Elements of a Healthy Bedroom

Carol Venolia is a pioneering ecological architect and author based in Santa Rosa. She has designed homes of straw, earth, and wood and consulted on schools, healing centers, and eco-villages. Her latest book "Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House" was published in June 2006.

Most Americans now sleep an hour and a half less each night than they did a century ago. The irony is that burning the midnight oil actually lowers productivity by causing memory lapse, increased error rates, slower reflexes, lack of motivation, and short tempers.

1. Even if you spend enough hours in bed, a poor environment can contribute to sleep deprivation. The bedroom is often the last place in the home that we spiff up, serving as a TV room, office, personal library, storage area, dressing room, laundry-staging area, sickroom, and sexual retreat. Of these, only the last is conducive to sleep.


2. If you can see your hand after the lights are turned out, your bedroom is too light.


3. Being surrounded by electric light in the evening—even checking e-mail before bed—provides enough light to reset your biological clock and make falling asleep difficult.


4. Sudden loud noises can awaken you, and even passing traffic can cause fragmented sleep. Sleeping as far as possible from the street and noisy equipment or appliances is a good start.


5. Heating the bedroom in cold weather isn’t just a waste of energy; it makes sleep difficult. Air temperature of 65 degrees year-round has been found ideal for sleep.


6. Your bed should be comfortable, relaxing, and good for your back, and it shouldn’t expose you to toxic fumes, dust mites, or mold.


7. Soothing colors may relax your body and mind, putting you in the right mood for sleep; many people find lavender, blue, or light green appropriate.


8. On the morning side of the equation, awakening gradually with the sun is the healthiest way to go. Let yourself linger in bed for a while to ease the transition.


9. Think about what surrounds you when you first awaken. Feeling sensuous textures and seeing pleasant colors and objects in the morning light help start your day on a good note.

Don’t forget the magical side of slumber. Sleep is our daily portal to the mysteries of dreaming. It’s the realm in which we must relinquish our striving, logical minds and surrender our tense, hardworking bodies to an archetypal journey.

Download a PDF version of this tipsheet.