How to Build the Perfect Sleep Environment
In this episode of The Healthy Sleep Podcast, John and David Grove dive into the essentials of building the ideal sleep environment. From mattresses and pillows to lighting, temperature, and even white noise, the brothers break down what really makes your bedroom the most peaceful place in your home.
They cover everything from choosing the right mattress and pillow to why clean sheets matter to how blackout curtains and white noise apps can make the difference between tossing and turning and sleeping soundly. With their trademark mix of humor and practical advice, John and David share the small tweaks that add up to big improvements in your nightly rest.
Key Takeaways
- Your sleep environment is just as important as your routine. Mattress, pillow, bedding, light, and sound all play a role.
- A quality mattress is the foundation. It should make you want to go to bed.
- Pillows aren’t one-size-fits-all. Choose based on your sleep position, and replace them every 1–2 years.
- Clean sheets and layered bedding help regulate comfort through the night.
- Keep your bedroom cool — ideally 60–67°F.
- Use a mattress protector to extend your bed’s lifespan.
- Darkness matters. Blackout curtains can block streetlights, storms, or your neighbor’s floodlight.
- White noise apps or machines help mask sudden sounds and keep you asleep longer.
Actionable Sleep Tips from this Episode
- Check your pillow: is it the right fit for your sleep position, and is it time to replace it?
- Wash your sheets weekly to keep your bed fresh and inviting.
- Layer your bedding so you can easily adjust the comfort level throughout the night.
- Lower your thermostat a couple degrees at bedtime, even a small change helps.
- Block out light with blackout curtains or shades.
- Try a white noise app (like Windy) or use a fan to mask disruptive sounds.
- Protect your mattress with a quality mattress protector to make it last.
Follow and Connect
- Instagram: @MattressGrove
- Listen on your favorite podcast platform
Transcript
0:00:00.000,0:00:07.470
-Some pillows I've seen... I'm not saying where I saw it.
-Mm-hmm.
-I don't- yeah, I mean
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somebody drools a lot.
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Welcome back to The Healthy Sleep Podcast by MattressGrove. I'm David Grove
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This is my brother John and we're the owners of MattressGrove and we believe
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That your bedroom needs to be the most relaxing,
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-peaceful place in your home.
-Heck yeah, we do. Welcome. We got the *makes horn sound*
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-Let's go. It's time to dang get the dang show started.
-I woke up this morning. I was just like man,
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-what a wonderful day.
-Well good cuz I hadn't been sleeping that good
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-so I need to start take practicing a little bit better.
-Well, I was using routines from our last program.
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-Well, see I need to yeah, I'm gonna start journaling.
-Yeah
-We talked about journaling
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so I'm gonna start journaling. But anyway, so yeah today's
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episode is all about the ideal sleep environment. Some people call it sleep hygiene, which is everything
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but today we're gonna talk about your environment and what it means.
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You know from your mattress to your bedding to the temperature to the lighting to the noise
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I mean all that matters right when we're trying to get a better night's sleep.
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So we'll walk we'll walk walk through that turn by turn drive through it turn by turn whatever, you know.
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-Talk about what it means to have the best sleep environment.
-Absolutely.
-We talked about routine now
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-we're gonna talk about sleep environment.
-I mean, to start the foundation is your mattress, right?
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-100% 100%
-We know that from our industry, you know, you got to really like to go to bed. You got a great mattress
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-you want to go to bed!
-That's true. And maybe that's my problem. I need a need a new mattress
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I mean I get them a new mattress pretty often, but I'm I need to get me a new one.
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I think I do so that's that's number that's number one
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but that's kind of the easy thing right because I can just push that button and make that happen. And
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everybody else can, too. You can just give us a call at MattressGrove and we'll help them out or or or you can go
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Get a mattress wherever you want to. Just make sure it's good supportive, and it's gonna give you a long-lasting
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support. Another thing
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that goes along with the mattress that is equally or close to equally important. It's your
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pillow, right? I actually like a cooling pillow because that's what my mattress is. It's a cooling mattress
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which means that the cover is
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cooling. It doesn't have air conditioning, but it does have
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Cooling fibers in the quilt. So it helps regulate my body temperature
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And so I like that and so the pillow is the same way. I like a flatter pillow that's cooling.
