We’re talking about sleep all month as part of our challenge. If you want to 10x your life, first 10x your sleep. Last week we introduced several topics including light. We’re going to dig into this concept this week. Let’s talk about light while you sleep. Specifically, let’s talk about light from the window. Unless you have an unusual arrangement, you have at least one window in the room where you usually sleep. That window should have some type of covering on it. Blinds can provide a decent amount of coverage to block light, but they don’t usually stop all of it. City dwellers likely have a street lamp or other sources of light that are abusively bright at night. Maybe you have a neighbor that won’t turn a light off at night. Whatever the source, any light coming in to your room is going to put deep sleep at risk. Curtains are the next natural step. These don’t have to be expensive either. IKEA and other inexpensive retailers have options that block enough light. If you don’t have anything, any curtain would be an improvement. Ideally, you’ll get a curtain that turns your room so dark you can’t see your own hands. By removing all light, we’re taking advantage of that hormone release we discussed last week. Blocking out all light helps the uninhibited release of melatonin in your brain and improves your sleep.

Let’s assume, for a minute, that curtains aren’t an option for you. You have other options to cover the window. Pick up some black construction paper and tape it over the window. Some large sheets of poster board would work as well, or better, and hang faster. You might be able to place a blanket or sheet over the window using thumbtacks. You could attack this from the outside too. A tarp or extra sheet of plywood could be placed in front of the window outside, if you have such items and access to do so safely. The point here is to cover your window today and get better sleep tonight. Some people take some time to pick out curtains. You have some ideas to consider that can be completed today without making a long-term design decision. Even if you buy some curtains, you can usually return them. This is probably the best choice. Once you have the curtain rod in place, you can test different curtains until settling on the one that works best for you. Do yourself a huge favor and block all the light coming through your window today. You’ll be happier you did tomorrow morning.