Stan and Amy have been married for about a year and have been living in the same condo for three. They absolutely love where they live. However, a major disadvantage is that their unit faces an alley. None of the skyline facing units in their building ever come up for sale, and none of the other buildings they look at offer all the current amenities they enjoy in their price range.

The day finally came that a Skyline facing unit became available and Stan was able to secure it. However, his schedule became quite hectic due to the move and he often finds himself tossing and turning at night. He also seems to wake up well before his alarm. He can’t figure out why he is so restless at night. He is tired at work and has been skipping the gym a periodically each week to try to “catch up” on sleep.

After another week of turning his alarm off because he is wide-awake, he decides to do some research over his lunch break. He reads about “sleep hygiene”, “how to fall asleep”, “better sleep tips”, etc. Stan notices articles discussing changes in the normal environment leading to restlessness, as well as difficulties at home or at work. He has trouble narrowing down his issue because although he has moved, he is in the same bed and in the same building. Also, he and Amy are thrilled with the new unit, and work is going well. He then notices tips to “creating a room ideal for sleeping”. Number 3 on the list was “Make sure your room is dark and quiet”. He chuckled at how obvious this was, but then reflected on the new bedroom. Not only does it have a view of a buzzing skyline, but is also eastward facing. Now that he thinks about it, it is much brighter, essentially all-night, when compared to the previous unit.

When he gets home, he searches online for ways of remedying the situation. He has found that various shades, blinds, drapes are beneficial in reducing the brightness and noise levels around. The following day, he and Amy walked to a nearby department store to pick out new window treatments.

Over the next week, Stan noticed he felt like he was in his old bedroom again. Both he and Amy enjoyed the fact that they now had access to the view whenever they liked, as well as the opportunity to return the bedroom to a more restful environment.

This is a great example of the importance of your sleep environment.