Our home is pretty typical of any family. We have a mixture of items and decor throughout the house and on any given day there’s at least one or two rooms with a mess of toys. But there’s one room that I work hard to keep a certain way because I feel that it’s important to have that personal space devoted to calm and peace: the bedroom.
The bedroom should be the most peaceful room in the house, it’s devoted to sleep after all. Sleep is when your body and mind heal and rest, preparing for the next day. It’s also a great place to practice meditation or to curl up with a good book. As a mom, it’s also a great place for me to retreat to and recharge my battery. But if the bedroom if filled with clutter, distractions, and is generally a chaotic room, it can be hard to rest, let alone sleep.
- Keep it dark at night and bright during the day. Your body can sense time by the amount of light it’s exposed to. When it is dark, your body produces melatonin to induce sleep. So at night, make sure your bedroom is completely dark for sleep. The lighting should also be kept very low until it is time for sleep. But during the day, having plenty of natural light can help brighten the mood as well as keep your internal clock on schedule.
- Keep it cool. The human body sleeps better when the environment is somewhat cool. You will also sleep so much better if you’re cool as opposed to hot. If you don’t want to sleep with a window open, try opening a window shortly before bed to let in plenty of fresh and cool air.
- Minimize what you keep in your bedroom. Clutter has been proven to be stressful and distracting. When the bedroom is filled with junk and you’re sleeping under a mountain of laundry (I know we are all guilty of this occasionally), it can be hard to completely relax. Rid the bedroom of everything that is unnecessary. You really don’t need much in there. What you decide to keep in your bedroom should be things that you either use every night or that bring you to a state of calm and happiness.
- Choose soothing and neutral colors. A great deal of bright colors can be great in a room, they bring personality and just look fun and pleasing to the eye. But in the bedroom, the goal is to create a sacred space of calm. Neutral colors like white and grey are great because they are easy on the eye and look clean and peaceful. I also like to include muted colors like corals and pinks, but that comes down to personal taste.
- Make your bed. Making your bed instantly makes the bedroom look neat and put together, even if there’s a few spaces of clutter. Mentally, making the bed prepares you to begin your day with an act of order. Plus, it’s so pleasing to the senses to get into a neatly made bed at the end of the day.
- Power down the room. Ideally, the bedroom should contain no electronics at all. The lights mess with melatonin production and the chaos of television and social media do not exactly promote calm. But, sometimes we do need to be realistic. We have a television in our bedroom because watching a movie every now and then while cuddled up in bed is something that we really enjoy doing and adds only positivity to our lives. The important thing is that whatever electronics you decide to keep in the bedroom, that they are powered down when it’s time to sleep or relax.
- Bring in plants. Plants helps to detox the air, which is important especially during sleep. Also, the physical act of seeing living plants helps the brain to calm and the body to ward off stress.
- Invest in what you love. Make the bedroom a place that sings to your senses. If you want luxurious satin sheets, go for it. Or if you want to sleep in only the softest cotton pajamas, invest in that. When it’s time for sleep, you should help your mind and body to relax by creating an environment of comfort.
- Detox the room. The bedroom is where your mind and body go to rest and heal, this means that it should be able to do so in an environment that is low on toxins. Having carpet in the bedroom is a magnet for dust, mold, and pollutants. Your mattress is also home to a long list of chemicals like flame retardants. But even small changes can make a difference, such as investing in organic bedding and swapping out the memory foam pillow for something that is completely natural. Consider your budget and prioritize small changes to make the bedroom clean and at least somewhat free of toxins.
The most important thing is that you feel happy and comfortable in the bedroom, because when it comes down to it, you will be using it every night to sleep. Life is stressful enough, so do what makes you happy to create a calm oasis in your home.
