Updated : November 28, 2025
Published : October 1, 2018
Hayk Harutyunyan
Guides

Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt like you hadn’t slept at all? This is one of the worst feelings. When you work all week and have very little time to yourself, you can’t afford to have a sleepless night.

If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you’re not going to be productive. Not getting enough quality sleep can make us grumpy, unfocused and distracted. If on the ride into work you’re already thinking about how good it would feel to get back to bed – there’s a problem!

For people on a tight schedule, there just isn’t time to properly wind down and prepare for a good night’s sleep. Nor is there time to wander the aisles of department stores looking for ways to improve your sleep quality.

Here, we’ll break down some tips and tricks for getting a quality night’s sleep. Whether you have a tiny nook for a bedroom or a large master suite, there are ways to create an environment that beckons you. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good night’s sleep.

The Strategic Approach to Bed Storage

The best candidates for storage bed space are items that can be neatly folded and contained in boxes. This organisation method provides accessibility comparable to bedroom dresser drawers while maximising available space. Think beyond random storage and instead consider which items truly deserve this valuable space.

Not everything belongs under your mattress. When deciding what to store, ask yourself two critical questions: "How often will I need this?" and "Can this be neatly contained?" Accessibility needs and usage frequency should drive your decisions.

Items requiring daily or weekly access should remain easily reachable, while seasonal items can occupy deeper storage positions. This practical approach prevents frustration when retrieving necessities while maximising your storage potential.

1. Use your bedroom for sleeping only.

As tempting as it is to lounge in your bed on a lazy Saturday or Sunday to watch television, don’t do it. Once you start associating your bedroom with working or binge-watching TV, it loses its place as your sleep chamber. You have to change how you look at your bedroom, if your brain thinks of it as a place to rest, you’ll be more likely to get quality sleep.

2. Keep your alarm clock out of view.

We all know that feeling of checking your alarm clock every few minutes to see how late it is. This is not good. The more often you look at your alarm clock, the more anxious you will be about falling asleep. Position your alarm clock away from your bedside and out of view. There are two reasons for this: First, you don’t want to be tempted to look at the time. Second, you’ll have to physically get out of bed to shut off the alarm. This makes it a lot harder to oversleep.

3. Don’t keep any electronics in your bedroom.

If you don’t have a television or laptop in your room, you’ll find it’s easier to fall asleep. Not only do electronics distract us from actually falling asleep, but they give off light that makes it harder for our brains to shut down. You want to make sure your body focuses on shutting down and falling asleep – not on checking Facebook.

4. Wake up to the sun.

If your mind and body are exposed to sunlight first thing in the morning, you will feel alert, happy and relaxed. Outfit your room with gauzy curtains that you can open wide when you wake up. Some of us aren’t lucky enough to have big windows in our bedroom. You may even live in a part of the country that just doesn’t have all that many sunny mornings. If this is the case, get a lightbox for your bedroom. It will give you the same benefit of sunlight and help you start off your day on the right foot.

5. Decorate your room with natural scenes.

One way to soothe your body and spirit at the end of a hard day is with nature. Hotels have started designing their rooms with nature scenes and accessories. Our bodies are naturally relaxed by these images. Get curtains which depict clouds or water. Put prints on your walls that include waterfalls or trees. If you are gazing at calming images, you will be more relaxed for a restful night’s sleep. You can also add plants to boost your energy.

6. Use a memory foam pillow.

Your head and neck determine a lot about how you sleep. If you’re still sleeping on a poor-quality pillow, it may explain why you’re tired halfway through the day. You want to invest in all the support you can for a good night’s sleep.

7. Outfit your bed with simple and clean bedding.

Don’t make the mistake of cluttering up your bed with complicated or busy bedding. Keep your sheets and bedding very simple and neat. You want to focus on falling asleep, not on getting tangled in a menagerie of sheets and blankets. You also want to make sure your pillowcases are flat. You don’t want to sleep on pillowcases with beads or lace on them. They are uncomfortable and will not help you get a good night’s sleep.

8. Paint your walls blue.

You want to make sure your walls are painted a soothing, natural colour. People seem to react best to blues and greens when it comes to sleep. Stay away from harsh or garish colours. You also want to avoid depressing colours like grey or brown. The last thing you will look at before you fall asleep is your wall. It’s also the first thing you wake up to. Make sure your walls aren’t creating a sleep distraction.

9. Buy low-wattage lamps

You sleep best in a room that is dark. One way to wind down and get ready to fall asleep is to keep the lights low. The ambiance is key when it comes to preparing your body to fall asleep. You want to make sure you decorate your bedroom with lamps that don’t give off too much light. You also want to make sure the bulbs are soft light rather than a cold, white light. This is the sort of light that is most conducive to falling asleep. It also helps when you have to get up in the middle of the night. If you turn on a harsh, bright light, you will have a really hard time falling back asleep.

Falling asleep sounds easy. There are many times throughout the day when we feel like we could fall asleep in seconds. It sounds so inviting, right? However, when it’s crunch time and we know we have an early start the next day, it’s not so easy.

If you want to get a quality night’s sleep, you need to envelop yourself in a bedroom that is conducive to it. From how you decorate to where you position your bed, every little thing can affect how you sleep. Follow the above hints to create an oasis for a relaxing night’s rest.