5 Strategies to Sleep Soundly in Your Studio

In a studio apartment, sometimes factors conspire against you and make it hard to sleep soundly. This problem can ‘t go unsolved for long, but sometimes problems seem like they’re out of your control. Below you’ll find five ways to deal with noisy neighbors, drafty windows and more, and ensure yourself a good night’s sleep.

Avoid Drafts from Poorly Insulated Windows and Doors

If your windows or doors are poorly insulated, they could be letting in drafts that not only cause a significant rise in your heating bill, but can also keep you from sleeping well.

To fix this, first check the seals around every door, window, vent and patio entrance for drafts. They’re often small and barely noticeable, but be diligent and you’ll find them. Then, either have a maintenance worker come and seal any leaky spots you find, or do it yourself. Rubber cement goes on clear, and works perfectly for this.

Noisy Neighbors

Nothing keeps a person from sleep like constant, irritating noise. If your neighbors are the culprits, politely ask them if they can keep it down. If that doesn’t work, contact the manager and report them. If that doesn’t work after several tries, you can try the police.

Busy Street or Railway

If the noise comes from a busy street or railway right outside your window, you may need to get creative to solve the problem. If your window faces the noise (as is probably the case), try rigging up a towel, pillows or other sound-absorbing material over the window at night. A couple cheap towels with holes cut in them hung on some adhesive-backed hooks would do the trick nicely, and if done properly can even become a decoration in the room.

Bad Smells: Garbage, Smoke, Factory, etc.

It’s an unfortunate fact that some of us have apartments near the dump, a paper factory or in the same building as someone who smokes. While these things are unavoidable, they can make it hard to sleep at night.

A few scented candles, incense, or plug-ins can take care of odors pretty easily these days. Don’t forget to put them out if you’re going to be leaving the apartment, though!

In warmer weather, a box fan set up to blow air out of your apartment can also work wonders, and also creates a cooling breeze at the same time.

Uncomfortable Sleeping Arrangements

An old or shoddy mattress or box spring can impact your sleep negatively in several ways. The first solution would be to replace the faulty product with a new, better one.

If you live by yourself or have a flexible sleeping partner, you might try an alternative sleeping arrangement altogether. Get rid of a traditional bed altogether, and instead create a nest of cushions and blankets big enough for whoever usually sleeps in the bed. You might find that the rigid rectangle of sleeping space you had before was restricting you and that now you sleep much more comfortably!

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Jordan Gaither: I’m a Communications major by trade, an artist by choice, a welder by day and a dancer by night (Okay, I made that last part up). Having lived in a succession of cramped, oddly-shaped apartments, I have a wealth of personal experience in apartment living, as well as arranging and decorating to maximize effect and livable space.