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I don't like, this is me, a lot of people it depends on how you sleep
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I sleep on my stomach a lot, which that's not, the chiropractor's probably saying, "Oh, that's not good!"
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That's why I have to have a flat pillow because if I have a big pillow and I'm sleeping on my stomach it
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kinks my neck. Now if you sleep on your back, you want to probably a bigger fluffier pillow, right a bigger pillow.
0:03:14.640,0:03:17.820
-But the pillow is super super important.
-It supports your neck
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-Yeah
-and head and you know again, it's one of those things where I'm like you, I like a real thin pillow.
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I actually like a feather pillow.
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-Yeah
-And so, you know, because I can ball it up and kind of make it and it kind of levels back out
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conforms to my neck and
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conforms to my head. So, I've tried a
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cooling
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cover for my pillow as well, and I haven't found the right one yet
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I know that that it helps because those feather pillows get really warm.
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And so I'm constantly moving that pillow around a little bit. But definitely, you know, getting the right pillow, getting the right support
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-is very important.
-Yeah. Yeah, no question about it there.
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There's a you know, the people that make pillows because we don't make pillows, but we highly recommend a good pillow
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You know, they they say that that matters a lot.
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Another thing that is important that we may not think about is that we need to make sure that we, you know,
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replace our pillows, you know. Every one to two years because again they get dirty. I mean they get it's a hygienic reason.
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-Some pillows I've seen, I'm not saying where I saw it.
-Mm-hmm.
-I don't know. Yeah, I mean
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somebody drools a lot.
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-Yeah
-Always check your pillow before you go sleep at somebody's house or in a hotel. Make sure there's not a bunch of drool.
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No, that's not good. Another thing that I know and I would imagine that most people know how great it feels when you get in
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clean sheets. They're crinkly. They're tight, you know, first day. I do every day when I wake up in the mornings
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I make my bed because I like to I've accomplished something good. I just made my bed.
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I mean, you know and it makes me feel good. I mean if I'd go in there and it's dirty,
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I don't like it.
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I can't ever get it as tight without pulling out all the sheets off and and then it's not crispy clean.
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You should wash the sheets once a week.
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I mean, it's gonna be... mine will stay pretty pretty good for a week
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But after a week... are you saying that you don't brush your sheets every week? I don't wash my sheets every week
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-But I but I know that it when I do is better. It's definitely better.
-So so refreshing to have clean sheets and
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clean pillowcases and everything. So having a couple of layers, you know.
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We've talked about backpacking before and when you go backpacking, you should wear several layers because
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the temperature changes the environment changes a little bit. Well, when you're sleeping, your environment changes a little bit.
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So if you had if you have three layers or four layers...
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different layers on you. You can kind of peel layer back and get get comfortable. Some people like to have weighted blankets.
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-I know
-I don't. I like something really light on me. If it's if it's pushing it down on me
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I struggle. And people also tuck all their stuff in and make it real tight
0:06:02.680,0:06:07.020
-so when you squeeze in you do you feel it? I guess you feel like a sausage. You can't move.
-That's right. Yeah.
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No, I know. Yeah, I it's and it's personal preference. You know, like you said, it's personal preference.
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Some people sleep cold. Some people sleep hot. Whatever it is,
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you just need to figure out to try to balance that so that it's your perfect temperature.
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To your point, if you have three layer, if you have a sheet, top sheet and a
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blanket and a comforter, you can always pull that comforter back if you need to. You know, studies show that the room
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temperatures... this is kind of crazy,
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I mean studies show that the room temperature needs to be like between 60 degrees and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
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I think that's a little low especially in the summertime. That's expensive.
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That's expensive.
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But it works.
