(Newswire.net — December 6, 2017) — From clutter to too much light, seemingly small factors can make your bedroom feel less cosy. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much effort to create an environment you’re aching to immerse yourself in when the time to sleep arrives.
Make Sure Your Bedroom Is ‘Soft’
When you step out of bed in the morning, what do you feel? If it’s a hard wooden floor or a carpet that’s seen better days, your bedroom isn’t cosy. Instead, try layering the area that surrounds your beds with rugs. Doing this is especially important if you rise in the middle of the night to use the toilet, as a rough floor will awaken your senses and make sleep more challenging.
Think of all the other areas of your bedroom you can soften. From the sheets you lie on through to the mattress that supports your slumber, small tweaks make your sleeping space cosier. Having the wrong mattress causes back pain. So, if there’s any area you must focus on, your mattress is it.
Use Neutral Decor
Decorating your bedroom with neutral colours induces a sense of relaxation. In contrast, walking into a bedroom that bursts with vibrant tones of red, green, or blue have the opposite effect. Your approach to neutral decor starts with a paint job, and then you build from there.
Once you reach the stage of choosing pillows, duvets, and other textiles, stick to using neutral colours but make sure you add in patterns. Using a variety of designs against a neutral backdrop ensures your bedroom doesn’t look dull while allowing you to retain the relaxing benefits.
Create Sources of Gentle Lighting for When You’re Relaxing
Ideally, your bedroom should feature three sources of light:
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Natural. Which will flood in through your windows.
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Bright. Which comes from your main light fittings.
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Soothing. Which either comes from dim lamps or specialist items.
While natural light helps to regulate your sleep-wake cycle, bright lights are necessary for when you’re dressing or engaging in other practical activities. Practicality aside, without bright lighting, you have no way of telling your brain when it’s time during those short winter days when the darkness lasts well beyond your usual wake-up time.
Adding a soft light such as a dim lamp allows you to transition from your daytime activities to sleeping. If you love to read in bed, using a soft light will enable you to do so without disturbing your sleep-wake cycle. Similarly, if those long dark days affect your mood, you can try a Seasonal Affective Disorder Lamp to boost your mood when you wake up. Tackling your low mood as you wake reduces your cortisol levels, which means you feel less stressed and naturally comfortable within your sleeping environment.
Get Rid of Clutter
When your bedroom brims with clutter, it’s the opposite of cosy. A litany of clutter leaves your brain feeling disorganised, which then makes it difficult for you to relax and switch off. In fact, research from St. Lawrence University has found that hoarding has an association with poor sleep cycles, which may suggest that a cluttered bedroom is not a cosy one. If you need storage furniture, visit hfruk.co.uk.
Also, there’s evidence to suggest that mess increases your stress levels. When you bombard your mind with lots of stimulation, you find it difficult to relax. Also, you may leave your brain feeling as though your work isn’t done. If you’re leading a busy life, try investing in laundry baskets and similar items so you can just throw the clutter somewhere before you have time to sort through it.
Add in Some Blackout Blinds
While the winter may leave you feeling as though you can’t get out of bed, the summer does the opposite. With an early sunrise comes the risk of waking too early, which isn’t conducive to relaxing. Add some blackout blinds to your bedroom and start to use them when the clocks go forward. That way, you’ll get more sleep and feel less stressed.
Creating the perfect cosy bedroom might take a little effort, but if you create a plan and break it down into small stages, you’ll soon accomplish the task ahead. Tackle one area at a time, and before you know it, you’ll have the perfect sleeping environment.