Written by Suzanne Hite, former publications editor serving the technology services sector
Question: I never got along well with my college roommates, so when a friend suggested we share an off-campus apartment in our senior year, I jumped at the chance. It’s been a dream in a lot of ways: she’s neat, clean, and kind. But we share a room, and the one terrible thing about this arrangement is I can’t sleep! It’s a cold room, a streetlamp is near the window, and on top of all of this my roommate snores more loudly than anyone I have ever met (or, at least, anyone I’ve ever shared a room with). I’m losing my mind, here, so please help me find a way to get a good night’s sleep in this awful room!
Answer:
Your room certainly does sound like a tough place to get some shut-eye! You mentioned a few problems with your room, so let’s address those one by one.
First, you said that your room was very cold at night. It may be time to take out a thermometer and see just how bad things are. Ideal sleeping temperature is actually a little cooler than you may be used to from your daily life: experts recommend between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. If your room is even colder than that (or if it’s on the lower end of that spectrum and you want to get a little warmer), find ways to adjust. Down comforters are effective at trapping heat, so you could leave the room cold and make up for it with your bedding. Or you could invest in a space heater to make the whole room a little toastier–just be sure not to make it too hot, as warm temperatures make it hard to sleep.
A streetlight near the window should be a problem that you can solve with heavy blinds or curtains, but if that is not possible for any reason, you may want to invest in sleep mask. Sleep masks help you get to sleep, and they may also help you get better sleep: studies show that lights and noises can limit REM sleep.
By that logic, then, earplugs make sense for you, too. They should help you block out the sound of your roommate snoring. Since your roommate’s snoring is particularly bad, though, you may also want to consider speaking with her about her health. It’s possible that a sleep disorder like sleep apnea is causing the problem. Disorders like this have treatment options like CPAP machines, so there may be a way to help both your friend and your sleep cycle at once. Of course, with 55% of adults snoring at least occasionally and 25% snoring regularly, not all of them are going to have treatable issues–but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Good luck! Quality sleep is good for your health, makes you more alert, and can even save your life (an estimated 100,000 car accidents a year are caused by sleepiness), so it’s great that you’re focused on fixing your sleep problem.