I recently came across an article about how simple sleep used to be. When the sun went down it was time for us humans to wind down as well. It was too cold, dark or dangerous to be anywhere except bundled up in front of blazing fire or nestled in a warm cozy bed. Fast forward to 17th century Paris when, so fitting for the often called City of Light, the nighttime streets were first lit up by wax candles in glass lamps. Night and day have become more and more indistinguishable ever since. I found this article particularly interesting given that my own sleep struggles nearly disappeared when I first discovered sleep masks to keep the light from the streetlight in front of our house from coming in our bedroom window.
It is true that there are many things in modern life that prevent a shining bright line between night and day: homework, soccer practice, reruns of Two and a Half Men, endless tinkering on the computer or other electronic (read: light enhanced) gadgets, and the list goes on.
But getting back to the question of is sleep a simple thing or not, it’s also pretty clear that the list of often quoted sleep tips is actually pretty simple: sipping herbal tea rather than caffeinated beverages in the evening, getting physically tired by exercising more during the day, making sure your bedroom is cool enough for sleep, and sticking to a regular sleep routine. Short, 30 minute naps have also been shown by sleep research to increase alertness, memory and job performance.
But at the top of that sleep tip list for me is blocking out all light in my bedroom with a Bucky sleep mask. It doesn’t even matter if there is light on in the room, as long as I have my sleep mask I fall asleep like a charm every single night.
And that is something to be joyful about, whether it’s simple or not.
