Experts at BoConcept, the Danish furniture designers, have given their advice on how best to design your bedroom for the best night’s sleep.
It can be frustrating if you don’t get a good night’s sleep. And by that we mean getting to sleep quickly, sleeping undisturbed and waking feeling refreshed. If you find yourself counting sheep, or you’re tossing and turning throughout the night, read on for some design tips that will create the bedroom of your dreams.
What are the best bedroom colours for sleep?
There’s a large body of research which draws a connection between colour and mood. So, what are the best colours to decorate your bedroom to calm and relax and encourage restful sleep? These colours are ideal:
- Sage green — symbolising nature, it has a calming effect (you can also add plants to your bedroom to aid relaxation).
- Light blue – associated with the sea and the sky, blue encourages serenity.
- Off-white — it’s clean and comforting and not too bright.
- Beige — warmer than white but still a neutral colour. A peaceful, calming colour which doesn’t distract.
How to design your bedroom for better sleep
So now you’ve chosen a relaxing colour for decorating, but what other things can you do to encourage a better night’s sleep? There are so many more design techniques that can be applied to bedrooms in order to promote quality sleep. Take a look…
Incorporate lighting in layers
Lighting in layers means mixing and matching different types of lighting – bedside lamps, ceiling, wall, standing. Your biological clock helps regulate sleep, and light is the most powerful cue for your circadian rhythm. So you need to make sure that you have different layers and levels of lighting with dimmable switches. This will allow you to adjust the light in your bedroom, slowly darkening the room as you approach bedtime. Lightning in a bedroom shouldn’t be too bright, so use bulbs with a low wattage. Along with layering light, use blackout curtains to create a dark room so you can easily doze off.
Reduce clutter
Clutter can make many people feel stressed and anxious, so removing clutter or relocating it to storage will make your bedroom a more peaceful place ready for better quality sleep. Beds with storage are useful for hiding away items you want to keep. Use baskets to relocate clutter and to organise things like dirty laundry, clean washing or books. Keep electronics out of your bedroom if possible. This is because they emit blue light which can disrupt your sleep.
Incorporate relaxing scents
The right relaxing scents can be very powerful. It’s very much an individual response, but many find lavender and eucalyptus restful, ylang-ylang, or amber and cedarwood. Certain scents can relieve anxiety and calm nerves. Scented candles are relaxing to look at when lit, but if you want a stronger scent, try wax melts in a wax burner (you can buy electric burners, or you can use one with a tealight). You may find yourself gravitating to different scents depending on the season (lighter, fresher smells in summer, for example).
Place your bed in the prime position for feng shui
Whether or not you practise feng shui, the ideas behind bed placement make so much sense. You position your bed with a full view of the room (calming, able to see everything) but out of line with the door (distraction). The bed should be the focal point in the room, with the headboard backing the centre of the main wall, leaving space for bedside tables on each side of the bed.
Use heavy curtains to minimise external noises
External noises can not only stop you from going to sleep, but they can also wake you up or mean that you sleep lightly. Hanging heavy, floor-length curtains can help block any noise. Or you can buy a blackout blind that has inbuilt soundproofing. And if you are still bothered by noise, try a white noise machine to soothe you off to sleep.
Add personal touches
To help you relax in your own personal space, add some individuality. These can be happy memories in the form of old photos or trinkets, favourite books, or handmade gifts. Or perhaps some calming artwork on the walls. Anything that makes you smile or comforts you will be beneficial.
Poor quality sleep can affect every aspect of your life, making it hard to concentrate and carry on your daily routine. Over time, lack of sleep or repeatedly bad quality sleep can lead to chronic health problems. By making the changes above, you will be encouraging your body to relax which will improve your health in the long term too.
