5 Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep

“Lots of things contribute to our well-being: our homes, our relationships, and, of course—our sleep. As we dive into the New Year, consider creating a sanctuary for slumber, a place that looks beautiful, yes, but also cultivates a state of serenity. Your bedroom should feel calming to your senses; a dark and quiet haven and a place to delight in the simple pleasures.”

1. Open the windows; nature is the original Ambience. There’s something about connecting with the natural world—from whence we came—that makes the daily minutiae dissolve (as Benjamin Franklin said, “People who live in the forest, in open barns, or with open windows, do not catch cold, and the disease called a cold is generally caused by impure air”).

2. Make your bedroom a place of beauty and ease. “If you want a tranquil room, you should keep your colour palette subtle and tonal. The more similar each colour is the ‘quieter’ the visual impact.” A few favourites: Vapour (pale blue) or Wickham Gray (pale blue/gray). Displaying items you find to be beautiful in your bedroom is important. As John Donahue, author of Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, writes, “we feel most alive in the presence of the beautiful for it meets the needs of our soul.”

3. Be fully present. Leave work and technology elsewhere. Consider practicing a brief meditation before sleep—research shows that just 10 minutes a day can have an impact. Be in the bedroom when it’s time for bed. (Don’t be mentally at the office, at the dinner table with your kids, or in last week’s argument with your mother.) With practice, we can create a serenity so deep that, as French poet George Bernanos wrote, “nothing can change it, like a vast reserve of calm water beneath a storm.”

4. Keep your bedroom simple, clean, and neat. Your bedroom should have a restful atmosphere, and for most people, outer order instils inner calm. Step one: Make your bed. Daily bed making is the quickest at-home mood booster. Step two: Kill the clutter. Alexandra Stoddard, the self-described “philosopher of contemporary living,” says, “When we are authentic, when we keep our spaces simple, simply beautiful living takes place.”

5. Make your bedroom a place of comfort. Invest in the best sheets and non-toxic mattress you can afford. Experiment with different types of pillows and replace them frequently.