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I mean I like for mine to be about 65 67 and that way, like you said, I can keep my, I have a down comforter
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I'm like, you know, I don't really like it heavy, but I can peel it back,
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you know, if I start to. You know, and I and I will I'll wake up. I mean personally I
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mean TMI, but I wake up sometimes and I'm perspiring more for some reason. The temperature is the same. It's just my body.
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Yup. Exactly.
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-You worked out that day a little harder or something, you know.
-Yeah
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No telling what happened.
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Or hey, you know that when we get when we have a cold or something our bodies work so hard to get that virus out of us
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-so
-Definitely sweating then. Definitely. Definitely definitely sweating then. There's also
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all different kinds. I mean you can do, you know,
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-cotton sheet which feels a certain way and acts a certain way. You can do like...
-Flannel
-Flannel, right.
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There's all kinds of now...
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I mean, there's so many performance for me performance fabrics now you can about get any kind of bedding, you know, materials and again
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that's personal preference, you know.
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But but if you know that cotton is not good for you because you sweat and it holds the water,
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get some performance fabric. Gets you some type of polyester or some type that'll wick that away, right?
0:07:50.140,0:07:56.560
-Exactly
-And always use a mattress protector.
-Always use a mattress.
Always always always protect your investment, your mattress.
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So whether you spend a thousand two thousand ten thousand twenty thousand eighty thousand on a mattress because some people do, protect that investment.
0:08:03.380,0:08:08.320
-Absolutely.
-Because it's gonna last you for a while.
-Yes. Yes, and and you know
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if you don't have a mattress protector then, you know,
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your perspiration and other things that are actually going into that mattress do deteriorate the mattress.
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-Yeah
-So the mattress protector is not just to keep a stain off of or anything,
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it's to protect the, like John said, the longevity of your investment, for sure.
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So if there's one takeaway make sure you just keep your your room a nice cool temperature
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so that, you know,
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you don't want to sleep on top of your your sheets. If you're sleeping on top of them
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then you probably need to cool your room down something. Then lighting and noise is... our lighting is a big thing, right?
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I mean when you're when you're trying to sleep. I mean we talked you know about
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phones or devices that
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create light that you can't sleep. You're not gonna sleep well because you're messing with your circadian rhythm. Same thing with like,
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-you know, your lights in your room. I mean you don't want to have a big bright light before you go to bed.
-Right.
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Exactly. Yeah, and I mean, you know, I think for me the darker the room
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I mean the faster I go to sleep and you know
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and I sleep longer. Flashing lights or anything like that, especially moving lights,
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you know, car drives by and it shines into your your bedroom.
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It's gonna wake you up, and sometimes it wakes you all the way up, but sometimes it doesn't. I mean, I think about it
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like when a storm comes in and lightning strikes and you see the light flash in your room. I'm up.
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-I know
-I'm up and sometimes, you know, it's it's instantaneous and I'm like sitting up in bed going, "What was that?"
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You know, I mean, somebody's coming to get me.
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-But...
-So you recommend, I mean, you know, like blackout curtains if you can get them or blackout shades.
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-It will help, I believe.
-I think so too.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, it definitely would.
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Yeah, definitely definitely if you have, if you know, like you said, you you're near street or
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streetlight or your neighbor, golly!
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I mean, who who here has neighbors that their their their light comes on when there's a
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bug or a spider goes by and turns it on it comes right in your window.
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Golly, you just want to *pew pew*
-Or the cats and neighborhood cat.
-Neighborhood cat. Yeah, we don't shoot our neighbors lights out.
0:10:08.400,0:10:13.940
-No, dont shoot the cat.
-Yeah, definitely don't shoot the cats, but don't shoot their lights either. They'll know where it came from.
0:10:13.940,0:10:20.520
-Yeah exactly.-
-Just ask them. Yeah, do you mind or you just get blackout curtains?
-Blackout curtains!
-They work better.
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-That's, yeah, then you don't have to bother anybody.
-The neighborly way.
-Yes. Absolutely. And then when that storm comes, you won't be woken up either.
0:10:27.180,0:10:28.900
Speaking of a storm. I mean, you know,
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-thunder's loud.
