In theory, sleep should be the easiest thing in the world. In reality, it's more complicated than that. Whether it’s stress and worries keeping us up at night, eating a big meal, overdoing the caffeine, a noisy neighbor or the seasonal sniffles, it’s frustrating when we find ourselves tossing and turning for hours on end.
Fortunately, there’s one big reason to rest easy: These days, there are a variety of innovative products that are waking us up to new possibilities when it comes to improving our sleep. Not every sleep-enhancing product is worth the hype, but many really are. From worthy splurges to great bargains, here are some bedtime staples you definitely should not sleep on.
3 splurges that will improve your sleep
1. A sunrise/sunset clock
Smartphones make handy alarm clocks, but as we all know too well, they’re also tiny distraction machines (so tempting to check your email just one more time before closing your eyes—or when you wake in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom). Having a separate alarm clock is a great solution, and smart sunrise clocks add elements that can transform the entire experience of nodding off and waking up. Using gradually shifting combinations of warm light and sound, they simulate the feelings of sunset and sunrise, tapping into your body’s natural rhythms and helping you wind down more easily and perk up more naturally.
2. A sleep tracker ring
You may have heard the hype about smart rings, and it’s warranted: Sleep experts say they’re much more accurate than smart watches and other gadgets when it comes to tracking sleep quality because they use biometrics, like blood oxygen rate, heart-rate variability and body temperature. They’re also more comfortable to wear at night. By simply slipping a sleek metal band on your finger, you’ll be able to see how much time you’re spending in each of four stages of sleep, determine your chronotype (the times when your body is naturally inclined to rest), and gain actionable insights into health and hormonal factors that can play into how well (or poorly) you sleep. You can also rely on your ring to track daytime health metrics like steps, heart rate and workout minutes, giving you even more value for the investment.
3. A climate-control mattress topper
If you’re a hot-and-sweaty sleeper, you probably know that fans and breathable sheets can only help so much. It’s really hard to sleep when you’re overheating. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re a cold sleeper, it can feel like no number of blankets is ever enough. If you and your partner have opposite sleep temperature preferences, things can get really interesting. That’s why temperature-controlled mattress covers can be life-changing. Like air conditioning or heating for your mattress, they house a network of tubes circulating water or air, which can be cooled or heated to the exact surface temperature that you prefer. That temperature can be maintained all night, or set to shift with your sleep cycles. Best of all, two-person pads let you heat/cool each side of the bed separately, so your relationship will no longer run hot and cold based on who won the thermostat battle last night.
3 bedroom essentials you can spend less on
1. Your mattress
It used to be that you had to do a bunch of awkward in-person tests—who can think rationally while lying on a mattress in a showroom?—and spend a small fortune to get a decent mattress. Oh, and don’t forget tipping the guys who lugged that mattress plus box spring up two flights of stairs. These days, buying a mattress is a relative dream: There are plenty of cozy, well-made memory foam and hybrid (foam + springs) options for as low as $500, most of which don’t require a separate box spring. The all-foam versions even arrive compressed into a box you can carry to your bedroom without help. Whether you like your mattress firm or hotel-bed plush, there are options, and none will leave you pondering long-term payment plans. Also, there’s no need to worry about buying a mattress without trying it in person—lots of brands and online retailers now offer generous return policies of up to 100 nights.
2. Sleep-enhancing lighting
Blue light emitted from screens and standard overhead bulbs can interfere with our body’s production of melatonin, affecting our ability to sleep and disrupting our circadian rhythms. That’s why it really pays to swap in some sleep-centric bulbs in your bedroom, and any other room where you get cozy in the evening—especially because this is a totally affordable and easy upgrade. You can grab a two-pack of inexpensive amber or twilight-red bulbs, designed to create a sleepy ambiance, for about $15. If you don’t love their ultra-warm glow, there are brighter/cooler, yet blue-light-free, “evening” light bulbs. Meanwhile, if you use night-lights, check out motion-activated red night-lights, which are designed to not interfere with sleep like brighter ones can ( studies show that sleeping with even a little bit of light can impact brain waves and metabolism).
3. Bluetooth sleep headphones
Sometimes, even a white-noise machine isn’t enough to prevent crack-of-dawn garbage trucks or a snoring partner from waking you up, and not everyone is comfortable sleeping with earplugs (or earbuds). Enter Bluetooth sleep headphones, which nestle tiny, flat speakers into a soft head wrap. You can use them to stream white noise, soothing music or a guided meditation designed to lull you into sleep. There are pricier, high-tech versions that feature built-in sleep-optimizing sounds, but the inexpensive ones also work great, and some designs double as a sleep mask.
