Ive noticed that my room is really light in the mornings now as are the kids rooms. Its the school holidays and they are going to bed later but waking early. I am too. We have just been away for a few days and the room was much darker and Im convinced we all had longer sleeps.

Does anyone have any recommendations for simple, inexpensive but nice looking blackout blinds or curtains?

Vanessa

I recently bought some blackout curtain lining that you hang with your existing curtains. I didn't want to buy new curtains so this seemed to be a good solution. I haven't hung them up yet but they were a good price and so i thought they'd be worth trying.

I bought them on Trade Me from a UK company and shipping was free. I see they have a current listing for the linings:
Blackout linings



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2017 01:33AM by DK.

Neither. I hate drawn drapes, so sleep with a pillow over my eyes (nostrils clear) and the cat on top of that or an old sleeping mask courtesy of some airline. There is nothing nicer than waking up in the middle of the night and watching the moon rove over the sky and the stars blazing away.

I have a double rod on the one against the window i have a charcoal hrey blackout curtain on the front one i have a lovely patterned voil very light in colour a very pale grey with a deeper grey pattern. I can pull just the net across if want privacy they
getulled together at night for blackout. Have done this in 3 houses now & it works really well for us.

Kone - the mental picture of you in bed is quite something. I wouldnt cope with the cat on my head

I agree about seeing the night sky. I can look out my window as I am on the 3rd floor of townhouse apartment. One night it was just like a childs nursery rhyme looking out to the black blue sky and a full moon.

In all honesty I probably need to go to bed earlier so getting woken at the crack of dawn by kids or the cat doesnt bother me.

Vanessa

Sleeping in a darkened room assists the body in the production of the hormone melatonin. High melatonin levels not only improve general health but also help to establish what is known as the the circadian cycle, the 24 hour biological clock which signals to the body when it is time to go to sleep and when it is time to wake up.

So while I agree that it is lovely to look out the window at the stars or watch the rain lashing against the windows, the sleep that you are getting is of lesser quality than if the curtains were drawn. We all know the feeling of waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep or waking up feeling 'tired'.

Even the subtle light of a night light or the digital readout of a bedside clock or other electronic devices serve to reduce the body's ability to produce melatonin and therefore compromise sleep quality.

Some say that the strange behaviour exhibited by some people around the time of full moon is caused by lack of quality sleep.

So while you probably slept more soundly while you were on holiday Vanessa, because you were more relaxed and out of your normal routine, the darkened room would certainly have played a part.

Regards,

Barbara Anne

I have no problem in falling asleep, but I do have a problem in staying asleep all night. I go to bed around 9.30'ish and sleep like a baby till about 2-3am, when I start tossing and turning. Sometimes I'll get up and have a hot drink of smething like Milo or hot chocolate, maybe watch half an hour of TV then go back to bed. But it's broken sleep.

I have discovered a medically proven method of going back to sleep without even having to get up for a drink first (or to perform other necessary actions if awake!). I usually just turn over and get comfortable then follow this simple quick breathing routine. After completing it, I am usually asleep again within a minute or two.
Breath out, completely emptying your lungs then take a deep breath through your nose, right down into your stomach, to the count of 4. Hold it for the count of 7 and breath out slowly, but with pressure, through slightly open lips while counting to 8. Repeat. 3 more times. I've found it doesn't really matter what the count is as long as I breath in really deeply and breath out slowly and till my lungs are absolutely empty.

I've just looked up the technique online and found these explanations of what I'm saying: [tinyurl.com]

Barbara I totally agree with everything youre saying and really want to put it into practice. I seem to be able to survive well on less sleep than most BUT know I would feel better, eat less in the evening and not have those arghhhhh its the morning moments.

Lorna, I used to download various apps - breathing and relaxing music, rain drops, ocean noises, even meditation - I did find they were really good in helping me get to sleep especially at the beginning of the night.

Blackout curtains here we come!

Vanessa