This Is Why Night Owls Need Blackout Window Shades

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Whether you stay up late at night for fun or because work demands it, it can be difficult to get sleep as a night owl. However, it's extremely important for you to get enough sleep and a good quality of sleep every day, no matter what. If you're having difficulty doing that because there's too much light pouring into your room, then here's what you should know about how that light is impacting you and your sleep.

Circadian Rhythm

Humans have something called a circadian rhythm that helps to regulate when people sleep and when they wake up. A great deal of this rhythm is controlled by when you're exposed to sunlight. For most people, bright light makes them wake up and feel energized and ready to take on the day. This same light may very well wake you up, but if you stay up all night, you're not going to feel energized and excited. Instead, you may experience grogginess, difficulty focusing, and have a hard time getting back to sleep.

Melatonin

Another way the light is impacting you is by interrupting the flow of melatonin in your brain.

Melatonin is a natural brain chemical that's emitted when you're in the dark in order to stimulate the urge to sleep. With adequate melatonin, you can sleep deeply and efficiently through the night. However, if you're exposed to light, the brain shuts off the release of melatonin and starts clearing away any that's remaining in order to wake you up and make you feel perky.

Although you can take melatonin supplements, your body will still work to clear them away after being exposed to the light, so you may be able to get to sleep but could have difficulty staying asleep.

Heat

Lastly, exposure to sunlight often comes with the side effect of exposure to heat. The body needs to be cool in order to sleep efficiently; in fact, the body reduces its internal temperature while you're asleep for this reason. Excess heat can wake you up, or make it unpleasant for you to sleep due to sweating.

Thankfully, this and all other problems on this list can be avoided with blackout shades. Blackout shades are specially engineered to block out the vast majority of sunlight's rays, including UV radiation. There's a considerable difference between using blackout shades and standard window shades. You can make your room so dark that it will look like it's nighttime as long as your shades are closed. This is exactly what you need in order to sleep better and more peacefully through each day that you're asleep.

To learn more about how to sleep through sunrise and feel more energized when you wake, contact a window shades service in your area. 

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12 May 2020

Clear View: A Blog About Windows

Take a look out your windows. Do you like the view? Maybe the view is beautiful, but you wish you could see more of it. Or perhaps you just wish that the window itself was in better shape so it did not distract from the view! Replacing your windows may seem like a big step, but a window replacement company can make it easy. A good window replacement company can replace your smaller window with a big picture window, or simply give you windows that complement your home's style. We invite you to read the articles on this blog and learn more about windows.