Everyone’s sleeping environment looks a little different. This can come in the form of how many blankets someone sleeps with, the temperature of their bedroom, and even how much light they allow in when going to bed. While most of these factors simply come down to preference, they can have a serious impact on your quality of sleep and your ability to stay asleep.
Light and Your Circadian Rhythm
The bare bones of understanding your circadian rhythm is to look at it as your body’s internal clock. This clock regulates your sleep/wake cycle, and this cycle is heavily influenced by its surroundings, namely by light exposure. While we’ve all likely heard that limiting screen time around bed time is beneficial, it is not always explained why that is.
Light exposure, even artificial light, acts as a signal to our body that it is daytime and causes a sense of wakefulness. Historically, this was triggered by the sunrise and sunset. With light triggering wakefulness and darkness triggering melatonin production, it is imperative to be aware of when you are exposed to a certain amount of light as it can prove to become a major disruption to your natural sleep/wake cycle.
How to Work With Your Body
It can seem impossible to escape a barrage of screens and artificial lights, no matter the occasion or time of day. Sometimes it’s absolutely necessary such as many jobs requiring working with a computer screen, but other times it simply is not. We’re looking at you, doom scrollers (don’t worry, we’re guilty too).
During the first half of the day, the light exposure, both natural and artificial, can prove to be beneficial by triggering the “wake” half of your sleep/wake cycle and make you feel more energized to take on the day. Where you may run into trouble, though, is maintaining this level of exposure well into the evening. By the time the sun begins to set, so should your light intake.
Don’t get us wrong, we know this does not sound like the most practical thing in the world. We’re not suggesting that you live in the stone ages and exist without light as soon as the sun goes down, but rather adjust the lights that you do expose yourself to.
Bye-Bye Blue Light
Limiting how much blue light you are exposed to as the day progresses can be a huge step in the right direction when it comes to regulating your sleep/wake cycle. Contrary to popular belief, blue light is a naturally occurring phenomena that comes from the sun, but it is also very well known to be emitted from digital screens such as our phones, tablets, and televisions. While it has generally gotten a bad rap for its negative effects, blue light exposure is not all bad.
According to various studies, blue light has been shown to help with alertness, boost memory and cognitive function, potentially lessen the effects of seasonal depression, and improve acne by killing acne-causing bacteria. While certainly not a cure-all, blue light is also not all terrible for you.
That being said, it is suggested that taking a break from blue light as it gets closer to bedtime is beneficial as exposure to blue light in the evening hours prevent the body from producing as much melatonin, the sleep hormone, and can either delay or entirely disrupt your sleep cycle. However, when everything surrounding you seems to be digital, this can prove to be difficult.
Now we’re not saying to throw your phone in a drawer at 6pm and never touch it again until 6am, but there are ways to help limit the amount of blue light you are exposed to such as enabling the “nigh shift” function on most smartphones and tablets that adjust the screen to emit warmer colors and less blue light. Blue light glasses, either prescription or non-prescription, can also prove to be a tremendous aid when it comes to filtering the amount of blue light you are exposed to.
We’re not saying you have to, but the best way to limit the exposure to blue light at the end of the day is to stay away from screens altogether. Even if you don’t fancy yourself much of a reader or a crossword kind of person, finding a screen-free activity to keep your mind occupied as you wind down for bed may make a difference in your quantity and quality of sleep. No pressure, though.
Keep It Dark
Once you’ve made it to bed, the best chance at you falling asleep and staying asleep is by keeping your environment dark. If you’re lucky, your bedroom stays dark all on its own. If you’re stuck with a window that gets direct sunlight or trying to get some shuteye in during the day, investing in a set of blackout curtains can be a tremendous help. Even so, nothing is perfect, and even blackout curtains can let some light trickle in around parts of your window that it may not entirely cover. If you’re truly serious about your sleep and want to keep things as dark as possible, then trying a Nodpod weighted sleep mask in tandem with all your other light preventing measures can be a game changer.
Key Takeaways
When you find yourself tossing and turning at night, it can seem completely defeating when you cannot seem to find the eason behind it. You’re not stressed or feeling particularly ill, so what could be wrong? Even if we are not wholly aware of it, our exposure to natural and artificial light can wreak havoc on our sleep cycles. By maintaining a sense of routine when it comes to exposure to both the darkness and light, we can help self-regulate our bodies and diminish the negative effects that light can have on us. Whether by eliminating as much light as possible from our bedrooms or by limiting our screen exposure, every little step counts towards maintaining a healthy and balanced sleep/wake cycle.
