Page 110 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2021

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story by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage
When is the last time you heard someone
say, “I slept like a baby?” We’d all love to fall asleep easily and sleep peacefully all night long, it’s just that most of us can’t imagine it! It is estimated that 50 percent of Americans don’t get the amount of sleep they need to support a
healthy lifestyle.
While sleep is essential to being
a productive adult, it is even
more fundamental for childhood development. During sleep, children’s
brains imprint a day of learning, process new experiences, and repair
cells. Studies have shown that kids who get an adequate amount of sleep at night have improved attention spans, better behavior, learn concepts more quickly, and enjoy better overall mental and physical health.
Our home environment can play a large role in how well we sleep and how well our children sleep. Well-designed bedrooms can in uence sleep quality and duration and can promote healthy behaviors when we are awake. A child’s bedroom should be a haven where they feel safe and relaxed and can fall asleep easily. It needs to be a place where they feel happy and where they enjoying being when they wake up.
Children sleep better in a space controlled
for light, temperature, and comfort. They
need exposure to natural light and views every day. So, every bedroom needs a window and appropriate window treatments. Blackout drapery linings and blackout shades provide the best control for outside light. A lamp is
also a must. Choose LED bulbs that provide warm white light. We highly recommend you put a dimmer switch on all lighting so it can be reduced just before bed time. It’s simple and a very e ective way to wind children down at the end of a day.
The color of the paint on the walls also a ects lighting. Lighter, soothing wall colors create more serene spaces. Lighter paint
colors re ect more light making spaces feel brighter and they stimulate the eye less, making occupants feel more relaxed.
According to the Sleep Foundation, doctors recommend we keep the thermostat between
110 | April 2021
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Light, soothing wall colors create a more serene space.