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Uninterrupted sleep is a key ingredient in good health. The key to good sleep is keeping in a room that is as dark as possible. Unfortunately, poor sleep is a hallmark of a generation where everyone is glued to their smartphones. Fortunately, you can drastically improve the quality of your sleep literally overnight by making your room completely dark.
The Benefits of Sleeping in Total Darkness
Before we get into how to make your room, let’s cover why it matters that you do it. Avoiding direct and ambient light while you try to reach deep REM is critical. Here’s why:
A Longer Lifespan
If you can consistently block out light from bedroom window openings, you’ll reduce the likelihood of suffering from serious ailments. For one thing, sleeping in blackout conditions will boost your immune system and provide better protection against bacterial infections. What’s more, you’ll cut back on the odds of developing neurological afflictions like Alzheimer’s.
Greater Energy and Productivity
Another terrific side effect of darkening the room while you sleep is a boost in stamina throughout the day. If you’re exposed to light as you sleep, your body will produce less melatonin. Sub-optimal melatonin levels are linked with impaired memory, a degraded ability to concentrate and hormone imbalances that knock you off your game.
A Better Outlook on Life
Besides impacting melatonin levels, nighttime light exposure raises levels of cortisone in the bloodstream. Elevated cortisone levels impede the pineal gland’s ability to produce dimethyl-tryptamine. The end result will be disruptions to circadian rhythms and a detrimental impact on mood stability. Consequently, people that don’t sleep in blackout conditions report higher rates of depression.
The Negative Effects of Light Exposure While You Sleep
Lousy sleep due to a light-polluted bedroom environment does a number on your quality of life. Major downsides include:
A Degraded Physical Appearance
There’s a reason why good sleep is referred to as “beauty rest” by a wide swath of the populace. Elevated cortisol levels resulting from interrupted or sub-optimal sleep will increase one’s subcutaneous fat. This results in bloated faces and skin conditions like acne. Furthermore, classic signs of sleep deprivation like eye bags will inevitably appear.
Increased Risk of Developing Cancer
Years of medical research have established a definite link between greater light exposure during deep sleep and cancer. Female hospital employees that work graveyard shifts suffer from higher rates of breast cancer. What’s more, cancerous rats that receive blood transfusions from women that are exposed to less light during sleep exhibit reductions in tumor growth.
Difficulty Controlling Your Weight
There’s good reason to believe that the problem of poor sleep due to nighttime light exposure is partially responsible for the obesity epidemic. The reality is that artificial light exposure at night does impact the concentrations of leptin and ghrelin in the bloodstream. These hormones control hunger pangs and the perception of fullness.
How to Darken Your Room Tonight
The first step in making your bedroom as dark as possible is unplugging your electronics. Keep anything with an LED away from your sleeping space. Wearing a sleep mask is another great way to ensure that ambient light won’t impact your sleep. Installing blackout curtains or room darkening curtains over windows, however, is the best solution.
The Easiest Way to Improve Your Sleep Today
If you want to achieve total darkness, room darkening shades or blackout shades are a must. At Shading Texas, we can help you make any room as dark as you need it. Contact us today.
Matt Pierce has been working in the solar shade industry for over 15 years, providing sun protection in the extremes of Alaska and Texas. His dedicated team at Shading Texas will get your the sun solutions you need to enjoy your patios and homes for years to come by blocking out bugs, sun, wind, and rain!