I still remember the day I moved into my first apartment.
That first night I was exhausted from all the moving and unpacking.
When I fell into bed and stared out the window, I remembered one thing I had forgotten…
Curtains.
No big deal, right?
Tomorrow’s problem but now it’s time to hit the hay.
Only, I couldn’t. At all.
The light creeping through the window was like torture.
Finally, at 2AM in the morning, I dragged in some cardboard from the boxes I had unpacked and duct-taped it over my windows as make-shift curtains for the night.
Elegant, I know. But it worked!
I went back to bed and was knocked out within minutes.
How important is it really to be in the dark when sleeping?
Turns out, it’s very important.
Allowing any amount of light into your bedroom at night triggers your sympathetic nervous system.
This puts your body into “day mode” ruining any chance of a relaxing night’s rest.
Even if you don’t notice it as much as I did that night, your body is taking a beating without you realizing it.
It’s like leaving your car running on your driveway every night.
You’re asking it to wear down on you.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association even showed that people who sleep exposed to light are more likely to be overweight. [R]
So seriously, ditch the TV in your bedroom.
Invest in some blackout curtains.
And don’t forget to take them with you when you move.