Nightmares are terrifying and distressing dreams and typically occur during light sleep in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage when the muscles first relax. They usually occur in the middle of the night or the early morning, just before waking hours.
Nightmares may cause sleep disturbances in some people and prevent them from having a good night’s rest. Some nightmare sufferers may also experience anxiety at bedtime for fear that if they fall asleep, they might have another nightmare.
If you’ve been struggling with bad dreams, here are some tips on how to avoid nightmares.
Is It Common for Adults to Experience Nightmares?
According to various statistics, although children most commonly experience nightmares, around six percent of adults also suffer from frequent nightmares.
Even though nightmares among adults may happen less often than in children, they may still cause several distressing side effects in adults, including:
- Anxiety
- Irregular sleep patterns
- Stress
- Fear
- Health conditions, including rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure
- Tiredness the next day
- Irritability and mood swings
What Causes Nightmares?
Nightmares can be a real
Does the sound of your partner’s key in the door as they come home wake you?
What about the pads of your dog's feet on the floor as he goes to get a midnight drink?
Or maybe it was the flashing lights of a passing car in your window?
If these scenarios sound familiar, chances are you're a light sleeper.
Waking during the night is very common, and we can experience up to 20 wakings per hour. The difference here is that most go unnoticed as we go in and out of REM sleep. Some conscious wakings are normal too; most people experience 2-3 a night.
However, if you’re experiencing more than 2-3 conscious wakings a night and struggle to go back to sleep, you are likely a light sleeper.
But are there any tips and tricks that may improve your sleep quality? Or can you stop being a light sleeper?
What Causes Light Sleeping?
Sleep quality is vital to your well-being. This means light sleeping may not just be annoying, but
The bedroom is arguably the most essential space within the home. This space should facilitate rest, relaxation, and romance to its fullest extent.
With such great demand, it makes sense that your bedroom's Feng Shui should be on point! But what is Feng Shui? And how does it work?
Below are some of the most effective Feng Shui tweaks for your bedroom.
What is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is an ancient philosophy that originates from the Chinese. The philosophy's goal is to create harmony and balance between elements. To incorporate Feng Shui is to transcend the conventions of Western design—past aesthetics and comfort while emphasizing healthy relationships, success, and health through positive energy flow.
Feng shui is often described as the art of placement because this philosophy is about situating different elements precisely to maximize energy, or "chi," to be exact. "Feng," means the wind, and "Shui," translates to water.
These basic substances are vital to human existence, and they flow and move around the world freely.
What Are the Elements of Feng Shui?
Read MoreWhen most people think about decorating their bedroom, they’re largely focused on the basics: furniture, bedding, some basic decor, and maybe a new set of blackout curtains.
An often neglected addition is plant life. Whether you’re looking for a pop of colour on your shelves or hoping to keep your allergies at bay, there are plenty of options from which to choose.
Relax and Restore
A major benefit of incorporating plant life into your bedroom decor is the ability of some species to help you unwind from the stresses of daily life.
Jasmine
in particular, can be helpful. According to a 2010 study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the fragrance it releases has a direct impact on the behaviour of the nervous system, leading to an increase in calmness on par with Valium.
Chamomile
Chamomile is another plant for your bedroom that can help with relaxation. Chamomile is one of the world’s oldest medicinal herbs and is often taken in capsule form to help treat generalized anxiety disorder. Not only is
You've had a long day, and you fall asleep at 11 pm like you usually do. However, when your alarm goes off for work/school, you feel groggy the following day, as if it's 4 am instead of 7 am. This feeling is just one example of most people's internal body clock.
This article will give tips on how to reset your body clock so that you can run on a more regular schedule again.
What Is a Body Clock?
The body clock regulates all aspects of our lives. It tells us when to sleep, how much time we have to do mundane tasks before bedtime, and when to wake up. It's common to be out of sync with the body clock, especially if your sleeping schedule changes often.
These rhythms dictate the amount of melatonin our bodies produce, how much cortisol we feel in the morning and at night, and how alert we are throughout the day.
