As the nights start to grow longer and colder weather sets in, it’s the ideal moment to contemplate ways to make your home cosy and autumnal. Your bedroom serves as the ultimate sanctuary for relaxation and unwinding, so making it a warm and inviting haven will ensure you enjoy the most comfortable night’s sleep imaginable.
Here, Alison Jones, sleep expert at Sealy UK, shares her surprising hacks on how to create a comfortable and cosy bedroom this autumn – which will improve the quality of your sleep in the process.
Bring the outdoors in
During the cooler months, the outdoors is the last thing you’d expect to see inside a cosy bedroom. However, by incorporating natural elements from the outside, you can create a surprisingly cosy bedroom feel. To achieve this, gather some outdoor branches and twigs in a vase or invest in some cane weaved sculptures and then intertwine fairy lights to create the perfect bohemian, cosy-cottage feel.
The combination of darker twigs and dimly-lit fairy lights is a brilliant way to promote relaxation as dim and warm lighting should always be chosen above harsh and bright lighting. Melatonin is produced in response to darkness, so too much light exposure can alter its production, keeping you awake. Therefore, lowering the lights before bed gives the brain chance to prepare for sleep through increased melatonin production.
Maintain heat at the foot of your bed
If you think that cuddling hot water bottles and heated soft toys will keep you toasty – you’re wrong – the best place to keep your heated accessories is actually by your feet. This is because feet play a crucial role in regulating the body’s temperature – when they’re covered and toasty, so are we. Take advantage of this by investing in some heated accessories, such as a bed runner, and placing them at the end of your bed to encourage a warm and cosy night’s sleep.
Encourage comfort with Feng Shui
To create an inviting and cosy environment in the bedroom, it’s important to embrace Feng Shui – an ancient Chinese practice that involves arranging your sleep environment to promote harmony, balance, and the flow of positive energy. Feng Shui is the perfect way to promote a restful environment, encouraging not just a cosy bedroom vibe but a successful night’s sleep. Symmetry on both sides of the bed is crucial to the balance of the room as this helps to keep energy levels grounded. You should always ensure the bed can be accessed from both sides, allowing a flow of movement to surround the bed unobstructed, as this will create a positive bedroom energy. Other tips for embracing this ancient art is ensuring the head of your bed should sit securely against a solid wall, away from windows.
Indulge in the senses
When creating the ultimate cosy space this autumn, it is important to appeal to your sight, touch and smell. Using candles in your bedroom is not only visually appealing, adding to the overall hygge design, but it will also bring a gorgeous scent into the air.
Similarly, listening to the sounds of logs burning on an open fire can be incredibly relaxing, to replicate the soothing, crackling sound perfectly, accompany this with a wood wick candle.
Alternatives to candles include essential oil diffusers, electric wax melt burners, reed diffusers and even incense sticks, which do not require an open flame.
Keep your curtains open on sunny days
While you may think that keeping heavy curtains closed during the cooler months is the best way to trap in heat during the day – it’s not. Surprisingly, no matter how cool it is, when the sun is shining it’s better to expose your windows as much as possible to allow the natural sunlight to shine through. By trapping in heat naturally, you save energy while preserving the natural warmth. This hack is only effective if your windows are properly sealed though.
Watch the temperature
Warmer environments can make it easier for people to feel relaxed, and help you to achieve a good night’s sleep more easily. This is because cooler atmospheres encourage the body to work harder to stay warm, consequently keeping you awake. However, while it’s good to have a warm room during cooler weather, you should avoid getting too hot as this can in turn interfere more with your sleep routine. The optimum temperature for a comfortable night’s sleep is around 18.3 °C [1].
For more information and sleep tips from our team of experts, head to www.sealy.co.uk
