Want Better, Healthier Sleep? These 5 Items Should be FORBIDDEN from Your Bedroom

As crafters of luxury bed linens, we take healthy sleep pretty seriously over here. I mean, who doesn’t want amazing rest night after night? A good night’s sleep can radically redefine your days, giving you the energy you need to do more, be more, and achieve more.

Unfortunately, many of us struggle to get consistently decent sleep. While everyone’s situation is unique, over our years of studying healthy sleep habits in order to create better bed linens, we’ve picked up on some trends. A collection of things that cause folks to rob themselves of the precious sleep they need.

While we’ve blogged at length about what you should do to power down before bed and optimize your sleeping patterns, today we want to talk about what NOT to do. Or more specifically, what NOT to put in your master bedroom.

Many of us fail to realize how much our sleeping environment affects the quality of our sleep. So, in order for all of our readers to get a better night’s sleep, we’re here to talk about the 5 forbidden items that should never be allowed in your master bedroom: 

Sheer Curtains

While white, flowing sheer curtains look so dreamy and elegant, they unfortunately are terrible at their main job: blocking out light. Quality sleep starts with a dark, cool sleeping environment, so be sure to outfit your bedroom with curtains that can actually block out external light. This is especially important during summer months when the sun is out past many peoples’ bedtime, and up again before you’ve even gotten your full 7-8 hours.

If you do prefer the look of sheer white curtains, you can still have them as part of your design….just be sure to tuck a rolldown blackout curtain behind them so that when it comes time to sleep, you can really darken your space.

Smartphones, Laptops and Tablets

We’ve talked a lot about how and why you should be powering down before bed. Electronic devices stimulate our brains, driving more activity that will make us restless, and less likely to fall asleep. Making matters worse is the fact that unlike the devices, this brain activity cannot be powered off with the single flip of switch. It often takes us an hour or more to come down from the stimulating high of scrolling our phones or answering emails

In addition to all of this, most electronic devices emit short-wavelength artificial blue light, which has been shown to cause high levels of alertness in the brain. This makes it even more unlikely that you’ll be able to fall fast asleep immediately after shutting off a device.

Make your master bedroom a device-free zone, and quickly you will see just how much sleep you’ve been stealing from yourself with these gadgets!

Televisions

Like the other electronic devices listed above, if you really want to make your bedroom a sleep sanctuary, you have to also rid yourself of your bedroom TV. Much like your favourite social media app, TV’s cause your brain to perk up and become more active as you follow along with the storyline. And we all know that a more active brain means more trouble falling asleep.

Not to mention that in this 24/7 streaming, bingeworthy television world we live in, we are developing the poor habit of cutting into our sleep time with “just one more episode”. Since most of our favourite shows are now a single click away, it’s easier than ever to cheat our sleep in favour of TV. All the more reason to make your master a TV-free zone!

Pets

Now, don’t get me wrong – I love animals more than anyone! However, your little furry loved one may be causing some unhealthy sleep habits.

If you allow your dog or cat to sleep in the bed with you, whether you are aware of it or not, your sleep is likely being disrupted on a nightly basis. While we often fail to consciously register minor mid-sleep disturbances, anything that briefly jolts you out of a REM cycle is causing you harm. Since animals have different sleep cycles and habits, they often will get up and readjust themselves on your bed several times throughout the evening. And in the process, there is a good chance they are disturbing you as well.

Ensure you and your animal are getting better sleep by providing them with their own bed and dedicated sleeping area away from your bedroom.

Clutter

Even if you don’t consider yourself a neat person, allowing clutter to pile up in your master bedroom is likely causing some unconscious anxiety. Walking into a messy, cluttered space puts our brains into overdrive as we try and register all that we’re seeing. A cluttered master bedroom means that stepping foot inside is actually turning your brain back on, not shutting it down.

Ensure your space stays clean and organized so that the only thing your brain needs to do when you enter your master bedroom is relax.

A Gift To Yourself

We spend so much time thinking about the décor, the bed, the luxury linens, and other items that will comprise our master bedroom, we often fail to think about what we shouldn’t be putting in these rooms. While we may have the urge to design an Insta-worthy space and keep our devices within arm’s reach at all times, for the sake of your sleep, we highly recommend you reconsider.

By removing this list of  forbidden items from your master bedroom, you’re giving yourself the gift of a better night’s sleep. And this is the most valuable gift of all, as it will power improvements in every other area of your life.

So, give your master an overhaul today, and remove these sleep-robbing forbidden fruits. I promise come bedtime, you’ll already be glad you did.