

Tossing and turning? Try some of these ideas for making your bedroom more snooze-friendly.

Because your quality of sleep is so much more than just getting to bed on time.

1. Get comfy.

Your mattress, pillows, and the clothing you wear to bed can all effect the quality of your sleep.

When was the last time you took a look at your mattress? How is the firmness? Does it have signs of wear and tear? Are there any low spots? If so, it might be time to invest in a new one.

Are your pillows the right firmness, too? Are they stuffed with natural fibres, like wool or alpaca? What about your pillowcases? All of these factors could potentially be affecting your ability to fall and stay asleep.

Natural fibres disperse moisture from the skin, providing even warmth and body temperature, which means choosing clothing and bedding made from cotton, linen, bamboo, silk, or wool can help you get comfy and stay comfy all night long.

2. Keep it cool.

Spring is here in New Zealand, and that means that summer is just around the corner. Our bodies like it cool at night, and when it does begin to warm up, it can interrupt our sleep.

As you sleep, your body temperature lowers naturally, so it’s important to introduce your body to a cooler environment to help stimulate sleep and allow you to cycle naturally though the sleep stages. It’s been suggested that the ideal bedroom temperature falls anywhere between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius, or 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures outside this range can disrupt your REM (rapid eye movement) stage, which is a restorative phase of our sleep and potentially where our brain processes most of our experiences. This stage is crucial to our mental processes through the day, and when they are incomplete, it may affect our cognitive brain functions concerning decision making. 

3. Black it out.

Now that the days are getting longer, the sun might be coming up long before you’re ready to roll out of bed. If you find yourself especially sensitive to this, consider investing in some blackout (or blockout) curtains, which usually have a double-layer acrylic coating that is heat-sealed to the back of the fabric in order to block out light throughout the summer months (while also helping reduce heat loss from windows during the cooler months).

If you’re a renter or are looking for a more affordable option, our Aphrodite Sleep Mask is made of 100% silk. So, not only does it keep the light out, it can also help protect the delicate skin around your eyes from being tugged or pulled by friction caused by your bedding when you roll over during the night. Bonus!

4. Create a “no phone zone”.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, “blue light can affect your sleep and potentially cause disease.”

“Until the advent of artificial lighting, the sun was the major source of lighting, and people spent their evenings in (relative) darkness. Now, in much of the world, evenings are illuminated, and we take our easy access to all those lumens pretty much for granted.”

“Light at night is part of the reason so many people don't get enough sleep, says sleep researcher Stephen Lockley. If that wasn’t bad enough, researchers have also linked short sleep to increased risk for depression, as well as diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

Harvard also recommends avoiding bright screens in the two to three hours before bed. Be sure to only use dim red lights for night lights, as red light has the least power to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin. If you work a night shift or use a lot of electronic devices at night, consider wearing blue light-blocking glasses or installing an app that filters out blue/green wavelength at night.

The best idea of all? Turn your bedroom into a “no phone zone”. If you depend on your phone as your alarm clock, consider switching it up for one of these gorgeous alternatives.

5. Consider all your senses.

While hearing and touch are the senses most commonly tied to sleep quality, what about smell and taste?

Essential oils can have an effect on the central nervous system, and the right ones may help you to relax and fall asleep. The oils we use in our Aura linen spray and our Nightfall and Solstice diffusers, like lavender and sandalwood, were selected for this reason.

When I moved to New Zealand from Canada, I was no longer able to find my preferred brand of sleepy tea. I tried every type that I could find at the grocery store, and nothing had the flavour or relaxation effect that I was looking for, so I blended up my own! Our signature Dream Tea uses the same herbs that are found in my Canadian favourite, but they’ve all been sourced from nearby farms on the North Island, and proportioned to my personal tastes.

Creating rituals around sleeping, like drinking our Dream Tea at the same time each night, might help support a more healthy sleep pattern.