Top 10: Tips for a sleep-worthy bedroom

A bedroom should be a refuge. But just how do you make it a calm retreat from the chaos of the everyday world? Here are our top 10 tips (give or take). Don't hesitate to add your own.

• Invest in a good mattress and pillows
• Don't forget good bedding
• Ventilate regularly
• Have window treatments that block out the light
• Keep it tidy, get rid of clutter
• What's the first thing you see when you awake? Make sure it's something that you want to have set the tone for your day

• Have lighting that's not too bright/dimmable
• Make sure the ticking of your clock is soothing and not too loud, and if its face is too bright, hide it
• Keep only things that make you happy in the room

Comments (7)

On a more specific note, I've noticed that not storing anything underneath my bed helps the overall feel of the room, keeping the sheets clean, and not letting the books pile up on the bedside table helps too!

I'm actually going to go against tip #4, and say put translucent window treatments in the bedroom. I've always purposely put window treatments in my room that let the light in, because it's always dark outside when I go to sleep, and I find it impossible to wake up in a dark room. Waking up with light streaming into the bedroom, however, makes me actually consider getting out of bed to start my day.

I agree Elizabeth. I always wonder why the strong suggestion to block out light in the bedroom? How on Earth do those people wake up?!

Do people really have that much trouble falling asleep in the not-so-dark? I can see if you work an odd shift... wanting to block out light.

I'd have to have an automatic mechanical jobby to open the blinds before wake up time!

(reminds me of the time my dear friend was really excited about an alarm clock that gradually gave off more light as it approached alarm time. Didn't I think it was brilliant? I said... or just let the sun do what it's supposed to!)

Hey there,

Good points, all. (I'm with Elizabeth and Click Chick on #4 -- I would NEVER wake up in the morning if it wasn't for sunshine blazing in through the windows. But some people do have a lot of trouble falling asleep at night unless the room is completely dark.)

Anyway, I wrote something for the Fine Living website awhile back that has these tips, plus a few more:

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/rejuvenation_essentials/article/0,1663,FINE_1422_5005272,00.html

All the best,

Leah

A lot of people do have trouble falling asleep without total darkness, and doctors recommend keeping all light out. At least if they can sleep better, they'll wake up easier. We all have different sleep patterns.

Also - if you want a good resource for inexpensive, but high thread-count sheets, I just got an entire Queen Set of 40 They're lovely - and so soft.

that was supposed to say 400 thread count - i think i deleted something. oops.

Victoria - yeah, my mom is one of those people who can't sleep except in complete darkness, so I understand the need for them (just not personally.)

And where oh where is your sheet source?