I’m an insomniac and having Fibromyalgia has made this worse as it is difficult to sleep when I’m in pain. I have spent many nights dreading going to bed as I knew that I would be tossing and turning, and then feeling frustrated when sleep was once more elusive. I developed a negative relationship with my bedroom. But I decided that this had to change! A bedroom is for relaxing, reading, sex, listening to music and sleeping – it is not a place where you watch TV, work or catch up on social media.
My bedroom needed to become my sleep sanctuary. In order to create a place that promoted sound slumber I moved all items out of the bedroom that distracted me from sleep.
I’ve now turned my bedroom into my private retreat, a place where I go each night to relax and rejuvenate. It is an ideal sleep environment – an uncluttered, quiet, fresh smelling, cool and calming dark haven.
How can you turn your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary?
- Establish a soothing pre-sleep routine to help you transition to sleep – have a bath, relax, read, listen to music or enjoy a cup of herbal tea.
- A spritz of calming lavender water on your pillows before bed can help calm your mind.
- Turn off your TV and put away your gadgets – this will reinforce the mental association between your bedroom and sleep.
- Make sure your bed is comfortable, invest in a good quality mattress and pillows that offer you sufficient support.
- Choose the right bedding, something with a soft and soothing texture.
- Use heavy curtains, blackout blinds or an eye mask to block out light. Hide digital clocks and glowing electronics from view. Darkness helps stimulate the production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleepiness.
- Keep your room well ventilated and slightly cool (around 18 C). A bedroom that is too hot and stuffy can interfere with your sleep.
- Shhh! If your partner snores consider wearing earplugs or listening to music through earphones. Listening to soothing sounds or ‘white noise’ on a sleep or meditation app or CD can also help you fall asleep.
- If your pet regularly wakes you it might be best if you keep it out of your bedroom.
I hope that these tips help you to turn your bedroom into a healthier sleeping environment and a more inviting place to rest and relax.
Keep smiling :)
Claire
x
We have black out curtains and they do make all the difference, especially in the Summer.
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Some great ideas! I love the lavendar water idea! :)
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It’s so soothing x
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Some great ideas on here, need to try these out as my husband has trouble sleeping x
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I’d love to try the white noise machine to see how that changes my sleeping. Great ideas here!
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Thank you x
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Oh my goodness! I love this :) I have been wanting to “makeover” our bedroom.
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Have fun designing your bedroom :)
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Definitely creating a calming aura works. I love dim lights or turning the lights off completely. It makes me sleep better at night. Other than that, I want my room cold.
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Couldn’t agree more Claire but my 6ft 3″ husband takes over our king size bed, digs his pointy elbows & knees into my tender points and snores. Did I mention he’s also a shift worker?! My dog, however, doesn’t cause me any problems. Lovely post Claire. Your room looks great
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Thanks Nathalie :) May I suggest a stick to poke him lol x
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Great tips. I really should make the bedroom a gadget free zone but social media keeps me sane during the night feeds. If I didn’t have my ohone I think I’d fall asleep while feeding.
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For the past 5 years, my son has slept with us, but now he’s sleeping in his own bed and I need to makeover my bedroom!
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Enjoy doing it Janet :) x
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I love the idea of Lavender water, it is one scent that really does get me ready for sleep x
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These are wonderful suggestions. We use black out curtains and make sure all gadgets are turned off to sleep better. I also would like to try the lavender water.
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I find the scent of lavender very relaxing x
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These are some great tips, I’m terrible for using my phone or watching Netflix before bed then spending the day whinging about how tired I am. I need to give this a go! Stephanie x
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Let me know how you get on Stephanie :) x
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I love the idea of creating a sleep sanctuary. i have been wanting to get some blackout shades to help keep the lights out of my eyes when i try to sleep
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I have to admit my bedroom isn’t quite the haven I would like to be, perhaps one day I will get it right though. x
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You will Sarah x
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Great tips! We have blackout curtains in the kid’s rooms, but now we need them in ours as well. Thanks!
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Thank you for stopping by, I hope you sleep better x
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Great post! I really need to invest in blackout curtains because I’m constantly being woken up by bright light in the early hours of the morning and it’s disturbing my sleep!
