4 Bedroom Design Hacks to Help Your Child Sleep Well
When designing a child’s bedroom, there are lots of things you want to consider. Many parents decorate their kids’ bedrooms in a style or theme, and this can be a fun way to decorate, but there are also important factors to keep in mind when making design choices. For example, safety should be considered in your design to ensure the room is child-safe, as your child will be spending time in their bedroom unsupervised. Another factor to consider when designing a child’s bedroom is how the room design can affect your child’s sleep. Here are some ideas to consider when designing their new bedroom, if you want to help your child sleep well:
Make Their Bed Appealing
The best way to get your children to enjoy going to bed every night is by making their bed a comfortable and appealing place to be. As your child grows and reaches different stages, they will go from sleeping in a cot to eventually a full-sized bed. Choose bedding that meets their interests, but that is also made from good quality materials that are gentle on the skin. You can also get them a comfortable memory foam mattress and try different kinds of pillows, which should help them to sleep better. With comfortable materials and appealing design, their bed should be a positive place.
Pick the Right Colors
While your child’s bedroom should be fun and happy, different colors in the room could help or hinder their sleep. Neutral colors and softer color palettes are generally more calming, and if you want a patterned wallpaper, choose to paper just one wall instead of all four of them. Brighter colors might be overstimulating and better kept to a playroom; if in doubt, choose pale not bright.
Distinguish Separate Zones
A good way to get the balance between play, study, and sleep is to separate these areas through your design choices. Separate these zones with different colors or furniture and generate a healthy routine before bedtime. Just as we adults benefit from having a winding-down routine, so do our children. As well as a space to play with their toys, you could create a space close to their bed with a bookshelf and a comfy bean bag where they can relax. They should also have optimal storage for toys and clutter, as a messy bedroom promotes a chaotic environment, so encourage them to tidy up using the storage you have provided.
Light and Dark
Children’s sleep cycles can be affected by light, so as the seasons change, you may find this affecting their sleep. Make sure their curtains and blinds have a blackout material, so that bright streetlights or an early sunrise won’t wake them up too early. If it gets dark early, they may also struggle, as many children can be frightened of the dark. There are so many great night-lights available, with smart color and timer features, and investing in the right lighting can make a huge difference to their sleep. Different light colors can affect our brains and the signals that are released, so keep phones, tablets, and other electronic devices away before bedtime to help your children wind down. Adults are equally guilty of this bad habit of using phones before sleeping, and many studies have shown how this has negative effects on our sleep.
Hopefully, these tips give you something to think about when designing your child’s bedroom, so you can make better decisions in order to promote better sleep, which will help you to sleep better too! Don’t forget to involve your child in the designing, as a space that feels more personal will be a happier and calmer place to fall asleep in.
