Q: I read Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival and one of things the author recommend is making your bedroom completely dark. Has anyone tried this? Do you sleep better? Does it work?
A: There’s no doubt about the importance of a dark environment for sleeping. When we expose our bodies to lower light conditions in the evenings, sleep comes more easily due to melatonin release after the sun goes down.
There’s no doubt about the importance of a dark environment for sleeping. In the pre-electric past, people naturally got sleepy and went to bed after the sun went down.
When we have a regularly scheduled sleep pattern mixed with lower light conditions in the evenings, sleep comes more easily due to melatonin release after the sun goes down, as part of our body’s circadian rhythms.
In order to keep this process on track, it’s best to limit exposure to bright light from computer monitors, TVs, and smartphones at night, as this can delay the release of melatonin leading to staying up later.
Limiting light exposure in the morning can also help you get more sleep, as the lack of light can delay the body’s natural call to “wake up”, allowing you to get more deeper, restful sleep.
Using an eyemask, or turning your bed away from the window can help limit this exposure.
For those who work evening and night shifts, it’s best to sleep in rooms with heavy curtains that block all light, as well as wear blue-blocking sunglasses on the morning drive home, in order to prevent the stimulation of the waking circadian rhythm.
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A: There’s no doubt about the importance of a dark environment for sleeping. When we expose our bodies to lower light conditions in the evenings, sleep comes more easily due to melatonin release after the sun goes down.
There’s no doubt about the importance of a dark environment for sleeping. In the pre-electric past, people naturally got sleepy and went to bed after the sun went down.
When we have a regularly scheduled sleep pattern mixed with lower light conditions in the evenings, sleep comes more easily due to melatonin release after the sun goes down, as part of our body’s circadian rhythms.
In order to keep this process on track, it’s best to limit exposure to bright light from computer monitors, TVs, and smartphones at night, as this can delay the release of melatonin leading to staying up later.
Limiting light exposure in the morning can also help you get more sleep, as the lack of light can delay the body’s natural call to “wake up”, allowing you to get more deeper, restful sleep.
Using an eyemask, or turning your bed away from the window can help limit this exposure.
For those who work evening and night shifts, it’s best to sleep in rooms with heavy curtains that block all light, as well as wear blue-blocking sunglasses on the morning drive home, in order to prevent the stimulation of the waking circadian rhythm.
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