Good sleep hygiene places a significant amount of emphasis on your bedroom. Creating a relaxing, comfortable space for sleep helps your body rest.
Blackout curtains keep your room dark. Adjusting your thermostat keeps your bedroom at a comfortable temperature. Good mattresses can make or break a restful night.
Even clearing the clutter from your room helps create the soothing atmosphere you’re looking for. Remove TVs and other screens and you’re on your way to a blissful bedroom.
But wait a minute, what about color? Can the paint on the walls influence the quality of your sleep? The answer is yes, and sleep experts are giving guidance.
Color Psychology
It isn’t too surprising that color can affect sleep duration, circadian rhythms, and other aspects of healthy sleep. Believe it or not, color psychology goes back as far as 2000 B.C. Ancient Egypt and China both documented the use of color to influence health and well-being.
Carl Jung is often credited as a pioneer in modern color psychology. The notion of color carrying meaning and affecting emotions and behavior took hold in everything from medicine to marketing.
Though the effects of certain colors vary based on experience and perception, there are some widely accepted theories on colors and emotions. For example, blue is often considered a trustworthy color.
There are even color therapists. They believe that color can be healing for the body and the mind.
Colors to Avoid for Better Sleep
Interior decorating trends, and color trends, come and go every season. When you’re painting the walls in your bedroom it can be hard to resist a trend you love. Who didn’t love an avocado green room in the 1970s?
But sleep experts want you to know that color trends might not be a good way to promote healthy sleep. There are two in particular to avoid.
Yellow
Decorating trends aren’t always good for your circadian rhythms. That yellow that feels so cheery in the breakfast nook doesn’t translate well as a sleep aid.
Yellow is one of the colors experts suggest you avoid when you’re choosing sleep colors. One survey found yellow to be among the colors people associated with the worst sleep. It’s a cheerful, creative color that can be too stimulating to promote sleepiness.
Some experts believe that yellow tones can create enough disruption to cause anxiety while you’re trying to fall asleep. Yellow walls may reduce sleep duration and quality.
Brown
You’re probably wondering who in the world paints a room brown. Would you be surprised to learn that taupe brown and medium earthy brown are among the top paint color trends of 2022? We forget that beige, taupe, and other non-chocolate hues are all brown.
So why don’t we want brown bedroom walls? Brown can feel depressing or boring, rather than soothing or relaxing. As consumers, we’re conditioned to accept beige as an all-purpose neutral that works in every space. As sleep consumers, we might want to start thinking otherwise.
Grey, though popular for years, suffers the same fate as brown. It feels boring and depressing, and according to one survey, decreased sleep duration.
Colors to Choose for Better Sleep
Experts tend to point to blues and greens as relaxing, calming colors. This makes them ideal choices for your bedroom. They aren’t overly stimulating or drab and depressing. Blue and green hit the sweet spot of soothing, natural, and conducive to sleep.
The Perfect Paint?
Color psychology is complicated and every person has experiences and preferences that make them react differently to color. Generalizations about color associations are excellent tools for marketing. But they aren’t as valuable at an individual level.
You can take guidance from sleep experts, but it’s also important to listen to your body. If you find yourself sleeping peacefully in your yellow bedroom and toss and turn when the walls are blue, don’t doubt yourself.
Also, remember that depth of color and shades of color can create or undo a soothing environment.
The color of your bedroom walls is just one part of creating a serene bedroom environment. Making sure that your body is ready to sleep by turning off devices, having a bedtime routine, and keeping your room dark and comfortable are the first steps in creating good sleep hygiene.
If you’re redecorating and have trouble sleeping, that is the time to take a look at your walls and try to find your most relaxing color. Maybe, for you, wall color doesn’t matter. Or maybe it’s more important than you realized.
Are there places where you routinely sleep better than in your bedroom? Perhaps you find you get more rest when staying at the home of a family member. Maybe you fall asleep more quickly in your family room. Pay attention to the colors in those rooms.
As you consider paint for your bedroom walls, also consider accessories that feel relaxing and soothing. Bright splashes of color on your linens or curtains may not set the calming tone you want when you’re trying to fall asleep. Something that looks fun and happy during the day may be too stimulating at night.
Keeping it Cohesive
If you have a cohesive color palette throughout your home, consider softening those colors in your bedroom. A soft green bedroom will complement a beige neutral hallway. Choose a mellow blue if you have grey-toned neutrals in the rest of the house.
You don’t need to change the entire style of your bedroom if you aren’t having trouble sleeping. But if you are among the many who suffer from a sleep disorder, wall color may be another tool to help create the most serene environment.
When you’re decorating a bedroom, be a sleep consumer. Shop for mattresses, linens, curtains, and colors that help you sleep. Try to resist the urge to follow trends rather than listening to your body and sleep experts.
The perfect bedroom will be different for everyone. Making an effort to find the best color for your walls may pay off in a better night’s sleep.
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/the-mood-boosting-benefits-of-color-therapy
https://www.homesandgardens.com/news/paint-trends-206929
https://www.sleep.org/sleep-environment/best-colors-for-sleep/
https://www.sleep.org/sleep-environment/best-colors-for-sleep/