Just in Time for Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8 this year. It’s a welcome event for many, but losing that hour of sleep isn’t so welcome.

The time change has been associated with:

• Slower Thinking
• Slower Reaction Times
• Moodiness
• Exhaustion

What’s a moody, exhausted, slow thinking, sleep-deprived person to do to get more sleep? One suggestion is to create an environment that’s conducive to sleep – dark, cool, quiet and comfortable. The window treatments you choose for your bedroom can help create the perfect sleep environment for you.

“There are wonderful window treatments that block light and prevent heat gain, making them excellent choices for the bedroom,” said Tracy Christman, Director of Vendor Alliance for Budget Blinds.

If drawing the blinds closed doesn’t block light from that pesky streetlamp from disturbing your sleep, there’s still hope. The key to a better night’s sleep may lie with your window treatments – specifically, the features you add to them.

Here are some of the options sleep-deprived homeowners can choose from:

• Add a blackout liner. Blackout liners are perfect for shift workers who sleep during the day and the friend to new parents who want to encourage good sleeping habits for infants and toddlers.
• Add decorative tapes to horizontal blinds to block light that enters through rout holes, or choose routless louvers for your blinds.
• Cornice boxes and valances block light that can enter through the small gap at the headrail of the window treatment.
• Room-darkening multiple-celled cellular shades block light and add insulation between cooled or heated indoor air and the glass.
• Sleep experts encourage troubled sleepers to wake at the same time every day. An additional feature that can help you wake at the same time every day is programmable motorization. Just set the programmable timer to open your window treatments at a specific time in the morning and the light that was blocked all night will help wake you.

Sources: National Sleep Foundation; WebMD.com

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