Lighting can play a huge part in ensuring we get a good night’s sleep, here we share our tips on optimising your bedroom lighting, to help you drift off and have a restful night’s sleep.
Sleep is vital for our wellbeing, mental and physical health, and yet so many of us are sabotaging this reset time with one simple element – lighting. Like it or not, all our bodies do their best to run to a circadian rhythm: to rise with the sun and sleep with the dark. The simple act of brightening or darkening our space/homes/bedrooms, gives our brains the message to either rise or rest. Get the lighting wrong and your body’s natural rhythm will fall out of sync, leading to poor sleep cycles, restless nights and groggy mornings.
So, what can you do to make the most of the lighting in your home to guarantee you’re getting the best night’s sleep? We tell all…
Statement Ceiling Lights
Chances are you have a 'main' ceiling light in your bedroom and as tempting as it is to turn this on to navigate your way around the bedroom - over the shoes you left on the floor - in the darker evenings, try to resist.
Consider having an electrician fit a dimmer switch to your ‘main’ bedroom light (all our pendant lights and bedroom chandeliers can be used with a dimmer switch), or fit a pendant that diffuses light gently, as opposed to directly – something like our Tiered Leaves Large Pendant Light, which offers a warm, glow just perfect for bedtime.
Scented Candles
Nothing signals 'relax' quite like the light of a luxury scented candle. A sleep cue for the senses; soothing scents of lavender, rose, vanilla and sandalwood, coupled with the gentle glow, will have you drifting off in no time.
Ban Gadgets in the Bedroom For Restful Sleep
We’ve all heard the bedtime ‘no, no’ of no gadgets in the bedroom – but do you know why? Tech - like our smart phones, pads and TVs - not only stimulate our brains of an evening with all their pinging, tempting emails and easy to absorb entertainment, they also emit blue light. Blue light suppresses our body’s ability to secrete the sleep hormone melatonin and negatively influences our circadian rhythm.
While shutting off all tech a few hours before bedtime is ideal to limit the effects of blue light, it’s not always possible; in which case, schedule your phone and other gadgets to switch to ‘night mode’ for the evening, which gives a warmer glow more conducive for preparing the body for rest.
Pretty Bedside Lamps
We don’t want to plunge our bedrooms into darkness of an evening, lighting some well-placed table lamps is perfect for creating a warm, cocooning space – ideal for restful sleep. Try to avoid direct, angle style lights for your bedside lamp, instead opting for a linen or dark coloured shade.
Lighting for a Small Bedroom
A bijou boudoir needn’t stand in the way of ambient lighting – wall lights or low hanging pendant lights also make incredibly stylish bedside lamps when bedside table space is at a premium.
For more ideas on how to create soft lighting in your bedroom chat to one of our friendly and knowledgeable in-house stylists, who can guide you through our pendant lighting, French chandeliers, table lamp and wall light options.
