I spent a long time assuming my sleep problem was a sleep problem. It took an embarrassingly long time to realise it was mostly an environment problem. The bedroom I'd been sleeping in for two years was doing almost nothing to help me sleep, and several things to actively make it harder.
The blackout curtains
I live on a street with a lamp post directly outside my window. I had thin linen curtains that I liked the look of in the daytime and that let in a sodium-orange glow from approximately 9pm onwards. I ordered Coyuchi blackout curtains in natural cotton and hung them behind the linen ones. The room went from amber to dark. I fell asleep faster for two weeks straight before I stopped noticing it — which is how you know it worked.
“The bedroom should do one thing well. Almost every other room in the flat asks something of you.
The warmer bulb
I replaced the overhead light with a Brooklinen-recommended 2200K bulb in a small table lamp that I put in the corner. The overhead fixture hasn't been switched on in three months. Warm, low, indirect light in the hour before bed made more difference than any supplement or sleep-tracking app I'd tried. The science is well-documented; the change is about actually doing it.
The phone rule
The phone charges in the kitchen now. I resisted this for a long time because I used my phone as an alarm, which was always a thin excuse for having it within arm's reach all night. I bought a small analogue alarm clock for six euros. The phone stays out. I no longer check anything at 2am because I woke up and couldn't resist. These are small changes. Together they added up to the best sustained sleep I've had in three years.
Elena Marchetti
Writer, slow-living enthusiast, and perpetual re-arranger of couch cushions. I share honest reviews of the things I actually live with.
