DIY Tips for Improving Your Bedroom and Sleeping Experience

Are you struggling to stay alert and productive during the workday? Do you find yourself lacking energy and motivation, even when it comes to doing things outside of work? Do you always catch yourself yawning in conference meetings? All right, so most of us give a yawn or two at meetings—but it could also be a sign of lack of sleep.

There could be lots of reasons why you’re not sleeping well, but chances are your bedroom space has something to do with it. Don’t fret! There are a few simple ways you can adjust your bedroom and dramatically improve your sleeping experience. Here are some DIY tips to help you get a better night’s rest.

Build More Storage

Sometimes we can’t sleep well because our bedroom is too messy. Cluttered living spaces can make us feel anxious and… well, cluttered. And those feelings can keep us from having the inner calm we need to fall asleep. Try picking up all your clothes and belongings and storing them in their proper locations. If you’ve got lots of items that you don’t use, now might be a good time to utilize the KonMari Method.

Don’t have enough room for all your bedroom stuff? You can create more storage by installing cubbies under your bed or by installing pull-out shelves in your existing storage spaces.

Make Your Bedroom Quieter

One of the most common reasons we don’t sleep well is that there’s too much noise! If you live in a busy urban area, then noise pollution can disrupt your sleep throughout the night—or maybe you just have noisy neighbors that keep you up. Whatever the case, you can make your bedroom quieter by making it more sound-proof. Just install acoustic panels on your bedroom walls. Acoustic panels block lots of exterior sound from permeating your walls, and they come in a variety of colors and styles. Maybe it’ll become a new home design trend.

Improve the Insulation

You might have seasonal sleep problems if your home has poor climate control. Your room might get too hot in the summer and you’ll wake up sweating in the middle of the night. Or, your room might get too cold in the winter and you’ll wake up shivering. In either case, you might not be able to fall asleep at all if your room temperature is too extreme.

That’s why it’s important to have good insulation in your walls. Insulation regulates heat transfer so that your room stays at a mild temperature during seasonal extremes. You can use urethane foam to create new insulation. It’s difficult and costly to tear down your existing walls and install new insulation inside. But you can use insulation foam to plug any minor holes and cracks near your bedroom windows and doors or on your exterior walls. Plugging up a few holes can make a huge difference in room temperature.

Create a DIY Charging Station (Outside the Bedroom)

Nowadays, lots of people tend to play around on their smartphones and laptops before they go to bed. Unfortunately, the screens on these smart devices emit an irritating light that can keep us from falling asleep right away. A great sleep habit you can develop is to keep your phones and laptops out of your bedroom altogether. Create a DIY charging station for your devices and place it somewhere in your home where there’s an electrical outlet.

Do you use your smartphone as a morning alarm clock? Try using other kinds of smart home technology, like a smart speaker.

Create Sleep-Inducing Lighting

Speaking of sleep habits, another great way to get yourself in a sleeping mood is to create dim lighting in your bedroom approximately one hour before you go to bed. Dim lighting signals to your brain that it’s just about time to sleep, and your brain can begin its sleep-inducing process. Add lights to your bedroom that are either yellow or blue (avoid bright, white lights). You can either install new light bulbs or you can add strip lights or string lights.

On that note, your sleep problem might be that there’s too much light entering your bedroom. Consider installing blackout curtains over your bedroom window. These curtains are ultra-effective at blocking out light, and they also block noise and improve insulation.

With any of these simple fixes, you can make your bedroom a whole lot better for sleeping. May peaceful 8-hour sleep await!