A survey conducted by the Australian Sleep Health Foundation showed a high percentage of Australians suffer from fatigue and exhaustion on a daily basis due to inadequate or unsuccessful sleep.
It also revealed only one in four Australians is getting eight hours a night, with the average rest time just six-and-a-half hours. With 20 percent of us having difficulty falling asleep and 35 percent waking up feeling unrefreshed, it’s become a worrying and dangerous trend.
A major contributor to restless or broken sleep is having too much light in your bedroom. Curtains from Timms Curtain House can stop unwanted light from coming into your bedroom and help you get a more rested and peaceful sleep.
Why it’s important
The human body is routinely affected by light and darkness which signals to us when it’s time to wake and rest. When you’re deprived of sleep, your brain cannot function properly which affects your cognitive abilities and emotional state. If it continues long enough, it can lower your body’s defences, putting you at risk of developing chronic illnesses.
Modern living has given rise to our world being lit up at all hours of the night. Studies show excess light in the bedroom can affect sleep quality, disrupting the body’s natural circadian rhythm (our body clock), but we can use this to our advantage; because the more light you can remove from your space, the better rest you’ll get.
Sleeping in darkness helps produce the hormone, melatonin. This naturally occurring hormone is a powerful antioxidant that is useful in preventing cancer and other conditions in the body. Even a small amount of light that filters in through the curtains and hits your skin can interrupt the hormone production, causing a decrease in melatonin levels.
Get a better night’s sleep
If you want to optimize your health, then getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do. Some other solutions for getting a better night sleep are to:
- Avoid bright lights in the evening as they confuse your body clock.
- Ensure you get enough exercise during the day. Because of this, along with sleep, refuels us physically, mentally and emotionally.
- Pay attention to what you eat and drink. Don’t go to bed too full and don’t have any caffeine close to bedtime.
- Reduce or stop having naps during the day. While short “power naps” have proven beneficial, long or irregular napping during the day can negatively affect your sleep.
- Try and get in a regular sleeping pattern. Go to bed at the same time every night and try to wake up at the same time every day.
Timms Curtain House could help improve your sleep
Timms Curtain House offers only the highest quality curtains to create your desired atmosphere. Curtains play a huge part of your interior but it can be tricky to figure out how to use them to get the preferred effect. Bev Timms can answer any of your curtain queries and help you on your way to a better night’s sleep.
For more information on curtains or to ask an expert, contact us at Timms Curtain House today.