How To Hack Your Sleep And Get A Better Night's Rest

Sleep: if you're like nearly half of all Americans, you don't get enough of it.

With working late hours, noisy roommates, and your inability not to click "next episode" on your Netflix queue, sleep often falls through the cracks, despite being the single most important factor to our health. But there are easy fixes to most of the obstacles that stand between you and sleep's warm embrace. Behold, seven tools at your disposal to kick your restless nights in the ass.

Sweet dreams.

Wake up around the same time each morning

Barisieur - £200-250
A routine for your body helps encourage restful nights, which may mean kissing your Saturday morning sleep-ins goodbye. But here to ease the pain is this coffee-brewing alarm clock. It uses steel beads that boil water through induction heating, so you can wake up to a deliciously brewed cup of joe.

Play it cool

Dyson Air Multiplier Fan - $299.99
Studies show we sleep better in cool (but not too cold) rooms, so if you don't have central air, get yourself one of these babies. The sleek, sculptural aesthetic of the blade-free Dyson makes it look at home in any space, while delivering a gentle stream of air to lull you off to sleep.

Set some mood lighting

NightWave - $51.98
Creating a relaxing ritual before bed conditions the mind and body to fall asleep quicker. NightWave does exactly that by emitting a soothing blue light that gently pulses and guides you through a breathing meditation. They claim it's most effective for people who suffer from "stress, an overactive mind, or feelings of agitation"....so, everyone.

Go high-tech and get the facts

Sense - $129
There are dozens of sleep sensors and apps on the market, but none do it as elegantly as Sense. Two components, a "sleeping pill" that clips to your pillow and a sensor that sits on your desk monitor every facet of your slumber, from allergens floating in your room to noise and humidity. Creating a complex report of all the factors at play, it teaches you what might be getting in the way of your restfulness, so you can make a fix and sleep better. [More...]

Sniff yourself to sleep

Chamomile Essential Oil - £16.00 
Some scents have sedative properties, chief among them lavender, vanilla, jasmine, and chamomile. Of all those, chamomile will leave your home smelling the least like a pre-teen girl's bathroom. These botanicals trigger alpha wave activity in your brain, which helps you relax and nod off. Diluting some essential oil in a spray bottle is a quick hack to give your pad the aroma of sleepiness.

Tune out the noise

Marpac Dohm Sound Conditioner - $49.99
Unless it's white noise, of course. You don't need all the bells and whistles of a multi-sound, high-tech gadget to replicate the perfect calming hum. You're not in the rainforest, or in a storm, or by an ocean, and in fact many people find all those sounds distracting and unrealistic. This no-frills white noise machine offers two intensities with a gentle whirring that sounds more like wind, and quickly masks any outside commotion.

Save your bed for sleep and sex

Fold-Out Convertible Desk - $229
If you tend to work, eat, watch too much TV, etc in your bed, when it comes time to hit the sack, your body and mind can associate it with a place of worry or stress. Save your bed for two things: catching Zs and getting it on. If you think your home is too small for a workspace, think again. A compact desk like this one folds out from the wall, so it's there when you need it and gone when you don't.


Ali Drucker is a staff writer for Supercompressor, who, incidentally, slept terribly last night. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.