Tips to Create a Peaceful Bedroom for Relaxing and Good Sleep Hygiene

Your bedroom should be a sanctuary, your escape from the hectic world. It should be a place where you can unwind after a long day, feel the stress melt away, and be lulled to sleep without too much difficulty. In fact, your bedroom environment is the most important factor in your general sleep hygiene, which has significant effects on how readily you fall and stay asleep. And, of course, how well you sleep has a lot to do with your physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as your performance in all the things you do each day. Use these tips to create a peaceful bedroom that promotes your comforts, contentment, and well-being.

How to Design a Calming Bedroom

• Keep electronics like computers and TVs out of your bedroom; they're stimulating and disruptive to a tranquil environment. This is one of the tips to create a peaceful bedroom that people struggle with the most.

• Go for a minimalist feel in the bedroom, keeping furnishings, decorations, and clutter to a minimum. Stay proactive about combating clutter in the room, as it triggers anxiety.

• Paint the walls and ceiling a pale, neutral, natural color; refrain from using many bright or visually stimulating colors and patterns in other aspects of the room's furnishings and décor. Go with cool colors rather than warm ones.

• Carpet the bedroom, even if you're generally not a fan of carpeting. It makes the room feel cozier, and the soft, warm surface is relaxing (while the shock of a cold, hard floor surface can be jarring). Or, if you're totally opposed to it, at least use one or more area rugs to add comfort.

• Use a light source that creates ambient light, rather than a type that shines a spotlight on a focused point. Soft lighting is best, and a dimmer is great.

• Maintain an easily navigable, open flow throughout the room; stubbing your toe or banging your shin isn't particularly relaxing.

• Furnish the room with pieces made from natural wood, which has an inherent calming effect.

• Find other ways to incorporate nature into the room, such as adding live plants. Water features are a particularly calming element, as is artwork depicting serene natural scenes.

• Choose furniture that's proportional to the room; pieces that are too big or too small for the space make it feel uncomfortable.

• Invest in high-quality, soft, comfortable, luxurious bedding.

• Hang high-quality window coverings that effectively darken the room when they're closed.

• Use an oil diffuser, scented candle, or other aromatherapy accessory. Lavender, vanilla, jasmine, sandalwood, and valerian are a few scents widely considered soothing and conducive to sleep.

• Consider adding a reading nook to your bedroom, as nighttime reading is an excellent way to mellow out. Or, create a comfortable spot for quite reflection or meditation.

• Install a quiet ceiling fan for the option of a comforting breeze and to promote good air circulation.

• Open the windows to let some fresh air into the bedroom every day. Even if it's really hot or cold out, even just 10 minutes of fresh air circulation helps keep the environment from feeling stale and uncomfortable.