7 Bedroom Layout Mistakes That Affect Your Sleep

Excess Clutter

A clean home can boost your mental health, just like a cluttered home can cause a decline in your mental health and sleep quality. If you’re struggling to sleep, address the clutter in your bedroom before you do anything else. Avoid too much furniture, too many throw pillows, and anything else that can be distracting, like several cups on the nightstand from the week before.

“First, we want to keep the bedroom as clutter-free as possible,” says clinical sleep coach Teresa Power, BS CCSH. “If you just don’t have the time to clean up before bed, at least keep the mess out of your view. We want as few distractions as possible.”

Digital Clocks

Having a digital clock on your nightstand is a big bedroom layout mistake people make when they are trying to improve their sleep. Ambient light can negatively impact your sleep, and checking the clock can prevent you from getting back to sleep due to the anxiety it potentially provokes.

Power recommends keeping electronic clocks out of the bedroom, but if that’s not feasible, at least keep it out of sight and off the nightstand. “If you have one, turn down, block, or cover up the screen when you sleep. Even a small amount of light during sleep can affect hormones that impact sleep quality.”

Sheer Curtains

When you’re decorating your bedroom, aesthetics should come second to creating a conducive sleep environment. For sleep specialist Nicole Shallow, M.Ed, BCBA, this means ditching the sheer curtains in favor of ones that block out light.

“Blackout curtains are great for evenings and especially shift workers! Darkness helps with maintaining sleep and deeper sleep. Especially in summer, [blackout curtains] can assist in falling asleep and staying asleep a little longer.” She reiterates that any light coming in, whether from an early sunrise or street lights, will bring you out of deep sleep.

Blocked Vents

If you don’t know it yet, there is an ideal sleep temperature that can help you fall asleep and stay asleep longer. When you’re planning your bedroom furniture layout, make it a top priority to keep all vents open and unblocked. Unfortunately, this may mean putting your bed in your second favorite spot.

Shallow explains that consistent airflow is essential to keep your bedroom at an optimal and stable temperature throughout the night. “Our body requires our body temps to drop and stay cool to stay asleep.” If your bedroom is small and you have to block a vent, consider adding air deflectors to the vent that can direct air where it needs to go.

Phone Chargers Near the Bed

Just like you want to keep electronic clocks away, do the same with your phone. “One of the easiest ways we can reduce phone use before bed—something we all aim to do—is by making it less accessible,” explains sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo.  

“Those using a phone in the hour before bed are more likely to take over an hour to fall asleep, probably because you’re up doom scrolling,” says Arezzolo. “Make it easy to succeed—charge it over the other side of the room or in another room completely.”

Bright Overhead Lighting

Most people have one overhead light in their bedroom, and that’s not a problem. The problem comes when you only have overhead lighting. “Blue light emitted from ceiling lights, alongside devices, strongly suppresses melatonin, our sleep-promoting hormone, making it hard to fall and stay asleep,” says Arezzolo.

Instead, Arezzolo recommends adding a blue light-free bedside lamp that you can use to read and unwind in the two hours before bed.

Lack of Comforts

When you set up a bedroom layout, consider what you need to feel cozy and relaxed. While it’s important to reduce clutter, if you get rid of everything, the minimal environment might make it hard to sleep.  

Arezzolo recommends coming up with a “sleep kit” for your bedroom that includes things like printed books, eye masks, blue light-blocking glasses, weighted blankets, and whatever else helps you get to sleep.

“Your sleep kit can definitely help you sleep better, but not if you don’t use it. Keep yours on your bedside table, free from clutter, so you remember to actually use it.”