The bedroom should be your sanctuary if you are serious about improving your sleep. We all know that on average we sleep for around a third of our life. If we live to 75 that’s a whopping 25 years!

Let’s think about this a minute…

The average person in the developed world works approx 10 years of their life, spends 2.5 years cooking and 3.6 years eating. Throw in around 4 years driving a car, 1 year cleaning, 1.5 years in the bathroom, and around 48 days having sex, and this still doesn’t equate to the amount of time we spend sleeping!

As sleep affects our ability to do all of the above it becomes pretty clear sleep should be the best it can be. Getting sleep right however isn’t as easy at one might think. The University of Warwick has estimated that 150 million adults are suffering from sleep-related problems across the developing world. For many in the world poor living conditions wreak havoc with sleep and health. For those of us lucky enough to have a warm cozy room to retreat to each night, we have the temptation to keep our lights on longer into the night. We can watch almost anything on demand. We can check what everyone in the world of Facebook has been up to, and we can even do some remote shopping in Australia should we choose to, all before we turn said lights out. Naturally this can act as a stimulant for our mind and prevent us feeling calm and sleepy -This is not to say modern life wrecks our sleep. See this interesting article to further explore this subject Modern Life Is Rubbish– but we do have choices not afforded to our ancestors.

Although sleeping is an unavoidable condition of being alive it can feel like a pretty indulgent pastime when we get it right. There are many ways we can improve our chances of falling and staying asleep until we feel refreshed including ensuring we move about enough during the day, watching what we eat and drink- particlarly in the hours before bed, and ensuring our sleeping areas are dedicated to the cause. (Free of clutter and calming)

Master The perfect Sleep With These 8 Bedroom Ideas

If you are not getting the quality slumber you crave, it may be time to re-evaluate your bedroom ambience. Of course, you can blame unpleasant news events, loud snoring of your partner, your pets that drape their body over your head, or worries about the economy. And then there is the color of the room, lighting, mattress, sheets, and much more. While you can’t create more hours into your day, you can certainly fiddle with your bedroom ambience to improve your chances of getting a good night’s sleep thus making those daytime hours the best they can be. So, here are the 8 perfect bedroom ideas:

1. Great Sheets (Egyptian Cotton): Many people shy away from purchasing quality sheets simply due to their price point. Yes, they certainly cost a tad bit more than your regular sheets, but their benefits far outweigh their costs in the long run. With Egyptian cotton sheets, you will not only sleep in comfort and luxury, but you will also greatly impove your chances of getting a perfect night’s sleep.  They are breathable and air can freely move through these sheets, allowing you to rest comfortably and coolly throughout the night. No more stiff, scratchy sheets scraping on all the wrong places!

Find your perfect sheets here: egyptian cotton sheets

2. Magnificent Mattress: Such mattresses are made up of wide array of materials that help in promoting durability and comfort. Furthermore, they feature fewer springs, have the ability to mold on your body, offer enhanced support, and alleviate disturbances and discomfort. With such mattresses, there isn’t any being restless when sleeping. Thus you enjoy a refreshing and relaxing night’s sleep, and wake up reinvigorated, ready to execute your future endeavours.

For an honest look at mattress ratings check this out http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/mattresses/buying-guide.htm

3. Calm And Cool Wall Coverings– Best Colors For Sleep: The wall coverings of your bedroom not only has an impact on the overall look of the space, but it can also influence the way your room makes you feel. It certainly boils down to cool and warm color schemes. So, if you want to create a calm and cool space, opt for blue, which is an extremely calming shade. According to a survey, people who slept in a blue room, got their best night’s sleep. On the other hand, Purple is considered to be the least restful color.

See http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/decorating/decorating-bedroom/paint-colors-for-bedrooms for more on this subject.

4. Black-Out Blinds/Lined Curtains For Those Sensitive To Light At Night: A soothing bedroom that enables you to fall asleep faster must be dark. Black-out curtains or blinds are a great option as they are energy saving, and also help muffle or block outdoor light as well as noise. Furthermore, they keep heat from escaping during the winter months, and the scorching sun from heating up your bedroom during the summer months. Conventional black-out curtains that are lined from behind also help to block light completely for those sensitive to light at night. Draperies are another classic way to muffle the light in your bedroom. Black out curtains can be found here, blackout curtains

or you could buy one of the best eye mask on the market if you don’t want to shell out on curtains and blinds

5. Autoschedule Thermometer–  Set To The Optimum 65-68 Degrees: According to the experts, when you hit the bed, your set point for your body temperature, that is, the temperature your brain is trying to attain- goes down. And this mild drop in your body temperature induces sleep. So if your bedroom becomes uncomfortably cold or hot, you are more likely to wake up. According to health professionals, temperature must be set around 65 to 68 degrees for the best night’s sleep. A NEST thermostat learns from you and programs itself, meaning when you enter your bedroom the conditions are always perfect for sleep.

6. Cozy Lighting: Choosing cozy lighting is extremely imperative for your bedroom, as dim mood lighting is indispensable for a good night’s sleep. So make sure to either opt for a light that produces a warm and soft glow, or install a couple of tinted light bulbs. You can also pick something that will fit perfectly well with your aesthetic.

We loved these cute cozy lights mushroom lamps

7. Natural Alarm Clock: Such clocks track your sleep patterns and wake you up during light sleep. This simply means that getting up during light sleep feels like getting up naturally rested without any alarm clock. A complete sleep cycle roughly lasts for 90 minutes, and is repeated a plethora of times each night. Thus, it uses sound analysis to determine sleep patterns by tracking your movements in bed, and enables you to have a good night’s sleep.

The Sound Oasis Natural Wake-Up and Sleep System is a great little bedside gadget! Not only does it wake you as naturally as the sun rise, but it has six nature sounds to help you sleep, relax and wake up (ocean surf, thunderstorm, white noise, spring rain, mountain stream, forest stream) plus four aromatherapy scents to help you drop off or wake up. You can wake to light, nature sounds and even chimes (which sound very zen and lovely) It also incorporates both tips 7  & 8 (natural alarm clock, and a sound machine) so is quite a sought after little device which sells fast. Click image for more details.

8. Sleep Sound Machine: These are one of the most effective machines to mask troublesome noise at night, and they also help you sleep better. These machines offer a white noise option that helps to block out invading noises, and enable you to have a good quality night’s sleep. As the machine hears noise from outside sources, it continuously readjusts itself in such a way that is imperceptible to the sleeper or listener- if you buy the right one. For help in choosing see http://thesleephub.com/best-sound-machines-adults-children/

There are many types of sound machine but the Ecotones Sleep and Sound machine still tops the list for us as it is simply still the best stand-alone sleep machine.

Try these ideas for a perfect good night’s sleep for yourself, and be sure to let us know what works for you.