Your bedroom should be many things; a reflection of your personality, a relaxing retreat where you can escape from the world but, most of all, a pleasant place to sleep. Research suggests that around a third of us suffer from insomnia, with 30 percent of people being severely sleep deprived.
On the flip side of the coin, 38% of us are classified as ‘good sleepers’, so what exactly makes us fall into one group or the other? Whilst the answer to this is far from simple, one thing we do know is that creating an environment conducive to sleep can really help.
So, might it be that our interior aesthetic and stylistic choices could actually improve our night-time slumber? The correct response is almost certainly ‘yes’, and here’s what we recommend doing in order to create the ultimate sleep zone.
Make yourself comfortable
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It’s hardly a surprise that your bed is a sleep aid; however, it can also be a sleep disruptor if you don’t choose it with care. Old, sagging mattresses and lumpy pillows can leave you feeling uncomfortable, stiff and achy, and can make it almost impossible to get a good night’s slumber. That’s why both should be replaced at regular intervals, and why you ought to consider investing in something like this Casper double mattress. Made from four layers of high-quality foam and carefully developed by sleep experts, this product is designed to give you a better sleep than you’re used to.
The choice of celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Chloe Lewis and Poppy Delevigne, it comes with a 100-day trial so that you don’t even have to commit without testing it first. Trust us: invest in a comfortable bed and a quality mattress, and the third of your life that’s spent beneath the covers is likely to be much more enjoyable.
Clean and declutter
Although our bedrooms may sometimes multi-task as a gym, office or even home cinema, their primary purpose is to provide us with a pleasant place to sleep. This means that all of the excess clutter that’s crept into them over the years is likely acting as a distraction come bedtime and, as a result, it really has to go. You need to associate your space with getting a good night’s kip; so shift that treadmill, remove your desk, papers and laptop and find somewhere else to put your television.
It might seem drastic, but this will help your brain to view your boudoir as somewhere to sleep, rather than somewhere where it’s expected to work hard and focus. Ridiculous as it might sound, the proof is in the pudding – follow our advice and we guarantee that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Turn down the lights
Did you know that TVs emit a blue light that tricks the body into producing less melatonin? This increases your wakefulness and alertness and makes it much more difficult to fall asleep. Other technology – such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops – does the same; meaning it’s best to remove them from your room come night-time or, in the case of your mobile, to at least turn it face down whilst you sleep.
If you’re used to nodding off with a bedside lamp or a night light on, this needs to go too, as artificial light has a very bad habit of tricking your body into thinking that it’s still daytime.
If you want to go the whole hog, try getting rid of external light pollution such as street lamps as well, by investing in either heavy curtains or blackout blinds. This will all go a long way towards convincing your subconscious that it really is time to sleep, no matter what’s happening in the world beyond your dimmed-down room.
Add a lick of paint
Although our bedrooms are often the place where we feel most able to express our style and personality, it might also be a good idea to rethink your colour scheme. You see, whilst your classy cream walls and wine-red accessories might look perfectly on-trend, a survey of over 2,000 British homes found that our choice of paint can have a marked impact on the amount of sleep we get.
Blue, yellow and green, for example, were found to be the most conducive to a good night’s slumber, helping those surveyed to log an average of 7 hours and 52 minutes, 7 hours and 40 minutes, and 7 hours and 36 minutes respectively. This is likely because such shades are associated with calmness and relaxation, and thus lull our minds into a state that encourages sleep.
At the other end of the spectrum, artistic colours like purple, which stimulate our creative sides, and dreary, depressed colours such as grey and brown can have the opposite effect, negatively impacting the amount of shut-eye we get.
Eat (and drink) to sleep
Have you ever heard the saying that cheese makes you have vivid dreams? It may be an old wife’s tale however, there are a number of foods that promote sleep. For example it is said that a glass of warm milk before bed helps aid restful sleep. Milk contains the amino acid tryptophan the hormone melatonin.
With so many simple ways to create the perfect sleep zone, isn’t it time you made some minor changes to your interior to help you feel refreshed, rested and ready for anything life throws at you?