Rest & Sleep
Light, temperature, timing — and what actually helps.
Sleep is the habit with the largest effect and the least reliable advice. The market is full of trackers, sprays and mattresses sold on the promise of an eighth hour, and almost none of them move the number.
What moves it is unglamorous: morning daylight, a cold and dark room, a consistent wake time, and the last coffee earlier than you would like. We write about the small number of things that work, and about the objects — beds, bedding, paint, air — you sleep inside.
What we keep asking
- Does the effect survive outside the manufacturer's own study?
- Is this a sleep problem, or a light, noise or worry problem wearing its coat?
- What is the room made of, and what is it off-gassing while you breathe it?
Guides
Nothing published under this heading yet. The reading below covers the same ground from elsewhere on the site.
Start here
- Choosing a children's mattress →Foams, certifications and what a label leaves out — the logic applies to adult beds too.
- Low-emission paint, room by room →Bedroom air quality starts with what is on the walls.
- Roots, Herbs, and Ritual: coffee alternatives →For the afternoon cup that is keeping you awake at midnight.
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