When it comes to sleep, some nights will be better than others. But the goal is to have more nights of great sleep than nights of tossing and turning. Sleep is important because how well you sleep during the night will control how well you function during the day, as well as your mood. So I have never been shy on spending money on good gear if it means I will get better sleep. When you get a good night’s sleep, you wake up feeling refreshed and invigorated; so instead of pressing the snooze button, you will rise and shine on the first alarm. The following list are things you can get if you want to sleep better at night:
Sleep mask
Have you ever noticed that you have the best sleep in hotels? Part of it may be that you are on vacation and don’t have to worry about a nagging alarm in the morning; but the big reason is because hotels use blackout blinds. Blackout blinds prevents any light (pollution) from getting into the room. A sleep mask works the same way. It prevents light from getting into your eyes. Light not only makes it harder for you to get to sleep, it also disrupts your circadian rhythm and therefore affects your sleep-wake cycle.
According to the Great British Sleep Survey, as many as 1/5 of the adult population report some sleep disturbances due to light. But if even if you are not experiencing sleep disturbances due to light, exposure to even a little bit of light at night can suppress your body’s melatonin production. This is important as there has been many studies that show that melatonin levels control mood-related symptoms, such as those associated with depression.
If you are interested in a sleep mask, try out the Bedtime Bliss sleep mask; it’s highly rate on Amazon and comes with ear plugs.
Red light lamp
If you need light at night, I suggest getting a red light lamp instead of a regular (blue light) lamp. Blue light lamps, the light that is usually found in regular lamps, are associated with sleep disturbances and disruption of the sleep-wake cycle, suppressing the production of melatonin. Red light lamps on the other hand help in the production of melatonin, which helps you get to sleep and regulates your mood the next day. In order for red light lamp to do its job, the light would need to be infrared. For an infrared light, you can get the Beurer IL50 Infrared Light.
Ear plugs
If sound gets in the way of your sleep, you should invest in some good ear plugs. I don’t use ear plugs to sleep but if you are someone that is easily waken by sound, this should solve your problem. However, the only drawback of using ear plugs is that it might be a little harder to hear the alarm in the morning. But solving that problem is easy; you either turn up the volume on the alarm clock and set it closer to you, or you get someone to call you up in the mornings. Although ear plugs do cancel out most of the noise, you will still be able to hear a loud alarm if it is near you. If you order the Bedtime Bliss sleep mask referenced above, it will come with ear plugs.
Chiropractic pillow
A good pillow is underestimated. A good pillow can mean the difference between waking up with no pain at all or waking up with aggravating neck pain. A chiropractic pillow (or cervical pillow) contours to the shape of your head and neck, allowing your neck to perfectly align with your body while you sleep. There is little need to adjust the pillow (or your head) during your sleep. For a chiropractic pillow, try the Core 200 Tri-core pillow.
Memory foam mattress topper
Although a memory foam mattress is great to sleep on, it is also mighty expensive. A memory mattress topper is great for relieving pressure on areas of the back that usually gives you problems in the morning. The first time I slept on a memory foam mattress topper, it was probably the best sleep I ever had up until that point. It was so good I slept through the alarm clock and woke up 2 hours late for work. Yikes! When I woke up, the normally tight lower back felt fine.
Although memory foam mattress toppers have alleviated my own back pain as well as the back pain of many other people, there has been instances where the memory foam mattress topper aggravates an already-existing back condition. This may be due to the lack of core support from an old mattress or it may be because some people like to sleep on their stomachs while on the memory foam.
For a memory foam mattress topper, try the Lucid 3 inch foam mattress topper.
Leave a Reply