Reduce stress and induce sleep with these interior decorating tips for the bedroom

The majority of adult Americans don’t get the recommended amount of sleep each night. Insufficient sleep leads to decreased mental health and productivity so it’s crucial that we take steps to get more sleep each night. Believe it or not, there are several interior decorating ideas you can try in your bedroom to get more sleep and reduce stress.

Bring plant life indoors

Though it’s been a long time since humans lived out in nature, there’s still an innate connection to nature hardwired within us. Studies have shown that people are less stressed and anxious when there is plant life in our immediate surroundings. So find ways to incorporate some plant life in your bedroom to facilitate better sleep and restfulness. If you don’t have a green thumb, make sure to choose plants that can skip a meal or two without dying.

Use soft task lighting

The invention of electricity made life easier in many ways, but it completely ruined are wake/sleep cycles. That’s because lack of light causes the body to produce melatonin, the chemical responsible for making us feel tired and regulating our sleep/wake cycle. Harsh artificial light, especially in the evening hours, are a major reason we have a hard time getting to sleep. By having soft task lighting such as a bedside lamp or reading light in the bedroom, you can turn off brighter ambient lighting overhead as you get ready to go to sleep.

Light-blocking curtains

While sheer curtains may look nice, they’re not ideal for getting restful sleep. Streetlights, headlights from passing cars, and any other artificial light sources outside your window can diminish the quality of your sleep so for the bedroom, at least, get some thick curtains that block out light.

Stow away the electronics

Gadgets like tablets, or smartphones are one of the main culprits for not getting enough sleep. If you’re one of those people that can’t resist the temptation to use these devices in bed, then you should start leaving them out of the bedroom altogether. Larger electronics like TVs that can’t be hidden away in a drawer can still be out of sight. There are TV cabinets with doors that close, blocking the TV from view. Many electronic devices give off a faint glow even when turned off so it’s important to keep them completely out of sight or out of the bedroom altogether.

Cool, muted colors

Save the bright, bold colors for other rooms in your house. Stick to browns, blues and greens in light tones for the bedroom. Greens and browns have been found to reduce stress, probably for the same reason that plant life reduces stress: it appeals to our innate desire to be close to nature. Blue has been found to actually lower heart rates and have an overall calming effect.

Storage solutions

Clutter has a way of messing with our psyche and can even keep us up at night so it’s crucial that everything in your bedroom be in its proper place before you go to bed. Part of that is just tidying up each night before bed but it’s also a good idea to find ways to incorporate storage solutions throughout your bedroom to facilitate tidiness.

Temperature and noise regulation

Fluctuations in temperature or noise levels can make your sleep restless so it’s important to regulate both of these as much as possible. A high quality mattress with gel beads embedded in the foam will help regulate your body temperature while you sleep. A ceiling fan above the bed can keep you cool in the warmer months and it creates white noise that can block out distracting sounds. Central heating and air kicks on and shuts off periodically throughout the night and is less ideal, especially if you’re a light sleeper. For cooler months, you may want to use a baseboard heating system for the same reason, Baseboard radiators use electricity or hot water to heat the room and are quiet all through the night. You can also purchase baseboard heater covers to make them more aesthetically appealing.

 

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