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Definitely invest in them x
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I would love a sleep sanctuary! At the moment my bedroom is filled with nappies and not much sleeping. I will have to remember your ideas when things start to settle down. Thanks for linking up! #shareasmile
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Thanks for stopping by x
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I love your bedroom. I agree, but my bedroom is a bit of a dumping ground at the moment. I need tp sort it out! Kaz x
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Thanks :) It will be worth it x
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I am an insomniac sufferer too. Since having Penny 12 months ago she has shared our room so it’s less of a bedroom and more a dumping ground. I am sure this has caused my sleeping to be worse, so I am ready to make changes in the hopes that it will improve
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Good luck with changing your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary x
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I have insomina too as my joints are in so much pain it can be uncofortable finding a position to sleep in . Your sleep sanctuary looks great!
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Thank you x
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Great tips! I took the television out of my bedroom years ago and have not intention of putting one back in. That has helped so much! :)
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Thanks x
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You are most welcome and BTW I love the purple on your blog…that is calming.
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Thank you :) It’s my favourite colour x
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Oh Claire! I absolutely love it! Such a amazing advises! You even surprised me a designer and interior blogger! Fabulous post!
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Thank you :) x
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Unfortunately I live in a studio so I don’t have the luxury of separating out my bedroom from my other areas.
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Your bedroom is GORGEOUS! This is timely tips for us because we are just about to redo our bedroom!
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Thank you x
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Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to implement some of these tips this evening. I tend to go to bed way too late so I want to change up my routine now!
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Good luck x
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You have all the secrets – i never sleep either! It is the worst! I have so many fans and purifiers and noise machines going – it is crazy! I think my husband ruined my sleep habits when we got married, he snores SO LOUD and flops all about – we can not sleep together any longer
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Great ideas! Now if we can just get the baby to her own room….
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Very comprehensive list – well done! I think we could use some black out curtains in ours and baby’s room – I’d love a bit more sleep in the morning. #busydoinglife
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Really great tips! One thing I’ve done lately that’s helped is to watch/listen to ASMR videos. I find they help me to drift off nicely.
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I always find myself working while in bed or watching tv. I would love to have a sanctuary, but I have such a hard time falling asleep that I have to have something to do.
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Now, if I could only get my snoring husband out of there, it would be perfect ;)
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Great sleep tips here Claire. I will implement them.
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Thank you! Let me know how you get on x
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Thank you for the helpful tips. We need a new bed and bedding sets. I want the bed that raise up, that way I can’t feel the heat of my husband’s body lol or else I’d rather sleep on the couch where both of us can have sleep through the night.
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That bed sounds like the perfect solution x
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Bedroom is my favorite place in the house aside from the kitchen of course ha ha! I love the way you decorate your room.
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Thank you x
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We’ve recently decided on the “no tech in bed” policy because we are both guilty of spending extra time on our phones and computers in bed. It’s bad for our sleep habits and it seems to be working out much better!
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Fantastic :) x
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i think that if i would get rid of the gadgets in my bedroom at night
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My pillows have to be comfy for me to sleep. My husband likes the room dark.
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I’d love my bedroom to be a sanctuary but I’ve had to make a little corner into an office. When we move I might have a sanctuary back!
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I bet you are looking forward to that x
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Abhhhh I so need to do this to my bedroom! My bedroom is the worst room in the house. I really should fix that!
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I hope you do get around to it, you won’t regret it x
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I love lavender and soft music. I recently add both to the bedroom and a dream catcher and it’s making my sleep better.
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I need a dreamcatcher x
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There are some really great ideas. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you x
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What are the great ideas and i love it. I need to re decorate our bed room.
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Great idea.. I have insomnia too, struggle to sleep early and always tired during the day. I need to re decorate my room
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This is something that I need to desperately do and add to my to do list right away!
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wow, so calm and serene. Interesting color! Thanks for the inspiration!
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I love all shades of purple x
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Looks gorgeous! I love the calming colours you’ve chosen, and I love all the shabby chic extras. So cute.
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Thank you :) x
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Great tips. I love to place a few drops of lavender on my pillow and my big toe. Works wonders. :)
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Lavender is such a relaxing scent x
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I recently did up my room so it is a little more grown up and I have a space to study. Having somewhere other than my bed to write my assignments is great for me. It allows me to sleep better and not have blurred lines between sleeping and studying. It’s now my sanctuary.
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That’s great :) Enjoy your sanctuary x
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I’m slightly jealous about your bedroom, it looks gorgeous and very relaxing too. Great tips too, I use a lavender pillow spray and I swear by it. There is definitely a difference on my sleep from when I use it or don’t use it.
I have to say I’m guilty of being on my phone whilst in bed at night sometimes, it’s something I need to stop doing!
Laura x
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Thanks Laura! I had to make a real effort not to use my phone in bed x
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These are great tips! We don’t have a television in our bedroom. It’s definitely a sleeping sanctuary. I love it.
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