-That's right.
-There's a lot of loud noises that happen during the night inside your house and outside.
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I know personally I I don't sleep well without a
0:10:40.740,0:10:43.200
some type of white noise and,
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you know because when we travel, I have a little app on my phone. It's called Windy.
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It's free.
0:10:49.920,0:10:56.460
but it just and you get the I get to pick whether I want to have a babbling brook or have some leaves falling or
0:10:56.460,0:11:00.100
just some white noise. But it just helps me through the night.
0:11:00.100,0:11:04.480
So I have a fan or it's an air cleaner, but it I don't even know if it cleans air anymore
0:11:04.480,0:11:07.240
-but it makes good noise.
-It just keeps all the sounds.
0:11:07.240,0:11:10.520
-Yeah
-from it from getting to you and I and I've noticed you know
0:11:10.520,0:11:16.920
like when we travel together, that it does help, and so I've started using an app at home as well
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and the app I use it's a
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"Fire" like a campfire.
0:11:21.680,0:11:22.200
Oh, yeah.
0:11:22.200,0:11:29.080
And then it has a little bit of wind and rustling of leaves and I really enjoy that and it's it's not so
0:11:29.080,0:11:32.260
strong that it wakes you up. It's just kind of calming.
0:11:32.260,0:11:35.200
So but if I don't have that then, you know,
0:11:35.200,0:11:39.760
I sleep pretty good until like a car drives by and I'm like, oh wait a minute
0:11:39.760,0:11:43.000
what was that? Or a dog barks or something like that. And then you wake up.
0:11:43.000,0:11:49.020
-Yeah
-I've noticed that, you know, when you use those apps that, you know, have that constant noise for you,
0:11:49.020,0:11:54.440
you don't you don't ever hear the dog barking. You don't hear the cars driving by so you actually stay stay asleep.
0:11:54.440,0:11:59.040
Yeah, I like it. It helps me and especially traveling too because you know, there's always... in a hotel
0:11:59.040,0:12:03.420
you hear people banging doors, but that's right kind of takes that out, but that's just an idea.
0:12:03.420,0:12:10.560
You know again, we're here to bring ideas. We definitely don't have them all if anybody here has great ideas
0:12:10.560,0:12:15.080
please go to @mattressgrove on Instagram and
0:12:15.760,0:12:21.300
share them because we'll we'll share them here and help somebody else. You know, that's why we do this podcast.
0:12:21.300,0:12:24.980
We're really trying to help people have a better life. That's what it's all about.
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You know, because if you don't sleep well, I can promise you you're gonna have a harder time with life.
0:12:31.260,0:12:37.840
We talked about the mattress and again, you know, we believe and we know that's the centerpiece. That's the one that
0:12:39.260,0:12:39.740
is...
0:12:39.740,0:12:41.360
really makes a big difference.
0:12:42.440,0:12:46.080
Overall, you know, and then all the other things help as well.
0:12:46.080,0:12:50.120
But the mattress is is key. And so, you know, a lot of times we may not even think about
0:12:50.120,0:12:52.800
how old our mattress is or what is not doing exactly?
0:12:53.680,0:12:59.320
Yeah, and the other thing is is that you know, we know that a quality mattress really makes a big difference.
0:12:59.960,0:13:05.340
You know and that's where we invite you to visit us at MattressGrove.com and
0:13:05.340,0:13:11.120
You know, you can call John or myself and we'll walk you through the
0:13:11.880,0:13:15.520
different things that are available for mattresses. Not necessarily just ours.
0:13:15.520,0:13:19.800
You know, we want you to get the best night's sleep possible.
0:13:19.800,0:13:27.080
-We know that quality matters and so we want to share those share our experience with you as well.
-Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
0:13:27.080,0:13:31.080
You know and obviously, we're proud of our mattresses, you know, they're all handmade.
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All locally sourced and all that but
0:13:34.800,0:13:38.940
We don't we don't do ads on this podcast or we don't accept any,
0:13:39.600,0:13:43.080
-but that wasn't ad was it?
