Do Sleep Lightbulbs Really Work?

Do Sleep Lightbulbs Really Work?

by Kathleen Lisson, CMT, CLT

I tried sleep eyeglasses and a Sleep Ready Lightbulb to see if they made going to sleep easier. Of course, I had to give them a real test - we had thrown a dinner party with a dozen or so people enjoying my husband's Indian food and I had a full day of massage clients the next day! 

I used the lightbulb as my only light and the eyeglasses to cut the sleep stealing light from my computer. As soon as I turned on the lightbulb, I felt calmer. The light made the bedroom look more romantic, too. 

 I found it easier to fall asleep the last few nights with this lightbulb in the bedroom. It is helping me to train myself to go to sleep right when I get into bed, instead of hang out on the computer into the wee hourso f the morning.

In the New York Times article 'Light Bulbs That Help You Sleep'  Ronda Kaysen profiles how a family dealing with teenaged study habits and grandparent's dementia uses sleep light bulbs to regulate circadian rhythms and boost melatonin production. Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/realestate/light-bulbs-that-help-you-sleep.html 

I have also activated my iPhone and iPad's 'Night Shift' function to dim the screen at 9 pm every night. I found it be swiping upward from the bottom of the screen and clicking on the moon shaped icon. 

My Top Tips for Falling Asleep

I avoid napping late in the afternoon or evening - allowing myself to get increasingly sleepy

I don’t drink alcohol in the later afternoon / evening or eat heavy foods too close to bedtime - it ruins my sleep

We don’t have television or other distracting electronics in the bedroom (this is one we are still working on)

I don’t use my bed for lounging - I train my body to associate the bed only with sleep

I don’t use LED light within an hour of bedtime - I allow my body to sense it is night time (this includes my beloved iPad)

I give myself a 9 hour window for sleep at night - I try to wake up without an alarm and don’t use a snooze button!

I get into a habit of going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even weekends

We don’t have clocks within view of the bed

I set an alarm 30 minutes before bedtime so I can start my bedtime rituals

I like using a warm foot bath to relax. After removing my feet from the foot bath, the drop in body temperature allows me to fall asleep more quickly

We leave the screen door to our balcony open at night. Alternately, we could also turn the thermostat down to 65 degrees. Back East, we called it ‘sleeping weather’ when we left the window open at night on cooler spring and fall days

I use a meditation or breathing technique if thoughts are preventing sleep