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Upgrade Your Bedroom

137 WAYS YOUR HOME CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER MAN

From the editors of Men’s Health Living

Knock out back pain while you sleep
Spanish researchers found that those who slept on medium-firm mattresses were twice as likely to experience pain relief as those who slept on hard mattresses. Ask for the firmest model in the mattress store, then go one grade below. To keep your spine in top shape, rotate the mattress by turning it end to end every 3 months. This prevents sags and lumps from forming. Replace your trusty mattress every 5 to 7 years.

Painproof your neck
To avoid neck and backaches, sleep with only one foldable pillow. If you sleep on your back, use a medium or firm pillow. If you’re a side sleeper, opt for a firm pillow to keep your head aligned with your spine. Try not to sleep on your stomach (it can create neck and back problems), but if you do, choose a soft pillow.

Block out noisy neighbors
Turning your FM radio dial to a spot in between stations will produce low-level “white noise,” which will help lull you to sleep.

Clear the air
The bedroom is ground zero for dust and aerial debris. A personal air cleaner can be effective if it cleans the air fast enough. Make sure you choose a model with a clean-air delivery rate (CADR) two-thirds the size of your room. Research indicates that the Friedrich C-90B does a superb job. $500. friedrich.com

Sleep sounder
Have a couple of bites of oatmeal, cereal, or pasta before bed. Each contains tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to serotonin, your brain’s sleep agent.

Stop snoring forever
Elevating your head will keep your airway open. If you have trouble with snoring, try placing a brick or two under the bedposts at the head of the bed. Don’t use extra pillows; they’ll only kink your airway and make your snoring worse.

Snooze in comfort
Wakefulness more than doubles with just a 15 percent rise in temperature or a 37 percent hike in humidity, according to a study in the journal Physiology & Behavior. Instead of cranking the AC, bundle a dehumidifier with an oscillating fan.

Cure sleep apnea
Snoozing on your side can halve the number of wake-ups you suffer during the night. Residual fatigue from these interruptions makes you six times more likely to be involved in an auto accident. To keep from rolling over onto your back as you sleep, stuff a small, firm neck pillow down the back of your T-shirt before dozing off.

Fall asleep faster
Wear socks and you’ll fall asleep 27 percent faster, according to a Dutch study. “Increases in the temperature of your feet signal neurons in your brain that cause you to fall asleep,” says lead author Roy Raymann, Ph.D. Wait until just before bed; people who warmed their feet early didn’t see the same benefit.

Wake up bushier-tailed
Men who lit a jasmine-scented candle for just 1 minute before bed fell asleep faster, tossed and turned less, and felt more refreshed in the morning, report scientists at Wheeling Jesuit University. That’s important because insufficient sleep boosts your risk of diabetes, and sleep interruptions increase your odds of a stroke.

Sleep yourself thin
Snooze and you’ll lose—literally. A Columbia University study shows that people who sleep less weigh more. Men and women who grabbed only 6 hours of shut-eye each night were 23 percent more likely to be overweight than those who slept for 7 to 9 hours.

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