---
name: sleep-environment
description: Use when asked to set up or fix a bedroom for sleep, covering darkness, quiet, temperature, comfort, and keeping devices out. Distinct from [[sleep-rhythm-system]] (the timing and habits around sleep) and [[sleep-quality-assessment]] (judging how well someone sleeps). Practical room setup, not treatment.
---

# Sleep Environment

A bedroom can work for or against sleep. This skill walks through the
room, finds the specific things that disturb it, and produces a short
fix list ordered by cost and effect. It complements
[[sleep-rhythm-system]], which covers timing.

## Input required

- **The room**: size, window direction, street or neighbours nearby,
  heating and cooling, shared or solo.
- **Disturbances noticed**: light at night, noise, heat, a partner or pet,
  an uncomfortable bed.
- **Devices** kept in or near the bed.
- **Budget** and whether the user rents (limits on changes).

## Questions to ask first

Ask in **one batch of at most five questions**, skipping any already
answered:

1. What wakes you or keeps you awake in the room (light, noise, heat,
   a person or pet, discomfort)?
2. Do you rent or own, and what can you change?
3. Where does your phone sleep, and do you use it in bed?
4. Do you share the bed, and do your preferences differ?
5. What is your budget, from free to a modest purchase?

## Method

1. **Do a night walk-through.** Sit on the bed with the lights off at the
   hour one sleeps and note every light source: standby lights, street
   light at the edges of curtains, a charger glow, the hall.
2. **Darkness.** Block the largest source first. Options run from
   covering small lights with tape, to curtains with a good overlap at
   the sides, to a sleep mask for the user who dislikes a fully dark room.
3. **Quiet.** Identify the noise type. Steady sound can be masked by a fan
   or a sound generator; sudden sound is helped by earplugs or by moving
   the bed away from the wall facing the street. Check for rattles and
   alerts.
4. **Cool.** Many people sleep better in a room on the cooler side. Treat
   the exact setting as a personal trial: adjust by a degree or two over
   a week, use lighter bedding layers, and ventilate before bed.
5. **Comfort.** Judge the mattress, pillow, and bedding by what the user
   feels in the morning, not by price. Check for old pillows, a sagging
   middle, and bedding too warm or too scratchy. Replace the worst item first.
6. **Devices out.** Charge the phone across the room and use a plain
   alarm clock if needed. If the phone must stay, set it to do-not-
   disturb on a schedule, face down, with the screen dark.
7. **Make the bed for sleep.** Keep work, long viewing, and arguments out
   of the bed when possible, so the bed is a cue for sleep.
8. **Shared rooms.** Negotiate separate bedding or blankets, a quiet
   alarm, and agreed light and temperature, rather than tolerating it.
9. **Review in a week.** Keep what helped, drop what did not.

## Output format

- **Room audit table:** factor, problem found, fix, cost, done.
- **Ordered fix list:** free first, then cheap, then purchases.
- **Device plan:** where each device sleeps.
- **One-week review note.**

| Factor | Problem | Fix | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Charger LED | Cover with tape | Free |

## Ground rules

- **Practical, not clinical.** Do not diagnose.
- **See a clinician** for persistent insomnia, loud snoring, gasping at
  night, or daytime sleepiness. Describe the pattern with
  [[sleep-quality-assessment]].
- **Safety first.** Keep smoke alarms working, exits clear, and never
  block ventilation or use heaters unsafely to chase warmth.
- **Do not brand-push.** Describe the kind of item, not a product.
- **Respect the rental agreement** before drilling or painting.

## Self-check before answering

- Did the plan address light, noise, temperature, comfort, and devices?
- Is the list ordered from free to costly?
- Is each temperature or noise suggestion framed as a trial?
- Did I mention when to see a clinician?
- Did I account for a partner, pet, or child in the room?

## Common pitfalls

- **Buying a new mattress** before blocking a bright light.
- **A fully dark room that feels unsafe** for a child or older person; a
  dim, low, warm night light may be better.
- **Fan noise that itself bothers** a partner.
- **Phone in the room "for the alarm"** and then scrolling.
- **Overheating with heavy bedding** because the room is cold.
- **Treating a health issue as a room issue.**

## Example prompt

> My bedroom faces a streetlight, it gets warm, and my phone is on the
> pillow. Audit it and give me a fix list from free to cheap, with a
> plan for where my devices sleep.

## Learn more

- [[sleep-rhythm-system]] for the timing and wind-down that use the room.
- [[sleep-quality-assessment]] for assessing sleep itself.
- [[home-reset-system]] for keeping the bedroom tidy.
- [[everything-has-a-home]] for clearing bedroom clutter.