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WIRED
09-03-2025
- Health
- WIRED
How to Arrange Your Room for the Best Sleep
These tips and tricks will help your dreams stay sweet. Illustration:If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED Good sleep hygiene is important. And for the 25 percent of Americans who experience insomnia every year, finding your best bedroom setup for sleep can be a monumental task. There are gadgets and gifts and advice galore to help you sleep, from supplements to setting up a dedicated bedtime routine. In 2024, the United States sleep aids market grew from around $59 billion to $64 billion. And while all of these products can absolutely be helpful, which I can personally attest to, you might not have to buy anything to catch those elusive zzz's. It might just take rearranging your bedroom. I spoke with a few sleep experts to get their advice on how to arrange a bedroom for optimal sleep, including Shawna Robins (a National Board Certified health and wellness coach), Leah Kaylor (a psychologist specializing in sleep), and Chelsie Rohrscheib (a sleep expert and neuroscientist at Wesper). Experts agree that bed placement matters. Your bed should be positioned so that your head is against a solid, quiet wall. Rohrscheib says that means 'a wall that [isn't] shared with another bedroom or loud area in your house.' If you live in a high-traffic or urban area, that means a wall that isn't facing the outside. If all of your walls are connected to high-noise areas, she advises placing your bed toward the center of the room. Kaylor adds that this will 'allow for a sense of security and reduce disturbances.' You also might want to place your bed facing the door, if possible, to add to that feeling of security. If your bed frame is too high, too low, too noisy, or too flimsy, it can affect your sleep quality too. And of course, your mattress and pillows should be comfortable. Photograph: miniseries/Getty Images Rohrscheib also suggests keeping your sleeping area away from vents, since sudden temperature changes can make you too warm or too cool during the night, which can increase 'sleep fragmentation and restlessness.' When it comes to electronics, experts say you should consider removing them completely from your room. That includes TVs, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. 'Your brain is highly adept at forming associations between environments and behaviors, meaning that how you use your bedroom influences your ability to sleep well,' says Rohrscheib. That's why sleep experts advise refraining from working from bed or lounging in it all day. Your bed should be where you sleep, and the more you spend time in it doing other things, the more your brain might start to associate it with something other than a dedicated sleeping spot. To put it more bluntly, Robins says, 'Your bedroom should be for two things—sex and sleeping.' Rohrsheib adds, 'Your brain is highly adept at forming associations between environments and behaviors, meaning that how you use your bedroom influences your ability to sleep well.' And the blue light emitted from screens like smartphones suppresses melatonin production. Melatonin is responsible for regulating your sleep-wake cycle. Rohrsheib adds that 'even passive exposure to notifications, vibrations, or standby lights from devices can increase alertness and disrupt your ability to fall and stay asleep.' Robins says that if you want to read before bed or need to use the restroom during the night, you should consider using a red light flashlight. Photograph: YiuRealistically, I know a lot of people (myself included) are still going to be using electronics before bed. I personally have a habit of reading on my phone's Kindle app before falling asleep. There are some phone settings that can mitigate the blue light emitted from your phone. On iOS, you can turn on Night Shift in your Control Center or phone's brightness settings. This adds a yellow tint to your screen. On Android, go into your Display settings and choose Night Light. You can also lower the phone's brightness even further by going into your Accessibility Settings (on iOS) and choosing Reduce White Point, and even more by selecting Zoom. This darkens your screen much more than the default lowest brightness. On Android devices, navigate to your Display settings, choose Advanced, and then slide the White Balance slider lower to achieve a similar effect. For other devices (such as some e-readers), consider turning the screen brightness down and the warmth level up where possible to help cut back on that sleep-disrupting blue light. Photograph: Nena Farrell As far as lighting goes, Kaylor advises to 'get as much natural daylight as you can to strengthen the circadian rhythm.' She says you can dim the lights in your environment as it gets closer to bedtime to mimic the sunset. This is easy to achieve with smart lighting, smart bulbs, and even some smart alarm clocks—such as the Hatch Restore 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which is a sound machine and a sunrise alarm all rolled into one. Your circadian rhythm relies on cues from the environment to signal to your body when it's time to get up or go to bed. Electronics can disrupt it, but they also can be of some assistance if you set up lighting routines to help with those cues. Natural daylight plays a factor too. 'We want the bedroom to be dark, cool, and quiet!' says Kaylor. Research says that something in the low 60s Fahrenheit is the ideal sleep temperature. She advises minimizing noise, either with earplugs or a sound machine, and that you should use blackout curtains or a high-quality eye mask to block out light. Robins adds that you should have breathable cotton or bamboo sheets, and that you might want to keep a weighted blanket on the end of the bed in case you get chilly. If weighted blankets are too heavy, or you struggle to regulate your body temperature, a good comforter can make a difference too. I like the Buffy Breeze, since its eucalyptus fabric helps to keep me cool during the summer and warm in the winter. Photograph: Buffy Your general environment also plays a role. Kaylor advises that you keep your room tidy and clutter-free to reduce stress and improve sleep quality. You know how after you do a deep clean of your room—vacuuming, washing the bedding, putting away the clothes piled up on your chair—you sleep like a baby? You can achieve that feeling all the time if you keep your room tidy. (Advice I myself should absolutely be taking.) Robins also points out that adding plants can help improve the oxygen levels in your bedroom (spider plants and snake plants are two low-maintenance houseplants that can help), and suggests using neutral colors for paint, rugs, and bedding. All in all, your bedroom should be a sanctuary. Keep busy decor and clutter limited to other areas of the house, set yourself up for success, and you'll have an easier time getting high-quality sleep.