-Wasn't an ad.
-Okay, just to make sure. Alright, perfect. Yeah.
0:13:43.080,0:13:48.840
-No, that's not an ad. But it but but if you want a better night's sleep, then go to mattressgrove.com.
-That's right. Absolutely.
0:13:50.240,0:13:51.640
-Call John and David.
-Yeah. Absolutely.
0:13:52.340,0:13:55.980
We're here to help. That's what we're here for. We're here to give you all the information we can
0:13:55.980,0:13:59.380
I you know sleep tip might be I mean I would recommend maybe just
0:14:00.340,0:14:06.760
lowering your temperature of your house or your room depending on how your thermostat set up. Maybe a couple degrees, two degrees.
0:14:07.500,0:14:13.080
-And and see how that does, you know, for you. I know that that's the one tip that it's easy to do
-Right.
0:14:13.600,0:14:17.240
-It won't cost you a fortune either.
-It won't.
-Well, but but-
-Just at night.
0:14:17.240,0:14:21.760
-Yeah.
-And then that that kind of kicks into a routine like we talked about last week.
0:14:22.480,0:14:24.700
Before you go to bed, maybe you
0:14:25.420,0:14:30.440
change your thermometer down. Yeah the morning go back to it. Change it. New routine!
0:14:31.080,0:14:36.740
-Exactly.
-I'm getting ready for bed.
-Good habit. Yeah, absolutely. I mean we didn't talk about that
0:14:36.740,0:14:40.080
I mean you should you know, do you need to sleep with clothes on or naked?
0:14:40.080,0:14:42.080
OOooooooOooo...
0:14:43.160,0:14:45.160
-That's preference.
-Yeah, that's preference, there you go.
0:14:45.240,0:14:51.320
-It depends, I mean, clothes you're gonna be a little warmer, so if you're sleeping hot...
-Yeah.
-...you know sleep butt butt naked
0:14:51.960,0:14:58.320
-Okay.
-Yep. Anyway.
-All right.
-I mean cuz yeah, we we do we do like, you know, we we touch on the other thing that you
0:14:58.320,0:15:03.320
do. It's easier to do when you're naked in the bed than when you're not, but anyway, but we're not
0:15:03.320,0:15:08.740
-Not....
-No, we're not gonna talk about that. But but but that's the only other thing we're supposed to do...
-Yes
-...in the bed
0:15:08.740,0:15:11.940
-Yes.
-Other then sleep.
-Don't watch TV.
-No.
-Don't play on your phone.
-No
0:15:12.480,0:15:18.800
Okay, you really shouldn't read either but that's but that's but that we know that's gonna only last for like a few minutes.
-Couple
0:15:18.800,0:15:24.740
-pages.
Yeah couple page up. So anyway, well awesome. Well, once again, you know, we appreciate you guys tuning in.
0:15:24.740,0:15:29.400
Thank you very much. You know, if you found things helpful in here again,
0:15:30.100,0:15:36.980
you know, hit that bell notification. Like us. I mean, you know, wherever you find this podcast, it's very helpful.
0:15:37.640,0:15:39.520
You know, you will be notified.
0:15:40.020,0:15:45.500
Or it will pop up when when we run another another podcast and we're gonna keep bringing value,
0:15:45.500,0:15:50.340
we're gonna keep getting information and bringing value. Go to Instagram and
0:15:50.340,0:15:54.420
you can direct message us there as well.
0:15:55.440,0:15:58.760
Any questions you have, we're happy to answer there if you don't want to call us.
0:15:58.760,0:16:03.840
That's great. And we'll respond there or any ideas you have. We we are looking for ideas.
0:16:04.300,0:16:09.000
We're gonna have guests on so if you want to be a guest reach out to us as well. We'll start guest
0:16:09.560,0:16:16.840
-hosting as well. So, anyway, thank you guys.
-Yeah. Thank you.
-Appreciate it. Yeah, so until next time...
-Get some sleep.
0:16:16.840,0:16:17.840
Get better sleep.