Sleep Oasis:  Declutter Your Nightstand

Is your bedroom a haven for relaxation? If your brain won’t settle at night, check your bedroom serenity quotient. It’s difficult to settle your brain with visual overload on your nightstand.

Living in small quarters such as a loft takes a little more creativity to design an oasis for deep sleep or meditation. Partitioning your sleep area is one alternative to separate your day and night. But within your sleep space, if you find that it’s hard to settle down at night because your space doesn’t support serenity, a bit of a clear out and cleanup may allow your brain to chill so you can get some quality zzzz’s.

The more visual stimulation around us, the more our brains process. Removing excess, particularly electronics or work-related material, allows your brain to turn off the day and tune into some restorative REM sleep.

Sub>Less clutter means more serenity

If you have a night table or nightstand next to your bed, curate the tabletop like you would a museum display, thoughtfully and intentionally. It’s fine to keep the book you’re reading, tissues and your reading glasses nearby. Move finished books and magazines (or those you don’t plan to read anytime soon) to bookshelves or the donation box. Store lotions and other personal hygiene items in the bathroom. Scoop up any used drinking glasses and plates and hightail them to the kitchen. Items that migrate to your room can migrate back to rooms that make sense — like an in progress grocery list (kitchen or entry table), to-do lists (near the phone), etc.

A basket placed near your bed offers additional storage without eye-level, tabletop clutter.

See if a less busy room results in a dreamier night.

Sweet dreams!