What science says about the bedroom hacking trend

When there is a problem at bedtimewe try to do anything to get a restful sleep with the goal of being able to perform well throughout the day. Given this situation, on the Internet there are a large number of tricks almost miraculous that they promise us to sleep in a different way, such as the use of red lightswhite noise machines or even pillow sprays.

The perspective. All this sounds good, almost like a biological hack within the reach of a purchase click, but the reality is that when we look at the scientific evidence that supports these tricks, we find a much less magical and much more boring reality. Most of these tricks do not induce sleep, and in the best cases the evidence points to a weak correlation at best.

The red light. He using this type of light to sleepthe reality is that it is one of the most widespread practices or advice that is normally given in social circles. And the reality is that we are facing a scientific truth that has been misinterpreted until it has become a marketing claim.

What we do know is that the blue light emitted by our cool LED lampshades and bulbs It is deeply harmful before sleeping because it stops the secretion of melatonin, the hormone that regulates our circadian clock, in its tracks. Given this, clinical guidelines explain that dim red light has a wavelength that has a much smaller impact on our circadian rhythm.

You have a problem. Just because red light doesn’t ‘suppress melatonin’ doesn’t mean it ‘induces sleep’. Here various studies on the circadian response to light exposure conclude that red light does not have a hypnotic effect. That is, turning on a red light in your room is not going to magically make you sleepy, but rather the medically defensible use of red light is like a harm reduction mechanism.

What we must stay with is that if we absolutely need to have a light on at night (to read a little or go to the bathroom), the red one is the one that will least destabilize the brain. But to sleep well, it is best not to have any type of light in the room.

The white noise. This is the other great pillar that makes up the ideal sleeping environment. The premise here is that a constant sound like that of an untuned television or a waterfall helps relax the brain, but the reality is that we must be quite careful with this.

Here is a compelling review published in Sleep Medicine analyzed the evidence behind the use of white noise as a sleep aid and was able to conclude that there is great heterogeneity between studies, so the evidence we have to say that this practice is good for sleep is very weak. In fact, the results ranged from people whose sleep improved slightly to people who slept worse because of the continuous noise.

And there is more. A second study pointed to nocturnal auditory stimulation in order to have a better quality of sleep, but the reality is that, although there are small studies with positive results, there is no strong evidence to generally recommend the use of white or pink noise.

The only truly defensible use of white noise is not as a “brain relaxant,” but as an acoustic masker. And if, for example, you live next to a road or have noisy neighbors, white noise creates a flat sound barrier that prevents the brain from registering those sudden noise peaks, which are what cause the hated awakenings. But using continuous white noise in an already quiet room not only lacks scientific support, but some specialists warn of possible long-term adverse effects on hearing and sleep architecture.

The smells. Regarding pillow sprays, which generally have a lavender or chamomile base, we fully enter the field of aromatherapy. In this case it is logical that a pleasant smell can have a relaxing effect, but there is no clinical evidence that points to it affecting sleep architecture in any way.

The best advice. What has been proven is that you should always be in a room with absolute darkness, no noise of any kind, and a cool temperature. Everything else is accessories for which there is still no sufficiently reliable evidence.

Images | Pars Sahin

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