Because I work as a personal chef, I often find myself sleeping over at my client's homes. Since most of my clients have been fairly wealthy, there's usually a spare bedroom or three to choose from. But because I'm such a finicky sleeper, I usually have to bring my own pillows, blankets, sheets, candles, and all sorts of other accessories.
Sounds crazy, right? But if I don't make my bedroom exactly the way I like it, I don't sleep well. A chef that doesn't sleep well doesn't cook well. My clients have always been very understanding about this - they love my food, and they're happy to let me set-up my own kitchen-side bedroom space. Some have even gone out of their way to hook me up with the perfect sleeping arrangement.
My Ideal Bedroom
So what constitutes a perfect sleeping arrangement for me? It starts with a luxury brand mattress. I hate to be a snob (okay, not really, but I pretend to hate it) but cheap mattresses are the number one cause of my insomnia. Without a nice, firm, upscale mattress, I'd rather just stay up all night.
The next thing that has to be just right? The amount of light in the room. I start with total darkness (that means blackout curtains on any windows, closed doors, etc.) and add a candle or two to give the room that perfect moody flickering light that lulls me right to sleep.
I know I said I'm a very picky sleeper, but there's really only one other must-have item in my ideal bedroom - some sort of white noise. It can be a loud ceiling fan, a white noise generator, or anything else that produces that soothing sound that drowns out all other noise.
That may not sound like a lot of demands to you, but I've run into more than a few people who think I'm downright wimpy when it comes to sleep. But if I have a nice mattress, the perfect amount of light, my candles, and some form of white noise, I can sleep a solid 8 hours every night.
