Studies have shown that more than half of the world’s population states they get inadequate sleep. What’s worse is that over 80% of people interviewed about their sleeping habits revealed they use the weekend to ‘catch up’ before repeating the process throughout the upcoming week.
Now, that’s pointless. Constantly playing this game of trying to recover only to enter some ‘Groundhog Day’ gets you nowhere. Instead, it makes sense to look at how you can improve the quality of your sleep every night, not just over weekends.
Of course, you will have heard about things such as the need for mindfulness, to go for a walk, or have a relaxing bath, and they do help. However, what about the bedroom itself? Well, let’s check out what you should do.
1. Remove Clutter
Even though clutter may not seem like it could do much to you, the opposite is true. Psychologists have shown that the wiring of our brain leads to us preferring order. Hence, clutter creates a lot of anxiety. The visual aspect leads to distress, and if your brain is in this distress mode, then it’s not primed to settle down and allow you to sleep.
There’s a sense of relief in your brain by simply removing clutter that you won’t even be aware of. However, knowing that things are in order will lead to less cortisol flowing through your body, improving sleep.
2. Create a Comfortable Bed
Making your bed as comfortable as possible makes a lot of sense, but it’s not always as easy as it should be. We often try to make do with the things we have, but that’s the wrong approach.
We aren’t saying you need to throw your mattress out or buy a new bed. Instead, if you feel the mattress isn’t giving adequate support, consider investing in a quality topper that’s more to your liking. Go to a bed shop and try them out, rather than buying blind.
Also, the same goes for your pillows. We love different combinations that are very personal to us. There’s even more attention toward pillows, depending on whether you are a side sleeper, prefer on your back, or any other position. Look into how you sleep and what works for you before going and getting those items.
3. Consider the Color
A study from the UK showed that the color of the walls in your bedroom could have either a positive or negative impact on the quality of your sleep. Also, the difference can be pretty astonishing.
Cool, relaxing colors such as greens, blues, and yellow work best with the average person getting over 7 hours of sleep per night. On the other end, colors such as purple and brown appear to have the opposite effect, with purple performing the worst at less than 6 hours of sleep per night.
It’s argued that purple is a color that creates a sense of creativity, which adds some energy to your mind. On the other hand, brown is a color associated with depression. It appears to be the case that this makes it harder for us to stay asleep and even affects the depth of sleep we can have.
This color concept does mean you should seriously consider changing the colors in your room.
4. Aromatherapy
The amount of research conducted on aromatherapy showing the clear benefits is so extensive that you cannot dispute its findings. So, why not use its powers to help induce a better sleeping environment?
Scents such as lavender or vanilla have a known calming effect on the brain, allowing everything in your body to slow down. However, don’t go for one of those diffusers that change color every few minutes, as that will continually trigger your brain when a color appears that doesn’t fit in with this relaxing aura.
Of course, you should also remove electronics, make it a comfortable temperature, and a lot more, but do consider the above points and seek to implement them wherever possible. A few changes to your bedroom could easily lead to better sleep, so you have nothing to lose and only better health to gain.
