8 Ways to Prepare Your Environment for Sleeping

Where you sleep and when you sleep is almost equally important. Unfortunately, not everyone has the money or time to accomplish this task which is why many people are tired at work every day. To sleep well at night, and be at your best every day, invest time and funds into your environment so you can prepare it for sleeping.

• Get Rid of Clutter – If your bedroom is cluttered and dirty, it will make it harder for you to fall asleep, even if you think it does not bother you. Studies show that clutter makes people anxious, even creative people. The trick is not to get rid of everything but to figure out how to best store your stuff so it's easy to use without causing clutter.

• Organize Your Room for Rest – Set up your bedroom to be an oasis for sleep by organizing everything symmetrically and eliminating points of clutter. For example, jewelry, buy the right case for it.

• Decorate for Sleep – Choose soothing materials, patterns, and colors for your bedroom. This is not the place for electric colors that wake you up. However, the closer the colors are to nature in your bedroom, the better.

• Turn Down the Thermostat – You sleep better when it's cooler with sheets and blankets. However, don't get rid of your top sheet, either. The top sheet and another layer are better at keeping you cool and keeping you cozy without making you uncomfortable.

• Make it Dark – The darker you can get your room, the better you're going to sleep. So get rid of lights from the windows, alarms, and anything else in your room that could distract your brain from sleeping. It's not expensive to buy blackout curtains from Walmart in various colors, and they do work.

• Eliminate Technology – It seems smart to have your phone in your room with you in an emergency, but it's best to cut off your phone and get it out of your room if you can't ignore it completely due to notifications. If your smartphone has the option, put it in Do Not Disturb mode while you sleep. Most will allow you to set specific numbers that will ring even in this mode. Consider getting a cheap phone just for emergency calls that are life and death and only give that number to those who need it for life and death calls only.

• Get a Good Mattress – Investing in a mattress designed for your needs is imperative to getting a good night's sleep and maintaining a healthy back—research how you sleep to figure out which mattress is best for you.

• Invest in The Best Bedding You Can Afford – Just like the mattress is important, so is the bedding. You'll want bedding that feels good to you. Some people swear by silk, and others prefer cotton or t-shirt material. Also, thread count matters. The higher the thread count, the more comfortable and luxurious the feel. It's up to you but consider trying different types to test out.

While you can also include various types of sleep technology like a white noise machine or a sleep robot, you don't really need it if you set up your room as described. So try keeping it simple at first and only add other things if you really need it.

Here's to a good night's sleep.