CBS News
20-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
$1.82 billion 2026 operating budget passed by Anne Arundel County Board of Education
The Anne Arundel County Board of Education passed its $1.82 billion FY2026 operating budget along with $204.7 million in capital projects, members said Wednesday. The budget includes a total of $8.8 million in recommendations from Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell. The requests focus on increasing employee compensation, and supporting multilingual learners, special education programs and the emotional wellness of students. The recommendations include: A 1% mid-year cost-of-living increase for employees and a 3% increase at the start of FY2026. A $10-per-day increase in compensation for substitute teachers A $1,000 incentive payment to employees with 30 or more years of experience who agree to work for more than one year Funding to provide National Board Certified school counselors with additional stipends that certified classroom teachers get Compensation for fourth-grade teachers who attend overnight field trips with students to the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center Funding for musical instrument repair and replacement Two additional social workers Four additional school counselors One additional Pupil Personnel Worker Two additional school psychologists Additional funding for the CASE Agricultural Science Program Funding to expand a pilot program for non-invasive weapons detection systems to all high schools Two additional 12-month bilingual facilitators The board also approved $10.3 million in board-sponsored amendments, which added 11 positions to Superintendent Bedell's recommendation. Officials said the 2026 budget request is $138.4 million more than the 2025 budget and asks for a total of 239 measures or positions. Board of Education capital budget requests The board approved Superintendent Bedell's recommended $204.7 million FY2026 capital budget. The budget includes nearly $120 million in capital projects for three schools in the Old Mill Master Plan, including: $13 million for projects at the Center of Applied Technology North $77.1 million for projects at Old Mill High School $29.7 million for projects at Old Mill Middle School North The district is planning to open the new Old Mill High School on the property where the current school is located. The property will also include the new Center of Applied Technology North. The new Old Mill Middle School North is under construction on the current property of the Center of Applied Technology North, according to board members. The capital budget request also includes: $33 million for building system renovations $9.2 million to build a new school bus facility $8 million to reduce a maintenance backlog $5 million for kindergarten and pre-k additions $4 million for additions to existing buildings $4 million for improvement to athletic stadiums $2 million for security upgrades The budget requests still must be approved by County Executive Steuart Pittman as part of the county's overall FY2026 budget, which he will deliver to the county council in May. The county is expected to hold public hearings before finalizing the budget by June 15. The Board of Education will adopt the final budget by June 18. Baltimore County school budget Baltimore County Superintendent Dr. Myrian Rogers unveiled her proposed $2.98 billion operating budget in mid-January. The FY2026 budget is $126.4 million more than the 2025 budget and aims to address student needs and invest in staff recruitment and retention. According to the superintendent, the budget prioritizes academic achievement, infrastructure, safety, and effective teachers and staff. It also requests a pay raise for all staff and additional special education teachers, paraeducators and adult assistants. The budget is expected to be adopted by the county's Board of Education on Feb. 25. Howard County school budget Howard County school educators and parents spoke out about Superintendent Bill Barnes' proposed $1.2 billion budget on Feb. 11, saying there were several things lacking. The proposed FY2026 budget is $74 million more than the 2025 budget and adds about 70 new positions, including 33 security assistants and 35 special education teachers. The head of the county's teachers union - the Howard County Education Association - said the proposed budget should not have been released until contract negotiations had ended. Some parents and students pushed for full-time athletic trainers as the district currently contracts less than 10 trainers, leaving many games and practices uncovered. Students argued getting full-time athletic trainers is a matter of safety.
