Our bedrooms shouldn’t be this miscellaneous mess of stuff that represents our personality. We’re not children anymore! We need our bedrooms to help serve its main purpose: sleep. Here’s how to make a sleep-friendly bedroom.
Temperature regulation
A lot of people like to be as warm as possible when it’s time for bed. But you have to remember that your body is going to get warmer during the night. And if your room is too warm, then your sleep is going to be interrupted. If your room is too cold then it will certainly be harder to fall asleep, but a room that’s too warm will disrupt your sleep more. You should find a way to regulate the temperature and find out what temperature works best for you. You might be surprised how much of a better sleep you get if your room is a little cooler.
Softer lighting
The lighting that you’re exposed to often affects how “active” your brain feels. So if you’ve got bright, harsh lighting in your room, and you have those on right up until it’s time to go to bed, then you’re going to have a harder time winding down. You don’t need to replace all of your lighting. Just make sure that you have dimmer alternatives. A lamp that has different lighting settings is perfect: use dimmer lighting an hour before you go to bed.
The right mattress
Don’t underestimate the importance of the mattress you are using! So many people take the “any mattress will do” approach. But it’s important that you find out what mattress works best for your body shape and sleeping habits. You should read up on any mattress you’re looking to buy before you buy it, to see how it could affect your sleep in the long-term. For example, before you buy a pocket sprung mattress, read up on how pocket springs to determine if they’re really the right choice for you. They could be perfect, but you might be better off with memory foam or even gel-based alternatives.
Fewer distractions
The fewer distractions you have in your room, the better. A lot of people have computers, TVs, games, books, and a host of other things in their room. This may not be a problem for most people. In fact, a lot of people don’t really have a choice because of space restrictions in their homes. If possible, you should keep your bedroom minimal or if you work in your bedroom think about installing office partitions to keep things separate. This makes so much sense with regards to ‘switching off’ from work mode on a night!
Calming scents
If you’re still having difficulty sleeping, then you may want to consider the scent of your room. There are scents that can help calm you – lavender is certainly well-known for its ability to soothe and ease sleep. It could also be that there are scents you need to eliminate. Let’s say, for example, you’ve just repainted the room. Your room may smell like fresh paint for a while – and that smell isn’t exactly going to help you sleep! (Actually, the fumes might make it quite dangerous to try.) Neutral or calming scents are what you should go for.
XOXO
Debbie
This is a collaborative post