How to design your bedroom for a good night’s sleep
Sleep so well you won’t want to get out of bed
Text: Joel T
We all know the conventional wisdom of having 7-8 hours of sleep, but not many of us take note of the quality of it. Preparing our bodies by regulating our circadian rhythm and setting the scene for sleep before you hit the sack is key. Various bedroom design tips such as dimming the lights to encourage melatonin, decluttering your space and using a dehumidifier all go towards improving your sleep and sleep quality. Design your bedroom for a good night’s sleep and it will work wonders for your health and wellbeing.
Light (and the abundance of it)
Our internal biological clock — our circadian rhythm — regulates our natural sleep cycle and it’s highly affected by the lack of light. Coupled with research showing that exposure to light hinders melatonin production (the hormone that promotes sleepiness), too much light at night can lead to depression, anxiety in adolescents and obesity.
The quick solution to minimise light is to design your bedroom with curtains. We recommend not just any curtains, but blackout curtains. They’re built to prevent light from entering a room, and some purport to block out up to 99.9% of all light, therefore, making your room dark enough to facilitate melatonin production and inducing good sleep.
Your bed and pillows
Choosing the right mattress has been found to improve sleep quality by reducing back discomfort and encouraging good spinal alignment. While scientists are still yet to agree on the optimal firmness of a mattress for getting a good night’s sleep, it’s generally believed that modern and new bedding systems provide a good balance of comfort and support, enabling you to have a good rest and feel recharged.
Despite having a good bed to sleep on, some of us still wake up with neck aches and pains. Feather pillows, though soft and comfy to sleep on, might not be the best pillow for our neck. Research has discovered that orthopaedic pillows provide optimal neutral spine support, thereby increasing sleep quality by optimising the sleeping position. If an orthopaedic pillow sounds too intimidating, invest in latex, foam contour, and polyester pillows as they’re found to perform better than foam regular or feather pillows.
Declutter with storage solutions
Adopt Marie Kondo’s famous method of decluttering and ask yourself “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t, toss it away or keep it in one of those affordable IKEA boxes.
While some of us have no issue with mess in our rooms, a new study has found that people who sleep in cluttered rooms are more likely to have sleeping problems. Decluttering and designing your bedroom can be as simple as tidying up your desk, clearing out unused or unwanted things in your room, and organising your clothes and possessions with storage boxes. Just remember to label the boxes clearly.
Colour for your mood
We know that colours often represent our mood and consequently, colours in your bedroom can also affect your sleep. Surrounding yourself with muted colours to improve mood may help you to get a better shuteye.
Blue has been shown to have calming effects on the brain and can create a tranquil atmosphere. Green is considered an emotionally calming colour as it provides a sense of refreshment and harmony. Avoid red, bright, or glossy paint as they might be too visually overwhelming, potentially affecting your circadian rhythm and impairing your ability to drift off.
The air in the room
Singapore’s weather is usually hot and humid, compelling us to sleep in an air-conditioned room. While it might feel more comfortable sleeping in 24 degrees or less, air conditioning can actually lower air humidity, resulting in dry air in your bedroom. A humidifier helps to regulate the humidity back to acceptable levels, reducing infectivity levels of viruses, helping you to breathe easier, alleviating sore throats and sinus headaches, and mitigating the causes of snoring such as dry mouth and airways. All of these ways to update your bedroom help you to sleep better and wake up fresher.
