Rise and shine baby!

Story time:

I have difficulty sleeping. Always have. In fact, I have never slept through the night. From my first evening on this earth, (my mom revels in telling people) Night-time was my go-time. This is probably why I have no younger siblings. I think I broke my parents…

As I grew older, I got used to this, and I have many little hacks and tricks that at least allow me to get a few consecutive and unmedicated hours of sleep each night.

I have a rigorous nighttime routine of cleaning the whole kitchen, stretching for at least 30 minutes, skincare, and finally a whole stack of books next o my bed. I do not do coffee after dark, I skip screens most days…and yet, many nights, I lie awake, thinking of nothing, but sleep still evading me.

That was, until I moved in with the Geek.

Apparently, light affects sleep. (And your mood in general.)

Your circadian rhythm, the 24/7 internal clock that affects your sleep patterns, is influenced by light.

Before the dawn of electricity and the never-ending strobes of electric lighting, human beings lived according to the sun. Daylight was for waking, working, and doing whatever needed to be done. The darkness of night was for – sleeping. Simple as that.

These days however we are blasted with artificial light, from overhead lighting, bright grocery aisles, screens, light up billboards…We very rarely have a moment of light free calm. Light pollution also means that even if you switch of all your personal light sources, you don’t really have a chance at experiencing true darkness.

This flood of light has spilled over into our sleeping habits. Let’s be honest – no amount of warnings and news articles about the detrimental effects of blue light from screens are ever taken seriously. We know it’s bad, we don’t care, we keep on scrolling.

Enter the light-wizard

The aforementioned geek is an extremely scientific being. He believes in research and gladly adapts his environment to suit his needs. Once he realised that his roomie wasn’t a good sleeper he started improvising.

This is why, along with many other apps, sensors, monitors and tiny control panels, we also have an LED lighting strip running around the cornices of our bedrooms.

At first, I told him that I refused to sleep in his weird, cyberpunk neon fever dream. Until he switched on the soothing amber glow and I drifted off shortly after applying my eye cream…

Red for bed!

Our bedroom is now a red-light zone. (Yes. I know what that implies, no, that’s not what I mean.) We have a range of warmer lighting tones, from warm yellow, to amber to dark red, that helps me wind down before I fall asleep.

For more info on the benefits of red light for sleep, click here

I’m not saying LED’s are a cure for insomnia, but somehow, the routine of changing light colours and avoiding all bright and blue light before bed, has in fact, made me a better sleeper…

Rise and Shine

LED lighting in your bedroom can also help you wake up gentler and in a better mood. The best option to wake up happy would be to sleep until sunrise. As this isn’t an option, particularly in winter, clever LED simulations are the next best thing.

Bright (intensity, not colour) pink, orange and yellow light can simulate sunrise and get you bright eyed and bushy-tailed for the day. By waking up with light instead of a jarring alarm tone, your body has the opportunity to ease into wakefulness, skipping the need for the snooze button.

Try placing an LED strip above your head, on the headboard or around the cornices of your room. Many of these strips come with colour changing remotes that allow you to pick your hue, and by simply installing a smart switch, you can program the light to switch on a couple of minutes before you need to wake up.

Take it from a recently well-rested me, light makes a difference and sleep matters!

Warm your home with lighting

Also read our article ons how to cosy-up your home by using lights cleverly.