The Right Lighting for Better Sleep in 2018
A lot goes into creating an atmosphere suitable for a good night’s sleep. Touch, sight, and smell are all factors that affect how well you sleep. If you’re not sleeping well, one cause might be your bedroom lighting. Thankfully, this is something you can play with until you find your best sleep!
The science behind it
Lighting has an impact on our sleep because it controls our circadian rhythm or body clock. Our retinas have special light-sensitive cells that alert the body when it is time to sleep or time to be awake. Your body clock then triggers different hormones in your body depending on how much light you experience, including melatonin which makes you sleepy. When there is less light your body will naturally produce more melatonin, and when there is more light your body will produce less.
Since your body clock reacts to the amount of light in the room, you will want to have a bright light in the morning, and very dim light before bed. Bright light in the morning tells your body it’s time to get up and start the day, and low light in the afternoon tells your body it’s time to shut down for the day. This helps your body wake up with less grogginess in the morning, and go to sleep easier when it is time for bed.
What changes can you make?
Adding low-light dimmer lamps to your bedroom will allow you to lower the lighting before bedtime and prepare your body for deep sleep. Bright lights in the evening will suppress your melatonin production, and therefore decrease your chances of falling and staying asleep. You will want to have dim, ambient light that encourages relaxation. There are also special light bulbs you can purchase for your bedroom that will encourage sleep. Believe it or not, red light is often the best choice for your bedroom; this is because red is a long-wavelength light that has been shown to be less disruptive to sleep than others with short wavelengths. Incandescent bulbs are another good option. They diffuse a soft, warm light and are generally inexpensive. Lightbulbs you will want to avoid for your bedroom are halogen and fluorescent lights. Halogen bulbs emit the whitest light. They are the closest thing to daylight and should, therefore, be avoided around bedtime.
Large families and large tables needed. But not more than half the area home dining table of the kitchen. Too large a table disrupts the circulation of energy flows.
Fluorescent bulbs are also not a good choice because they emit significant amounts of blue light, which interferes with sleep. This is why it is also smart to stay away from screens in the evening, as they emit blue light. We know it’s fun to scroll through social media after work, but you may want to avoid the screen time before bed. If you can’t resist your Twitter feed, reducing the brightness can also help.
When you are ready to lay down for the night, it is best to shut off all sources of light. It’s been shown that insufficient darkness after you have fallen asleep will increase your chances of waking up in the night. However, some like to fall asleep to the glow of a nightlight or have one on in case they need to get up. Using one that has a soft red glow or is very faint is fine as long as it isn’t too bright; if it’s too bright it is more likely to confuse your body clock and wake you up in the night. Having the right lighting in your bedroom before and after you fall asleep is important for achieving the deep sleep you’re looking for. If you’re ready for better sleep in 2018, adjusting the lighting in your bedroom is a good start!