If you are not getting enough quality sleep each night, your body clock can become misaligned with the 24-hour day/night cycle. This misalignment will make it
If you’re a light sleeper or would like to block out light and noise from your bedroom, blackout blinds have impressive light-blocking properties that will darken any room without compromising on your style.
If you’re struggling to find the perfect set of blackout blinds, and you’re handy with a sewing machine, then why not create a bespoke blind with a fabric that compliments your room flawlessly?
Here’s how to make blackout blinds for your home.
What Are the Benefits of Blackout Blinds?
The main reasons for installing blackout blinds are controlling light and privacy, but there are plenty of other benefits to installing a set of blackout blinds in your home.
First and foremost, they can protect your rooms from prying eyes outside the house and are obviously ideal for keeping your rooms darker by blocking out street lights or patio lighting, which improves your sleep quality.
If you work night shifts, blackout blinds can reduce the light in your room, allowing you to sleep during the day. Their light-blocking properties are also perfect for home movie theatres
Blackout curtains are a fantastic way to block light from entering your room and create the perfect sleeping environment.
But once you’ve got your hands on a pair, you might find that they’re creased when you go to hang them, which can ruin the appearance of your room.
These creases are usually caused by the curtains being folded up and sealed in the packaging after the manufacturing process, but don’t worry - they’re easy to remove.
How To Get Creases Out Of Blackout Curtains
There are three easy ways to remove creases from your blackout curtains: Ironing or steaming, washing, or simply hanging the curtains.
Ironing Or Steaming Your Blackout Curtains
A steam iron is the quickest and easiest way to get rid of creases in your curtains.
If you have access to a garment steamer, you’ll find it much easier to steam your curtains when they’re hung on the pole as these are usually much gentler on the surface and will remove the creases much more quickly.
However, if you don’t
When it comes to making fantastic blackout curtains, you do not need to be a DIY guru to do it at home.
Creating a set of blackout curtains is more straightforward than many people can imagine, and they’re a fantastic choice if you’re redecorating a bedroom or nursery, or you just want to have the option to completely darken your room.
But what fabric should you use to make blackout curtains?
What Are The Benefits Of Blackout Curtains?
Many people use blackout curtains for different reasons, but here are some of the benefits of adding a pair to your home.
They Block Out Light And Offer More Privacy
The primary role of blackout curtains is to block all light from entering a room. Using blackout-up curtains can block up to 100% of all natural and artificial light entering your room, keeping your room as dark as a cave the whole day.
If you are a movie enthusiast and want to enjoy your movies with minimal glare from the sun or the headlights of passing cars,
A good night’s sleep is vital to your mental health and well-being, just like a healthy diet and proper exercise.
According to research, an optimal sleep schedule and routine helps you work out more effectively, become healthier, make smarter decisions, and eat less junk too. Having an excellent sleep routine will benefit all aspects of your life, so you need to monitor the way your body rests.
But if you’re struggling to fall asleep at night, you’re not the only one - approximately 35-50% of adults across the world experience some form of insomnia.
The problem is getting worse as the years go on, and the drop off in sleep quality occurs for various reasons.
The rise of cell phones and tablets has people engaged with their screens at the highest rate of all time. Social media and applications reel in our attention and this screen time continues up until bedtime. Television shows and streaming services have the same effect because the quality of content on the screen is at such a high level.
So, how can you overcome this issue and improve the way you sleep?
Read MoreInstalling a new set of blackout curtains might seem like a difficult task, but it isn’t - as long as you follow the correct process.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to have any special skills to hang blackout curtains and it should only take roughly 20-45 minutes per window.
Here’s everything you need to get started.
What You Need
To make the process as smooth as possible, I recommend assembling and organizing the tools and materials you'll use before you begin. You only need a few basic tools when installing blackout curtains, and they are as follows;
Your Blackout Curtains
You’ll obviously need your set of blackout curtains. To get the proper coverage, make sure these are sized to account for the distance above the window to the curtain pole and the overall width of the window.
Your Curtain Poles
These should fit the widths of your windows while still leaving some extra room on either side to ensure you get full coverage.