Have you ever considered that your bedroom may be the cause of your sleepless nights? If your bedroom is more distracting than relaxing, it’s time to do some redecorating. Here are five tips to make sure that your bedroom is the stuff of sweet dreams and not terrible nightmares:
1.Paint the Walls
Colors have a very real effect on the human psyche. As such, the color on your walls could be causing you to lose sleep at night. Bold colors like red and blue can very well keep you up at night. Instead, paint your walls in relaxing shades like light green or pale yellow. If you love blue, look for a baby blue instead of a navy blue. If red is your color, paint your walls cream and accent your room with shades of red.
2.Take Out the Electronics
No matter how much you think that you need the television on to fall asleep, this simply isn’t true. After a few nights, you’ll get used to falling asleep in the silence. While it may be easier for you to fall asleep with the television on, the light and sound disrupts your sleep throughout the night, whether you remember it in the morning or not. If you must have noise, consider buying a white noise CD or turning on a fan and facing it towards the wall if the weather is cool.
3.Stop Working
Your bedroom is not your office and shouldn’t be treated as such. Your bedroom should be used for nothing but relaxation and, if you have a partner, intimate encounters. Resist the urge to spread your day’s workload across the comforter. If you have homework, do it at the kitchen table. Studies have shown that the more tasks that you complete in your bedroom, the less likely you’ll be able to relax in it. If you can train your mind to think of your bedroom as a place to relax and sleep, you’ll be better off.
4.Flip the Mattress
When was the last time you flipped your mattress? Even the most expensive mattresses should be flipped at least once every six months. If your mattress is old and uncomfortable, try adding a foam mattress topper or, in the best case scenario, buy a new mattress. No matter how light you are, your mattress will eventually begin to lose its supportive qualities. If you do decide to buy a new mattress, be sure to talk to the salesman about your sleeping positions and habits to find the mattress that is best suited to you.
5.Change Your Bedding
When you think of a relaxing bed and then look at your own, do the two match? If your dream bed is full of big, fluffy pillows and covered with beautiful bedding, your real bed should be the same. The way you feel about your bedroom goes a long way towards your ability to relax in it. Turning it into the bedroom of your fantasies can help you sleep better at night.
If you aren’t sleeping as well as you could be, take a long, hard look at your bedroom and the things that you do within its walls. By spending a weekend redecorating your bedroom, you could be spending the next weeks, and the weeks after, sleeping better than you have in years.
Jessica Lucero writes for design magazines. To find great decorating ideas go to www.bedroomfurniturespot.com.
