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

If your window treatments were purchased before 2001, or if you don’t know when they were purchased, it may be time to replace them with newer window coverings with updated safety features. This is particularly a good idea if you’ve recently welcomed a new baby or pet into the family. While nothing is going to replace a vigilant parent or caregiver, these features will enhance the safety of your window coverings. Budget Blinds Vendor Alliance Director, Tracy Christman, recommends these safety features for homes with small children and pets to reduce the risk of entanglement:

Cordless Window Treatments - Raise and lower window coverings easily without cords! Eliminating cords also creates an aesthetically-pleasing, uncluttered look that is popular in today’s decor. This feature is available on a number of window treatments.

Motorized Window Treatments - Using a battery-operated remote control, you can raise, lower, tilt or open and close your window coverings at the touch of a button. Motorization has increased in popularity over the years and is available on numerous window treatments. With some motorization packages, homeowners can pre-program window treatments to open and close throughout the day enhancing security by making the home look occupied and saving energy by controlling heat gain.

Wand - Some window treatments, such as horizontal blinds and vertical blinds, are available with a control wand as opposed to a pull cord.

Breakaway Tassels - If you must have control cords, make sure they have breakaway tassels.

Inner Cord Stops - This feature prevents the inner cords from being pulled out where they could pose a strangulation hazard to children and pets.

Cord Cleats - Cord cleats keep continuous cord loops tightly secured against the wall so they cannot be pulled away or played with.

Find our more about window covering safety here

Motorized window treatments are hot! And why not?... Motorization adds convenience to your every day life! Programmable systems allow you set your window treatments to open and close at designated times throughout the day.

Enhance security by making your home appear occupied, even when you’re away.  Improve your home’s energy efficiency by programming window coverings to open and close throughout the day to take advantage of the sun’s warming rays and prevent heat exchange in winter and reduce heat gain in summer.