Bedroom Design Tricks to Improve Sleep

For years, homeowners looking to get a better night’s sleep have invested in adjustable mattresses, circadian lighting, and seemingly endless sheet and pillow options, but all efforts to create a better sleeping environment could be in vain if the true cause of restlessness is a poorly designed bedroom. Eliminating unwanted noises and adding acoustical buffers can be accomplished by locating secondary bedrooms on the opposite end of the house or on a different floor, while double or triple pane windows and ambient sound features can block out noise from outside, says Housing Design Matters.

Excess lighting also inhibits the production of melatonin and disrupts sleep patterns, but blackout curtains can provide a simple fix, especially when paired with gentle circadian lighting in the morning.

Controlling the light inside your bedroom once you turn off your bedside lamp is also critical, according to Dave Asprey. In this book Super Human, he recommend blackout drapes and more to block all outside light (even going so far as adding duct tape to seal the edges). Adding these type of window treatments to windows isn’t a big deal unless you have those cute-during-the-day windows above your bed.

He advocates for a pitch-dark room for sleeping. Then wake up gently with circadian light – a light source that comes on dimly and warm in color – like the sun rising in the sky. A few years back, the Las Vegas builder show had a tour with a house with just such lighting.

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