The secret to sleeping better

If I throw a big yawn over the editorial office, it's nine times out of ten a case of my own fault, tough luck situation. Going to bed too late, too much wine, that kind of nonsense. I am a gifted sleeper. Actually, I can also say that I am particularly good at it. Sleepless nights are rare in my life. But last night was the exception. Quite the exception. Sleepless indeed. So, I was almost not the instigator.

My friend was staying over (for work, don't worry) and I saw my chance to have an early night. It ended up being half past eleven, but I was not dissatisfied with my bedtime. Normally, I grab a book, ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ is on the nightstand, and I let it fall on my face after two pages. You get quite a shock the first time, but now I just pretend I’m not startled and quickly roll into sleep mode. Only yesterday, I grabbed the little cabinet to say something sweet to my friend. In no time, I swiped into a news app, to check if the Bijenkorf had rolled out an extra discount round (that's what they call it in sales) and then I could still do an Insta-Face-Amayze round.

An hour later, I was blinking at the ceiling. Awake, wide awake. Another hour later, I was still in the same situation. I had already turned over various sides, from my stomach to my left side and back on my back, but I couldn't get into a sleeping state. Around half past two, my body and mind gave up and I fell under. The alarm clock felt like the entire marching band had crashed into my bedroom. I grunted, curled my upper lip, yes, it felt a bit animalistic, but I just wanted to sleep for another ten hours. Mi-ni-mal.

Now this morning, I got a talking-to from our Annabelle, who was out with the sleep scientists from Simba. She has seen the light through them, or rather not. The white, blue, or green light on your screen causes a dip in melatonin. And you really need melatonin to be able to sleep. Now I thought it stopped at my laptop, phone, and TV, but my eco-friendly attempt disrupts my sleep just as well. The LED lamp, oh my, what a hassle.

Of course, I am not writing this if there is no solution to the problem. That would be silly. It’s amber-colored light. This type increases the hormone melatonin, and you will sleep particularly well from it. About an hour more per night. How do you conjure up that amber-colored light? First of all, there is a button on your phone that puts the screen in night mode. It all feels a lot calmer to the viewers. Also, besides your LED friends, there are lamps that reduce blue light. That gets you nicely warmed up for your bed session. And finally: don’t brush your teeth in the bright light of the bathroom but enjoy it by a fireplace or in the bath with a candle. From now on, you will have enormous nights. I don’t know what you do, but I am going to put EVERYTHING into practice tonight.