We spend an average of one-third of our lives asleep. Considering we spend more time in our bedrooms than any other room in the house, designing a bedroom that is both comfortable and aesthetically pleasing is so important for a better night’s sleep.

Create calm with bedroom colour schemes

When you’re looking to redecorate your bedroom, it makes perfect sense to start with a lick of paint, and it can also improve your sleep. Painting bedroom walls in light, calming colours like greens, blues and greys can promote relaxation, whereas bright bold colours like red can increase stress responses and stimulate the mind. Keep the bedroom calm, not only with colour but clutter too – piles of clothes and bits and bobs strewn around the room can also impact and your sleep could be more stressful.

Limit the use of electronic goods and invest in an alarm clock

Electronic signals, text messages and social media alerts can cause havoc with our sleep whether we notice or not. These noises disturb our sleep on a nightly basis, so leave the phone outside your bedroom and invest in an alarm clock to ensure you are awake and ready for work, or school. If you can’t bear to part with your phone, try not to use the phone before bed – give yourself an hour break before you head to bed. Read a book and ease your mind into a relaxing state before sleep, rather than being stimulated by your phone.

Bring the outdoors indoors with bedroom plants

Turning your bedroom green doesn’t stop at the colour scheme. Introducing plants will breathe new life into the bedroom and be a calming presence that improves a room’s air quality, which is essential for a better night’s sleep. They also look fantastic, adding a calming look and feel to the room. If plants don’t work for you, for cleaner, calmer air try an aroma diffuser and humidifier with a few drops of lavender oil to help you drift off to the perfect land of sleep.

Find your dream pillows

Adding a few scatter cushions is a tried and tested way to refresh your bed and keep up to date with all the latest design trends. However, ensure you choose the right pillow that looks elegant but can support your head as you sleep as well, and remember one is enough. If you’re sleeping on a flat, old pillow, you’re not going to have a peaceful night’s sleep, so invest in a quality pillow to lay your head on. Pillow sprays or essential oils dabbed on a pillow can also help us drift off to the land of nod; lavender and eucalyptus are perfect for a great snooze.

Choose a mattress fit for Goldilocks

When we redecorate our bedroom we are always tempted to think of sheets, pillows and duvets to make a room different and add a trend to the room, without giving a second thought to our mattress and what we use most. A great quality mattress can be the difference in transforming your bed from looking unappealing and flat, to comfortable and incredibly supportive. Old, lumpy mattresses often cause sleep loss and backache so shop around, be Goldilocks and find the perfect mattress that is just right!