Your bedroom should be a relaxing sanctuary where you can rest, recharge, and unwind. To do that, your space should breathe order from all its pores. The more things you keep in your bedroom, the harder it will be to keep it organised. Assessing the things you should ban from your bedroom goes beyond clutter-related issues.

To make your bedroom a better place to rest and enjoy a good night’s sleep, we have put together a list of 9 items that should have no place in your private space.

An old mattress

A bedroom’s primary function is rest. If your mattress is supportive enough, it will help your body recuperate and help the muscles repair while you sleep. But, if the mattress is old and unsupportive, the consequences will be poor health, chronic back pains, and allergies.

Regularly sleeping with such a lack of support can strain your neck and back and disturb your night’s sleep. You may be putting off buying a new mattress because of the cost, but if your bed is lumpy and sagging, you should make it a priority. So, make sure you have a supportive mattress that will offer a pleasing contour and a nice balance between support and pressure relief.

The average mattress life is 7-10 years, so if yours is more than that or you cannot even recall the last time you bought a new one, it is time to wave goodbye to your old friend.

Electronic devices

If you are already having trouble falling asleep, your phone, TV, or tablet can become your worst enemies. The blue light emitted by many of these devices will disrupt the natural production of melatonin, a hormone that facilitates sleep and can throw you off your circadian rhythm. Sounds and blinking lights can also cause unwanted awakenings.

So, when you know it is time to sleep, your phone or alarm clock does not need to be nearby. Transfer them to a safe distance (where you can still hear your alarm clock), and you will meet again in the morning.

Food

There is nothing more uncomfortable and unsanitary than sleeping among the crumbs. More than it being just unhygienic, eating in bed while watching TV can also lead to overeating and weight gain. So, keep your snacks away from your nightstands and reserve this activity for your kitchen only.

Clothes & shoes

Apart from inside your wardrobe or hidden in your ottoman bed, your clothes and shoes have no place to be in your sleeping sanctuary. It is easy to throw your clothes on the floor after a busy day and leave them there for the time being but your bedroom should not be your laundry bin. A messy environment can negatively affect your mental and physical wellbeing, and an untidy space can lead to anxiety and poor sleep. Commit to a declutter at least once a month and make sure you toss your old gadgets, outdated clothes, and piles of receipts.

Your working space

Your bedroom should be a stress-free zone. Keeping your desk and laptop nearby makes it easy to fall into the trap of moving in between work all day long, even after you finished your daily schedule or on the weekends. Avoid sitting in your bed while working, creating a separate space in your home for work, and trying to keep two distinct areas for sleeping and working.

If you do not have any other space converted into a home office, use a room divider such as a freestanding screen or a shelving unit.

Extreme colours

There are a couple of colour paints you should avoid in your bedroom. Red is known to raise the energy levels in a room and evoke hunger, excitement and even anger. You do not want that while trying to fall asleep, do you?

Orange bursts with vitality and playfulness to be more suitable for a playroom or exercise room. Purple, dark grey, and brown are yet other wrong colours to promote sleep. Grey and brown promote negative feelings, while purple bursts alertness. Individuals with these bedroom colours are more likely to sleep less than seven hours a night.

Halogen lights

Halogen lights are extremely inefficient in their use of electricity. As halogen lightbulbs are far less energy efficient than other types of bulbs, they have a larger carbon footprint as a result. Also, it’s best not to use halogen bulbs after dusk because the blue light spectrum can keep your brain awake and inhibit melatonin production. These two factors can lead to an inability to fall asleep or cause disrupted sleep.

Bedside Table Clutter

It is easy to treat your bedside table like that place in the house that accumulates all the clutter. Old electronics, hairpins, make-up brushes, does it ring any bell? Your nightstand should only contain your essentials, such as a reading lamp, reading glasses, and a carafe of water. Adding a tray to your night table is also an excellent way to keep things organised.

Under the Bed Non-Essentials

Your under-bed space can quickly become crowded with empty boxes or old exercising equipment. If you lack storage and still need to make use of this valuable space, why not consider a divan bed with drawers or an ottoman bed? This way, you will not be missing any floor space, while you can still sleep better knowing that there is an organised space just below you.

If you have had trouble sleeping lately, it might be time to reassess the things you keep in your bedroom and be more mindful of your private sanctuary.