Alaska Sleep Education Center

Using Interior Design Tricks for Better Sleep


According to a recent sleep survey, “62% of adults around the world say they don’t sleep as well as they’d like.” Not getting a good night’s sleep each night can impede a person’s productivity, energy, and motivation the next day.
Many people can attribute their sleep struggles to how they design their bedrooms. In other words, people can’t get to sleep because the interior design of their bedroom spaces won’t let them.
A good night’s rest relies on you designing a comfortable, relaxing bedroom. However, interior design can be intimidating to those who aren’t design-savvy and knowledgeable about the relationship between sleep and interior design.
Luckily, you can use simple interior design tricks to get better sleep. Here are eight of them.

Keep Up With the Latest Home Design Trends
First, it’s a good idea to keep up with the latest home design trends to see if there are any that can help you create a calming and relaxing bedroom. See what experts and self-proclaimed interior designers say about building a bedroom environment that makes you feel truly at home.
For example, creating a relaxing ambiance in your bedroom with curved furniture, using earthy tones to invoke a soothing effect, and the simplicity of mid-century modern accents can invite better sleep.
Next, you want to know what particular mood you want to set in your bedroom to incite the best sleep.

Set the Mood
It is different for everyone, but you must set a particular mood in your bedroom to get better sleep. For example, some people prefer dark color combinations and minimal bedroom furniture to fall asleep faster, while others are comforted by lighter colors and a space full of things.
Generally, the mood in your bedroom should be calming, comfortable, and safe. Naturally, you want to feel at ease when you close your eyes at night.
Doing things like paying attention to lighting, getting blackout curtains, embracing color theory, and striving for good feng shui can help you set the mood for better sleep in your bedroom. Let’s talk more about these below.

Pay Attention to Lighting
Lighting is so crucial to getting a good night’s sleep. You don’t want your room to be so bright all the time that you can’t relax.
Interior design experts suggest incorporating lighting in layers to bring just the right amount of lighting in your bedroom to improve your sleep. Incorporating lighting in layers means using a combination of table lamps, overhead lighting, and other elements that bring light into a room, like a chandelier.
You should incorporate low-wattage lightbulbs, lampshades that diffuse brightness, and dimmers in your bedroom so that you’re able to adjust the lighting to accommodate better sleep.
Also, incorporating a window treatment that blocks out unwanted light when it’s time to sleep is another interior design trick to help you fall asleep with ease.

Get Blackout Curtains
Sleep is vital to living a healthy lifestyle. So, addressing even the smallest detail that can improve sleep is wise. For instance, blocking light from entering a bedroom is essential for most people to sleep deeply. You can do so effectively with blackout curtains.
Simply adding blackout curtains to your bedroom can positively influence your sleep cycle and better the way you live overall because you’re getting better sleep.
You can use blackout curtains as they are or use blackout lining behind lightweight curtains so that you can block light at night and embrace it during the day.
Embracing color theory in your bedroom’s interior design can also help better your sleep.
Embrace Color Theory
One of the main components of interior design is color. For instance, you must choose what colors you want to use on the walls, for furniture, for accessories, and so forth.
When it comes to getting better sleep, embracing color theory in your bedroom design can help. You should be mindful of the colors you choose to use in your bedroom. Decide on colors for your bedroom that make you feel peaceful, balanced, and calm so that you can slip into sleep seamlessly each night.
It’s also wise to learn about and strive for good feng shui in your bedroom’s design to sleep better each night.
Strive for Good Feng Shui
Experts define Feng Shui as “a practice of arranging the pieces in living spaces in order to create balance with the natural world. The goal is to harness energy forces and establish harmony between an individual and their environment.”
Harmony and balance are lovely for an environment you’re trying to sleep in. Implementing feng shui principles throughout your bedroom ensures you’re in a good place mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually when it’s time to go to sleep.
For instance, you should choose a comfortable mattress and accompanying bed set to give yourself the best chance at a good sleep each night. Feng shui comes in when it’s time to determine the placement of that bed. Place your bed in a commanding position, against a solid wall, with room on both sides, away from the door to make it easier for you to fall asleep each night.
Another interior design trick for getting better sleep is eliminating technology in your bedroom.
Eliminate Technology in the Bedroom
It’s easy to get into a habit of falling asleep with the TV on or having your laptop an arm’s length away. However, it’s best to eliminate technology in the bedroom to encourage better sleep. Eliminating technology in the bedroom could look like not bringing a TV in the room, ensuring laptops and desktop computers stay in the home office, and keeping cell phones out of arms reach.
In addition, if you feel like you need some sort of noise to rock you to sleep, bring in a sound machine, or use an air purifier to generate white noise to add some sound to the room without it being disruptive.
Lastly, personalize your bedroom to make it much more comfortable and relaxing.
Personalize Your Space
One of the best things you can do for better sleep is personalizing your space. In other words, make your bedroom you.
When you’re sleeping in a foreign place, it can be challenging to get a good night’s rest because there isn’t anything in the room that reminds you of the comfort of home. Your bedroom shouldn’t be a foreign place.
Make it a point to personalize your bedroom. Make it as homey as possible to evoke calmness and comfort. For example, place pictures of family and friends throughout your bedroom. Put travel souvenirs and other memories on display. You can also set out gifts from loved ones, like blankets or knick-knacks you’ve picked up along the way to create a bedroom environment that is all you.
Conclusion
Improving your sleep is one of the best things to live a healthier, more productive, and upbeat lifestyle. You can do many things to get better sleep, but taking an in-depth look at the interior design principles you use in your bedroom is a great starting point.
Use the above interior design tricks to get better sleep and be energized and motivated to conquer all that comes with each day.
Sleep hygiene is a combination of habits and changes that can lead to better sleep and a better overall life.  Making your bedroom a sanctuary is the first step.  Speak to one of our board-certified sleep specialists at Alaska Sleep Clinic.
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Alaska Sleep Clinic's Blog

Our weekly updated blog aims to provide you with answers and information to all of your sleeping questions.

Brent Fisher, MBA, FACHE, FACMPE
President and Chief Executive Officer

“Alaska Sleep Clinic has a history of providing the most comprehensive sleep medicine services in the state of Alaska. Its potential has only begun. I am here to take these high-quality, comprehensive services to all Alaskans.”

Experience

Brent Fisher has held leadership positions spanning a wide variety of complex and start-up organizations: manufacturing (pharmaceutical & medical device), software development, hospitals (academic and community), medical groups, consulting, hospice, military, engineered devices, engineered plastics, and private equity.

Publications and Organizations

His writings have been published in various magazines, trade journals, and medical journals, including the Physician Executive Journal, Healthcare Executive, Modern Healthcare, Group Practice Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of Healthcare Management (Best Article Award).

He has served on the Board of Directors of professional associations, civic organizations, and businesses.

Hobbies and Activities

Brent enjoys being with his family, serving in the community, hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting.