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31 Aug, 2019

Better Sleeping Environment Can Reduce Burnout Risk, Blinds.com Report Reveals

Editor’s Note: An excellent how-to item on upgrading the quality of sleep, one of the most important sources of poor health.

 

HOUSTON, 22 AUGUST 2019, PRWEB – Today, Blinds.com released a new report, State of Sleep: Burnout is a National Epidemic and a Better Home Oasis Can Help, examining the close tie between work related-burnout risk and a lack of sleep—as well as top ways to mitigate both by improving the living spaces in which we rest and relax.

People in the Eastern US and Midwest Get Less Sleep:

As our report outlines, people in certain Eastern and Midwestern states are generally getting less shuteye than other parts of the country—and are therefore potentially more prone to work-related stress and burnout.

(+) 10 States Getting the Least Sleep: Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Maryland, and New York

(+) 10 States Getting the Most Sleep: Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Alaska, North Dakota, New Mexico, Iowa, Vermont, Nebraska, and Idaho

According to Dr. Pradeep Bollu, a board-certified sleep specialist and neurologist with the University of Missouri’s MU Health Care, failing to get enough sleep is a big health risk. “People assume that they don’t need all the eight to nine hours of sleep their body demands,” says Dr. Bollu. But, “if you get into sleep debt—becoming deprived of sleep, intentionally or unintentionally—you need to pay it back by taking extra sleep time.”

However, the data also reveals that people are aware and trying to address sleep challenges. In fact, sleep-related searches have been on the rise over the past decade, according to data from Google Trends.2 Data indicates that sleep is a concern for many, in some cases in the very states appearing on both of our sleep rankings lists.

6 Steps to Improve Your Home, Get Better Sleep and Ward Off Burnout

One major way to combat sleep deprivation and resulting burnout risk is to create a better, more restful home environment. Here are six tips to improve sleep:

1. Darken Your Sleeping Space Completely

Darkness is key to reaching a peaceful state that leads to restful sleep, especially in regions where sunlight is prevalent. Proper window coverings can help. Danielle Sansone, a senior design consultant at Blinds.com, says that clients from Alaska almost always order blackout shades. “They have so much sunlight in the summer, it’s the only way to get restful sleep,” says Sansone. “[In general], the further north I go, like Montana and North Dakota, those states will tend to get blackout shades.”

2. Turn Off Devices, Especially Those with Blue Light

Blue light from electronics has a more powerful influence than other types of light on suppressing body-regulating hormones when it’s absorbed in an otherwise dark environment, so it’s most important to limit it as much as possible during sleep.

3. Keep Cool

Keeping your room temperature between 60 and 67 degrees can help your body shift into sleep mode. In addition to regulating thermostats accordingly, cellular shades can help increase efficiency for both heating and cooling.

4. Reduce Noise

Some noise-reducing tips to consider: create ambient noise on a smart device or white noise machine, use earplugs, or position your bed away from walls and windows.

5. Declutter and Simplify Your Surroundings

Organizing your space has many benefits, including reducing stress. Blinds.com Design Consultant Steph DeWaegeneer recommends keeping your décor and accessories minimal. “You don’t want to be overwhelmed when you walk into your bedroom with a lot of clutter. That’s not just laundry piles, but also having every knickknack you own on display. It’s about paring it down and minimizing it.”

6. Choose Soothing, Cool Colors and Soft Finishes

People who paint their room blue tend to sleep longer than those with different color choices, according to a study by Travelodge. If blue isn’t for you, keep your bedroom wall color relaxing and cool with light shades of green, gray or silver, as well as muted neutral tones.

About Blinds.com

Blinds.com is part of The Home Depot’s family of brands, and the largest e-commerce retailer of window coverings in the world – covering over a million windows a year since 1996.