Designing Better Sleep

During these challenging times when we are not only working from home but being Chief Educator, P.E. teacher and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, our stress levels can skyrocket leaving us worn out yet unable to sleep. Interior Designers focus on making your home healthy and safe as well as beautiful. We study data collected in university studies that tells us how to create sleep spaces that promote healthy sleep because we know that good sleep is the foundation of healthy living. I recently participated in a Facebook Live interview with acupuncturist Amy Landolt of Northshore Acupuncture to talk about how considering design elements in your bedroom can help you have better, more restful sleep. Click here to watch on Facebook and ask questions in the comments, or scroll to watch the embedded Youtube video below.

Here are some additional thoughts:

• Screens in the bedroom- as I talk about in the video, I’m not a fan of having computers, TV’s or phones in the bedroom as they emit light that disturbs our body’s production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. What they also do, as studies have shown is emit EMF’s or electro-magnetic frequency waves (even if turned off) which disrupt our brainwaves, causing them to cycle higher than they should for sleep.
• Sound attenuation- when selecting new furnishings for your bedroom consider softer elements like upholstered beds or headboards along with adding in soft window treatments that block light when closed and reduce the amount of noise that comes through the windows.
• Light- As I discuss in the interview, the type of lighting in your room is important for creating a space that promotes sleep. If you only have overhead lighting, please consider adding a dimmer switch so that in the evening you can dim the lights to promote melatonin production. CFL or compact fluorescent lighting is not conducive to good sleep (or good lighting- but I won’t get on my soapbox just yet..) If you have LED lighting in the room, consider warm-dim bulbs that are now more accessible. These are LED’s that might have a 3000K color temperature (closer to the color of daylight) that can be dimmed down at night to 2700K (the color of light later in the day and the golden color of incandescent lights). Sorry, I know a bit of nerdy technical info but helpful information when you are lighting your room.

Here’s how I pulled these concepts together in my own bedroom. As mentioned in the video, I choose the soothing choose Benjamin Moore Providence Olive HC-98.

I could go on and on but in the interest of brevity I’ll say that there are many ways to promote healthy sleep but don’t forget design elements which can be the foundation for helping all of the others. Check out our pinterest board for samples of ideas from the video. Sleep healthy, my friends!