The Bedroom, Aptly Named

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Ah, the bedroom.  What’s not to love?  Sleep, sex, getting lost in a book, snuggling in clouds of cozy fabrics.  

All these activities rate pretty high in the book of Why It’s Nice to Be Alive.  But in these days of compact city living and wireless access to...everything, we find more and more that clients are using their bedrooms for far too many activities, rendering the bedroom a jack-­of-­all trades and master of none.

At New Minimalism, we say let your bedroom do what it does best – contain a bed.  

Each week, we sleep for an average of 53.9 hours!  That’s a lot!  We know how important sleep is for optimal brain function, muscle recovery and even maintaining a healthy weight.  As such, you want to ensure that your space prioritizes this important function for a balanced life.

With this in mind, we think it is fitting to remind you what a bedroom is not:  

• A bedroom is not an office.  

• It is not a dining room.  

• It is not a movie theater.  

• Nor an arcade.

See what we’re doing here?  We are pointing out all the activities that often sully your poor, helpless, bedroom.  

How would you feel if you were asked to do a million things at once?  You would probably end up performing all those things at a less­ than ­excellent rate, and then you would feel bad about yourself.  Well that’s how your bedroom feels.  

For bedroom décor we say, “keep it simple.”  

Actually, we say that a lot, but this is especially true for your sleeping quarters.  Make sure the head of your bed gets the wall it deserves (and yes, this still rings true for studio apartments).  

Consider your view from lying in bed.  Is it pleasant and calming?  Or is it chaotic?  Maybe you should replace that bulletin board of outdated college photos with a picture of a landscape.  There is a reason all those medical offices have calendars photos of pretty vistas with inspirational quotes. 

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Simple space = good sleep.

Do you want to go to bed worried about what you have to do the next day?  Neither do we.  When you do activities that require active brain work in the bed, eventually you associate being in bed with working.  And that can lead to a fitful night’s rest.  

To avoid this association, remove all reminders of waking life from the bedroom.  Laptop usage is reserved for the couch/desk/dining table/kitchen counter, basically any place but the bed.  Charge your phone overnight in another room.  If you “need” to sleep with your phone nearby, at least put it on airplane mode.  You can wait until tomorrow to read what your grandma posted to your Facebook wall.  Plus, this will reduce your exposure to electromagnetic activity and your alarm will still work on airplane mode.  

Create a going ­to ­bed routine that begins to calm your mind.  

Lower the lights, keep a novel by your bedside.  Light a candle while you wash your face and brush your teeth.  Once you train your body to relax with these activities, pretty soon you will drift into sleep as soon as you open your book.

Here’s to sleeping well and waking up ready to take over the world!