If you struggle with insomnia, chances are that falling asleep is an entire nightmare for you. So here is how you can prepare your bedroom so that you can actually sleep.

When you begin this process, think about the spa. Spas are designed to feel relaxing and comforting. While your bedroom doesn’t necessarily have to be a spa, it’s important to incorporate some of the qualities of a spa- for a relaxing vibe. It is possible to get great sleep even if you have struggled with insomnia for years.

Think about your five senses.

When you set up your bedroom, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and it doesn’t have to take a whole lot of your time. It just has to engage your 5 senses.

Let’s start with your sense of sight.

Have you ever been to a cluttered spa ? Of course not. Simply walk into your bedroom and look around. Just kind of look around and tidy up a little bit because when there’s stuff everywhere it is going to affect your ability to sleep. This is especially true for those people whose thoughts are constantly racing.

Are the colors on your wall inviting? Or does it just kind of feel blah? Think of soothing neutral colors- or if you’re someone who likes a little pop of color on your walls (as long as that won’t affect your sleep)-that’s fine too. You won’t cure insomnia Ian one day, but it is possible to beat insomnia and the anxiety that comes with it.

Invest In Some Blackout Curtains

Black out curtains at night are also important to keep light out. You want things to be calm, so invest in some blackout curtains or close your blinds in the evening, so that your room doesn’t have a lot of light flowing in. Light is important because your body is naturally designed to wake up and get ready for the day when it sees sunlight. This could help you get rid of insomnia quickly.

Sense of Smell

What does your bedroom smell like? Is it inviting? Is it relaxing? Is it soothing? Or is it just kind of blah and funky? I am a big fan of diffusers and candles. I like to keep things pretty natural so I’m not a big fan of sprays- but just do whatever works best for you.

Use relaxing scents

Some scents that help to induce sleep are lavender, cedarwood, ylang ylang, chamomile and clary sage. Invest in some candles or some essential oils.

Air out your bedroom for better sleep

If you’re sensitive to smells, just make sure you air out your bedroom during the day so that your bedroom doesn’t have that bodily, funky smell at night. All of these little pieces together really can help to enhance your sleep.

Sense of Touch

Think about what it is that you wear to sleep. Is it soft? Does it make you hot and sweaty? Are you cold? Make sure your sleep environment is cool. Some people like to leave windows open.

Some people like to turn on a fan or turn on the air, or even both. If you are hot or sweaty at night it’s going to be more difficult to sleep.

Invest in some comfy pajamas. I’m a big fan of cotton because it’s breathable. Your sleepwear doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy- just comfortable and breathable.

Also think about your bedsheets. How often do you change your sheets? All of these things are very important for getting your body to be able to relax. You don’t have to get the most expensive sheets, but get some sheets that feel soft on your body. People who are sensitive to touch will have bad quality sleep if they’re on uncomfortable sheets. You don’t even have to get a whole bunch of sheets. You can get one or two and just wash them very often.

Sense of Taste

Some people like to drink things like chamomile tea about an hour or two before bed to kind of get the body to feel more relaxed.

A quick word about bedtimes.

It’s very important to remember that about an hour before your bedtime, (If you follow me on social media, you know that I’m always saying everybody needs a bedtime- even adults. You need a regular bedtime so that your body knows when you’re supposed to be falling asleep.

(Back to your sense of taste)

And this has to do with your body’s production of melatonin. An hour before your bedtime, cut off all eating because you don’t want your digestive system going a mile a minute when you’re trying to sleep.

Avoid spicy foods and foods that increase in gas, so that your body is settled at night. Now these rules do not apply to every person. But try different things and see what works for you.

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Sense of Hearing

And then lastly we have sound. What does your bedroom sound like? If you live in the city and it’s super loud, you might want to drown out some of that noise. You can use a sound machine to play white noise or sounds of nature (you can find it on Amazon or Walmart). They are not super expensive.

You can also play white noise on your phone. You can listen to a sleep story (It’s basically just like a lullaby. Somebody just calmly reads a story to you and it quiets your thoughts and lulls your body to sleep).

As a busy adult, it is difficult to transition from busy day to brain shutting down and sleeping. That’s why I say spend an hour getting ready for bed- that includes turning off the news or anything that is triggering. (But that’s going to be another blog post).

Another thing that you can do is listen to a sleep meditation and do activities like deep breathing or a body scan that helps you relax your body from head to toe. I am also a fan of bio lateral music- check it out on YouTube.

So there you have it.

Those are things that you can do to create a good sleep environment. You don’t have to do all of those things in one day. Just do one thing a week, and before you know it your bedroom will be a great spa-like sleep environment.

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment. You can also follow me on Instagram for more sleep tips.

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About the Author

My name is Ibinye Osibodu-Onyali. I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist in California. I help women who are struggling with anxiety and insomnia.