At Vision Decor, we think that the quality of your curtains and blinds can affect your life more than you might think.
Given that Perth is the sunniest capital city in Australia, curtains and blinds serve a much bigger purpose than merely adding aesthetic value to your home.
Light blocking curtains, also known as blackout or block out curtains, are a type of window treatment that are designed to completely stop light from entering a room. These blinds are often constructed from denser, more opaque fabrics than purely decorative curtains. Block out curtains and blinds usually feature a blackout lining, such as vinyl, polyester, or other types of heavy cloth.
Block out blinds are ideal for bedrooms, media rooms, home cinemas, or any space where you want complete darkness, as they can effectively prevent light from entering the room, even during daylight hours. This is especially useful in Perth where the days in Summer are lengthy, and winter doesn’t hang around for long. They are a flexible solution for any property because they can also offer privacy, insulation, and a reduction in outside noise. Additionally, some block out blinds have extra characteristics like motorisation, which enables remote control or smartphone app control, or cordless design, which can help improve child safety.
Vision Décor encourages anyone who lives in Perth to choose light blocking curtains or blinds in their bedrooms.
7 Light Blocking Curtains and Blinds Benefits
Light blocking curtains, or block out blinds, offer numerous benefits for sleep, including:
- Improved Melatonin Production: Melatonin is a hormone that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. Light blocking curtains help to maintain a dark environment which in turn tells our bodies it is time to start producing melatonin, which will improve your sleep.
- Reduced Disruptions: External light sources such as streetlights, car headlights, and the rising sun can disrupt our sleep, causing us to wake up or experience lighter, less restful sleep. These interruptions are eliminated with light-blocking curtains, resulting in more regular and better quality sleep.
- Enhanced privacy: Light blocking curtains also provide enhanced privacy by preventing people from being able to see inside your bedroom from the outside street or your neighbour. This can be particularly useful if you live in a busy area or on the ground floor of an apartment block.
- Improved Temperature Control: Many light blocking curtains are made of insulating materials which will help to regulate the temperature of your room. This can lead to a more comfortable sleeping environment and improved sleep.
- Improved sleep quality: External light will be disruptive to your sleep cycle, making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. By blocking out light, light blocking curtains can help you get a more restful and uninterrupted night’s sleep.
- Better sleep routine: Using light blocking curtains can help create a more favourable sleep environment by reducing the amount of light that enters your bedroom. This can help you establish a consistent sleep routine and improve your overall sleep hygiene, regardless of the time of year.
- Energy savings: Light blocking curtains can also help you save on your energy bill by reducing the amount of heat that enters your home during the summer months and preventing heat from escaping during the winter months.
6 Detrimental Impacts from Poor Sleep
A bad night’s sleep can have several detrimental impacts on your physical and mental health. This can include:
- Fatigue: The most immediate impact of a bad night’s sleep is often fatigue or feeling tired. This can lead to difficulty concentrating, a lack of motivation, and a decrease in productivity.
- Irritability and mood swings: Sleep is essential for regulating emotions, so a lack of sleep can lead to irritability, mood swings, and even depression or anxiety.
- Reduced immune system function: Sleep is critical for the body to repair and regenerate, and a lack of sleep can lead to a weakened immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.
- Weight gain: Poor sleep has been linked to weight gain and obesity, as it can disrupt hormones that regulate hunger and appetite.
- Increased risk of chronic diseases: Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
- Impaired cognitive function: Lack of sleep can impair cognitive function, including memory, attention, and decision-making abilities. This can make it difficult to perform well at work or school.
Overall, getting enough quality sleep is essential for maintaining good physical and mental health, and a bad night’s sleep can have significant negative impacts on both. Most Perth homeowners use blackout curtains to aid their sleep and reduce their exposure to morning sunlight.
The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep every day. Younger children need more sleep to support their growth and development. For instance, newborns require 14 to 17 hours of sleep every day, whereas teenagers require 8 to 10 hours.
If you don’t regularly receive the recommended sleep for your age, you may develop a sleep deficiency which can be hard to alleviate. This lack of sleep can cause symptoms such as:
- Decreased energy
- Delayed reaction times
- Feeling like you can’t think or process information quickly
- Headaches
- Increased anxiety
- Irritability
- Limited memory
- Poor decision-making and risky behaviours
- Shrinking attention span
- Sleepiness during the day
Sleep deprivation will build up over time and can lead to more severe symptoms, including:
- Dangerous or impulsive behaviour
- Difficulty speaking
- Drooping eyelids
- Falling asleep involuntarily for a few seconds
- Hallucinations
- Trembling hands
- Twitching eyes
Establishing your Newborn Sleep Routine
Creating an ideal sleeping environment for a baby is crucial in creating a routine for your new baby, yet many families continue to ignore it. The growth of your baby’s mind and body depend on sleep, and many parents find that their baby’s sleep schedule is, to put it mildly, challenging. Throughout the first few months, you can set a baby down almost anywhere and they’ll usually sleep for the majority of the day. But as they become older, they’ll need a place where there are no distractions. Your baby may sleep less soundly overall and may stay awake longer, wake up earlier or more frequently in environments with lots of light. Anyone who has young kids or a baby, will know how difficult it can be to manage a baby or toddler who is overtired.
One of the easiest ways to keep the nursery dark at any time of the day is to install block out eyelet curtains or blinds. A room that is dark and comfortable is the ideal setting for babies to sleep and will also benefit overstimulated babies who need a break from whatever activities may be taking place inside the home. The ability to close the curtains and blinds and eliminate this distraction could make it simpler for your infant to fall asleep and stay asleep for longer periods of time. Some babies and toddlers are more sensitive to light than others.
Your child should start sleeping through the night by the time he or she is between four and eleven months old because they will no longer need night-time feeds. Most parents start establishing a bedtime routine for their babies around this time, and it is much simpler to get your infants into a regular sleeping routine if you have a dark nursery that promotes sleep during this period. A dark room can also become a sleeping cue for your baby, an indication that now is the time to go to sleep.
Older children who have had a better night’s sleep are likely to have fewer concerns with their concentration, bad behaviour in school and at home, memory, mental health and wellbeing. According to new studies, which emphasise the importance of sleep for school-aged children, children who have trouble getting enough sleep run the risk of developing high blood pressure, obesity, and mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
Vision Décor are Block Out Experts
Light blocking curtains and block out blinds are an excellent investments for anyone in Perth looking to improve their sleep quality and establish a more restful sleep routine. They are particularly beneficial for people who work the night shift and have trouble sleeping during the day due to the bright Perth sunshine and external light sources.
Vision Décor believe your sleep health is vital to your overall health, and that’s why we strongly encourage anyone in Perth to opt for block out blinds or light blocking curtains in all bedrooms of the home. Vision Décor Perth only use premium products to ensure long lasting quality which can’t be beaten.
For the best curtains and blinds in Perth, contact Vision Décor.