Shift Work Sleep Disorder – Is Your Bedroom To Blame?

If you have ever suffered from some kind of shift work sleep disorder, have you ever considered that your bedroom might actually be partly to blame?

You see until you create a sleep-friendly environment, you will be forever struggling to get a good night’s slumber.

One of the best things that you can do to enhance both the quantity and quality of your sleep is to create a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere in your bedroom. The cosier your bedroom – the more relaxed you will feel and the more sleep that you will get!

What is extremely important is that you promote a calming atmosphere that’s conducive to sleep, and which is also free from annoying interruptions and irritations.

Here are a couple of tips to help get you started:

1. Room temperature and air circulation – most people find cooler temperatures ideal for sleeping but you just need to find your own comfort level. According to experts, 18-21 degrees Celsius tends to work best.

2. Eliminate noise and distractions – noise can definitely disturb or interrupt your sleep. You might want to consider purchasing ear plugs that are comfortable and unobtrusive to your sleep.

3. Block out any distracting light – your bedroom should be as dark as possible as too much light can signal your body that it’s time to wake up. Eye masks are a great idea, as are thick curtains, shades or blinds.

4. Your bedside clock – do you have an annoying “tick tock … tick tock” noise beside your bed that’s distracting you? Because a ticking clock will only add to your shift work sleep disorder, as this noise can be quite stressful and annoying.

Replace a ticking clock with a digital version, and make sure that you turn it away from your bed so that you’re not constantly checking the time to see how many hours you have left to sleep! This can certainly stress you out as you focus on how much time has passed since you went to bed and how little time you have left before you get up. Gosh, I don’t know how many times I’ve done this in the past!

So take a good hard look around your bedroom to see where you can make some changes that will help enhance a more sleep-friendly environment. The good news is that even small, but subtle changes can make a huge difference to the quantity and quality of your sleep.

And if you’re a shift worker who struggles to get a good night’s sleep – then this has got to be music to your ears!