How to use your bedroom to help with your mental wellbeing

It might seem a strange topic, but you will probably be surprised by how strong the connection between your bedroom and your mental wellbeing is!

Certainly, for those looking to proactively bring a bit more peace and quiet to their lives, an essential in the challenging times we are living in, having a relaxing bedroom can be a great place to start. We all spend many hours in our bedroom every day, and it is important that it is a part of our home where we feel safe and, of course, ensure good quality sleep so that we wake up feeing relaxed, and our bodies have had a chance to regenerate. A lot happens during those sleeping hours! Did you know, for example, that the quality of your sleep affects your immune system?

Here are our top tips for making your bedroom as conducive as possible to good mental wellbeing.

Keep your room clean as often as possible and keep accessories minimal

This may seem like an obvious one, but it is something that we can all neglect from time to time. If your room is clean and fresh, there are fewer ways that it can be overwhelming.  Not least from a hygiene or aesthetically point of view, keeping your space tidy and clean can make you love and appreciate your room more – and make it easier to find stuff!

However, there is a lot of difference between keeping your room clean and fresh and bringing chemical overload into your room! Do ensure you use natural cleaning products – and that applies to all rooms in your house! Most of the time, microfibre cleaning cloths are perfectly adequate for dusting and wiping down.

If you want your room to small nice, avoid sprays and light a lovely smelling, eco -friendly candle. There are lots of lovely options available. Even better, if you can, is a vase of fresh flowers that smell beautiful. That will really lift your spirits and benefit your mental wellbeing.

Houseplants are also great for keeping the air clean and bringing nature indoors. And would you believe that certain houseplants can even improve your sleep!

If you struggle to keep your bedroom uncluttered, it might be worth considering fitted bedroom furniture and desks that will help to maximise and organise space. At the same time, you might want to embrace Feng Shui for your wardrobe!

Natural products

Choosing natural products for all your furnishings such as mattresses, bed linen and other soft furnishing is also a nod to avoiding the toxicity present in many chemical-based products. Similarly, natural wood furniture brings an element of nature into the home and can make your room feel more unique and homely. Start with one piece of furniture that you love, and work around that piece.

A recent article in House and Garden talks about the ‘inextricable link between decoration and mental wellbeing,’  That is particularly relevant when considering how to decorate your bedroom and the impact the décor and furnishings will have on your mental wellbeing.

Soft lighting

Bright, jarring light adds to the visual chaos in a space and may even alter your body’s internal clock, keeping you awake long after the light has been switched off. Place numerous smaller lamps at varying heights throughout the room, such as on your tall dresser, low dresser, and nightstand, as opposed to one enormous, central ceiling light in your bedroom.

When choosing lighting, don’t forget to choose environmentally friendly LED lighting.

Also, consider the best ways of allowing natural light into your room wherever possible.

Is your bed good enough?

Of course, everyone has a different view of what the ideal bed should be, but this is one of the most important parts of your bedroom. If you have back pain, you might need a hard mattress, but another person might want to burrow into something plush. Make sure you have enough space for your individual family circumstances. Do you have kids or any pets who may want to hop onto the bed? Make sure there is enough space for everyone.

And whatever size or type of mattress you choose, don’t forget that according to the Sleep Foundation,  it should be replaced every 6 to 8 years.

Temperature

We tend to think that our bedrooms should be warm, but to ensure we sleep well we should actually have a relatively cool room with plenty of ventilation.

Geopathic Stress

According to Feng Shui specialist Jackie Tyrrell, “the very place where we go when we feel unwell could actually be making us ill. It could be down to Geopathic Stress.”

Research by Rolf Gordon of the Dulwich Health Society has identified that Geopathic Stress can cause sleep disturbances, headaches, anxiety and behaviour problems in children. Stronger Geopathic Stress has been linked to wasting diseases (e.g. Motor Neurone, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis), mental disorders (e.g. addictions, suicides, depression and obsessions), bowel disorders (e.g. IBS and Crohns disease), ME, anxiety, migraines, cot death, infertility and miscarriages.

Summary

Now you are aware of the strong link between your bedroom and your mental wellbeing, we hope the above tips will help you get a plan in place that will benefit your mental health.