Ways to make the Bedroom Darker for better Sleep

In order to preserve energy, our bodies run on rhythms. Our blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, etc., all ebb and flow as the day goes on. The light-dark cycle of nature keeps these rhythms humming along smoothly, with darkness sending the signal that it’s time to wind down for rest. That’s why pitch-black bedrooms are ideal for deep and restorative sleep.

Blackout curtains are really effective at keeping light out of your sleep space, but higher-end ones can be pricey. Here are some other, more affordable ways to tell your body its lights out:

Use an Eye Mask.

Eye masks are cheap, easy, and they work. Using an eye mask helps to a get a better sleep by keeping out the light that might disturb sleep. Most people say they’ll never get used to them and then they wear them for a week. Eye Masks are a great tool to keep on your nightstand or throw in your suitcase when you travel to support deeper sleep.

Get a Plant.

For those looking for a darkening solution that’s pretty and practical going the natural route and using “a big fiddle leaf fig tree or two to block the sun from your window is an excellent idea.

The ficus Audrey (Ficus benghalensis) and money tree (Pachira aquatica) are two more relatively low-maintenance houseplants that can nestle your room in shade.

Keep Phones out of the Bedroom

Not all light is created equal, and our bodies have evolved to register certain frequencies and colors of light as more energizing.

“When our eyes see light in the teal to green to blue spectrum, it’s daytime. It’s the color of sunlight through seawater… It’s the color of the natural world,” experts explain. It’s also, unfortunately, the color of our phone screens.

Even if the rest of your sleep environment is pitch-black, looking at your phone in bed can still send a signal to your body that it’s earlier in the day than it actually is.

Even though the amount of light coming out of them is not huge, it’s all going right into our eyes that’s why phones, in particular, are so harmful to sleep compared to electronics like TVs that tend to be farther from our faces. Depending on what you’re looking at, your phone can also trigger the stress hormone cortisol, further delaying sleep.

The most surefire way to resist the urge to scroll is to keep your phone out of sight in another room.

Change your Light Bulbs.

If colors on the blue-green spectrum register as energizing because they remind us of natural daylight, oranges and yellows tend to be more calming because they evoke dusk. That’s why experts say that incandescent lights with a yellowish hue tend to be better for prompting sleep than artificial white light, which has all the colors in it, including blue-green.

If you have bright-white bedside bulbs, consider swapping them out for one of these more sleep friendly options. Setting your bedroom lights on a dimmer can further evoke the natural setting of the sun.

Give the wall fresh coat of Paint.

Richer, deeper paint colors can help your sleep space appear darker. Interior deco experts suggest a charcoal-painted accent wall or shadowy wallpaper can both give a lunar feel to your bedroom, while Chinese medicine practitioner and feng shui expert recommends cooler colors like blues and grays to slow the energy of the room down and promote relaxation.

Maintain a nightly wind down Routine.

Just like hotels offer an evening turndown service for guests, ritualize your bedroom so that once the sun goes down, it becomes a space for sacred slumber, sleep expert recommends. Turn off all the lights, leaving only candles and perhaps the fiery glow of a salt lamp. Put a few drops of lavender into a diffuser to invite the scent of relaxation. Turn down your bed so it’s comfortable bedding invites you in. Skip the TV and the light it emits, plug your devices into a separate space, and read a few pages by candlelight as you tuck in.” That sounds really nice and relaxing

When done consistently, nightly rituals like this can prime the body to get to bed without fuss and wake up ready to face the day.