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Sleep Environment

Dozing Off at the Office?
Sleep Environment Could be to Blame

Back-to-back meetings, heavy meals, and high doses of caffeine during the day can make it more difficult for workers to maintain a regular sleep routine. However, if you're not sleeping well at night, your sleep environment could be the blame.

The irony, according to Better Sleep Council Director Andrea Herman, is that, "unlike other sleep-robbing culprits, like stress or illness, sleep environment factors are controllable. This means that millions are needlessly sleep-deprived and suffering the consequences."

Fatigue resulting from long work days, lack of sleep and irregular sleep routines not only impairs our ability to make sound decisions on the job, but dulls our senses, decreases productivity and increases mistakes and accidents.

With this in mind, the Better Sleep Council offers the following recommendations for creating a sleep environment that is conducive to sleep:

• If noise is a problem, earplugs or a white noise machine may help. Sudden, loud noises from outside or inside the bedroom can result in fragmented sleep.
• If outside light makes your room too bright, try an eye mask or window coverings that darken the bedroom. To get a restful night's sleep, sleep in a dark room. Just as light cues our bodies to wake up, darkness cues us to sleep.
• If you're too hot or too cold, simply adjust the thermostat. When a bedroom is too hot or too cold, both quality and quantity of sleep are compromised. The optimal temperature for sleep is between 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 to 18 degrees Celsius.
• If your mattress makes you toss and turn, it might be time to reevaluate your sleep set. A mattress that's past its prime can also cause sleepers to become restless, with their muscles working overtime to support their bodies.

"Those who take control of the key factors of the sleep environment are doing themselves an enormous favor," says Herman. "They sleep better at night and greet the new day better rested."