restless nights and bouts of insomnia can really wreck you, but the key to a better night’s sleep may lie in your routine, your room – and your window shades! Here are five tips for getting better, more restful sleep at night:

Limit Screentime

This one comes up time and again, and for good reason: screens mess with your internal signals to your body that it’s time for sleep. It may be tempting to scroll through your social feeds or mess around on a game, but all that staring at a screen keeps your brain active. The blue light emitted from phones, tablets and computers messes up your body’s melatonin cycle and the brain’s ability to pick up that it’s time for sleep. If you can’t pull yourself away from your phone in favor of a book, at least turn on the night shift setting to switch the backlighting from blues to goldens.

Keep Things Cool

No matter if you run hot or cold, nothing tells your body it’s time for sleep like a cool room. Research shows that cooler temperatures do signal to your body that it’s time to rest. Keep your thermostat lower at night and help your room stay cool all day long with light-blocking window shades that will help trap and insulate the cool air.

Have A Routine

You don’t necessarily have to be early to bed and early to rise but you do need consistency. Your body learns from repetition, so getting ready for sleep around the same time every night – whether it’s a work night or a weekend – will help ease you into sweet sleep night after night far more easily. Draw your window shades, light a candle, drink some herbal tea – but keep it consistent.

Use Light-Blocking Window Shades

Lights really mess up your body’s perception of it being time for sleep. Because light and dark periods actually control melatonin release, the darker your bedroom, the better. Turn your lamps off and block out outside lights from encroaching with the right blinds and window shades to ensure a perfect setting for sleep.

Choose The Right Lighting

If you do have to turn on lights in the middle of the night, make sure they are as soft as possible. Stay away from harsh, clear bulbs and opt for softer and warmer lights. Since even a little light can wreck your melatonin cycle, consider investing in a red nightlight, too, as red light is much less disruptive.