The ideal sleeping environment
Our sleep is crucial for our well-being and health. With the right sleep hygiene and an ideal sleeping environment you can support your body to sleep better and in to regenerate optimally during the night. Here you can find out what the ideal sleeping environment looks like and what you need to consider to promote restful sleep.
Table of contents
- The right sleep hygiene
- The ideal sleeping environment
- Bedroom
- Sleeping Equipment
- Room temperature
- Light
- Noise & Sounds
- Conclusion
1. The right sleep hygiene
Our sleep is one of the most important foundations for our well-being and health every day and yet it is not that easy to wake up feeling really refreshed every morning. With the right sleep hygiene, you can help your body regenerate optimally at night and prevent sleep disorders such as problems falling asleep and staying asleep. Because good sleep doesn't come by chance and is one of the most important foundations for our well-being and health. Good sleep hygiene includes, among other things, the design of your sleeping environment.
2. The ideal sleeping environment
Where and under what conditions we sleep at night has a decisive influence on the quality of sleep. Particularly unusual and external circumstances can promote temporary and chronic sleep disorders and quickly lead to us waking up again and again at night or not being able to get a restful sleep at all. An ideal sleeping environment adapted to your needs, on the other hand, provides you with optimal conditions for an undisturbed night and offers the best conditions for a good night's sleep.
A good sleeping environment includes not only the bedroom or room itself but also the conditions of light, room temperature, air quality and the furnishings of your sleeping area.
#1 The bedroom
Rest and relaxation prepare the body optimally for sleep and have a positive effect on the process of falling asleep. The bedroom should therefore be a tidy, comfortable place to retreat and, like the bed, should only be used for sleeping. In any case, try to separate work and rest areas and, if possible, ban anything that could distract you from sleep and disturb your night's rest, for example television or other digital devices.
#2 The sleeping equipment
“How you make your bed is how you lie”! The mattress, pillow and duvet should support a comfortable sleeping position and give the body the opportunity to completely relax. Make sure your mattress is not too hard, but not too soft, and use a pillow that is tailored to your preferred sleeping position to avoid muscle tension and to be able to fall asleep more quickly in a comfortable position. You can find out everything about the perfect sleeping position here.
#3 Room temperature
The room climate also influences our sleep and both an ambient temperature that is too cold or too warm has a negative impact on the quality of sleep. Regulating body temperature by freezing or sweating in response to an unpleasant ambient temperature puts the body under stress and promotes problems falling asleep and staying asleep. With the natural sleep-wake rhythm, our body temperature drops continuously in the evening and at night until it slowly rises again at around 3 a.m. Experts therefore recommend a rather cool room temperature between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius.
#4 Light
Light plays an important role in our natural sleep-wake rhythm and functions as an external clock for hormone production. As darkness increases, our body begins to release the sleep hormone melatonin, which makes us tired. Bright light, on the other hand, inhibits melatonin production and thus counteracts natural sleep. The sleeping environment should therefore always be kept as dark as possible and incident daylight and disturbing light sources such as glowing alarm clocks, screens and smartphones should be banned.
#5 Noise
Acoustic stimuli are usually perceived and processed unconsciously by our brain - including during sleep. In this way, background noise or noise can not only prevent you from actually falling asleep, but can also disrupt sleeping through the night. Especially when a noise stands out in an otherwise quiet sleeping environment, our brain reacts to it and wakes us up. To improve sleep, you can remove potential sources of noise from the sleeping area, turn off televisions or radios before bed, and keep the window closed at night to keep out street noise.
3. Conclusion
In summary, a darkened and quiet room with comfortable sleeping equipment and temperatures between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius is the ideal sleeping environment. This creates optimal conditions for a quick and peaceful falling asleep process and a restful sleep that is as undisturbed as possible. Especially in combination with other rules of good sleep hygiene, you can have a positive influence on your sleep and ensure that you get the most out of your sleep in the long term and start the day fit and refreshed in the morning.
Your bedroom should be a place of rest and retreat and, like the bed, should only be used for sleeping.
Make sure you have comfortable sleeping equipment and choose a mattress, pillow and duvet according to your needs so that you lie comfortably and relaxed.
Prefer a rather cool room temperature, 16 to 18 degrees Celsius is considered conducive to sleep.
Avoid bright light and make sure your sleeping environment is as dark as possible.
Make sure the environment is as quiet as possible and exclude potential sources of noise from the bedroom.