May
20
2014
By
of Valet.
 
A Man's Home

A Better Bedroom

Treat your bedroom with the respect it deserves and the rewards are rich. After all, better sleep and better sex make better men, right? Now we're not here to give you sex pointers, but we do have some helpful tips to get the most out of your bedroom.

A bedroom furnished by CB2, featuring their twisted navy bed linens, from $40
and a lightweight Faribault blanket, $189

 

Sleep Sounder,
Wake Refreshed

A 2010 study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry found that when jasmine was introduced into the air, the participants had greater sleep efficiency—deeper shuteye and less tossing and turning throughout the night. Upon waking, those who slept breathing in jasmine reported lower levels of anxiety and greater alertness in the afternoon.

 

Jasmine candle, $35 by Izola

 

Turn Off
and Stow Devices

Keep screen time to a minimum. Your nightstand makes a poor desk and watching TV or fiddling with your phone means you're not fiddling with something else. "If there is no television in the bedroom, the frequency [of sex] doubles," says sexologist Serenella Salomoni, whose team of psychologists interviewed 523 Italian couples about how the tube affected their sex lives.

Block Out Distractions

 

Fill the dead air with a low, gentle white noise from a sound machine, app or by setting your FM radio to a spot in between stations. The soothing "non-noise" will help lull you to sleep and prevent distractions from neighbors or the outside.

Rise Up app (with sound machine and alarm), $2 for iOS and Android

 

Cool Off

 

The warmer you are, the harder it is to drift off. A cooler core body temp ensures a more restful, deep sleep. In fact, Dr. Joyce Walsleben, a sleep expert at New York University's Sleep Disorders Center, often recommends taking a cool shower before going to bed. Of course, if a cold shower doesn't sound like a soothing option, start off by keeping your bedroom hovering between 68 and 70 degrees. Swap heavier bedding for lighter covers and your standard pillow for one with a cooling fabric that wicks away heat.

Cool Touch Outlast pillow, $40

 
 
  •  
    Choose Your Bedding: From Egyptian cotton and sateen to bamboo, here's everything you need to make an informed purchasing decision.
 

Stop Snoring

If you've been told you snore, elevating your head will keep your airway open. But don't use extra pillows, this kinks your neck—which can actually make snoring worse. Instead, place some stackable risers under the bedposts at the head of the bed, which will raise it just enough to alleviate snoring.

Bed risers, $20 for eight

 
 

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