Your bedroom is where you will begin, end, and spend much of your day in. But while we think of keeping our bodies healthy through proper eating, sleep, and exercise, we do not think of how our indoor environments affect our health. But smoke, dust, and chemicals all have negative effects and so it is important to keep our bedrooms as clean as possible.
A great bedroom cleaning can take some time and cost some money, but it is all worth it when you are finished and look at your new environment. Here are few simple tips to help have a cleaner, healthier life.
-
Understand What Dust is and how to clean it
Dedusting your bedroom is an entire topic in and of itself, but here are a few fundamental facts. Dust is pollen, soil, and outside contaminants that get into our houses through a wide variety of ways. Your body spreads a great deal of dust, as soil and pollen get on your body when you are outside and then slowly flakes off when you move around indoors.
There is no way to permanently get rid of dust, and you will need to regularly wash and clean your room from top to bottom. But this does not just mean windowsills or bookshelves. Your bedding should be a top priority as it accumulates dust from you spending so much time on it. Wash your bedding and change your sheets once a week.
-
Lower the Bedroom Temperature
Most of us keep room temperature in the 70s, and so think that works just fine for sleeping. But the Cleveland Clinic states that “the temperature in the bedroom for adults should be between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal sleep.” Our bodies temperature decreases while we sleep as we are less active. Furthermore, too hot or too low temperatures can wake you up when you sleep, disturbing REM patterns and affecting how much rest you get.
Experiment to find your preferred temperature, as even a few degrees higher or lower can potentially make a significant difference. If you need a cooler room, consider using a fan instead of lowering your AC. The repetitive sound of a fan can be soothing and help you put in the right mood.
-
Move Your Electronics
A lot of guides will state that you should remove electronics such as laptops, tablets, and cell phones from your bedroom entirely as using them before you sleep can be distracting. But let us be honest. You are not going to do that. I am not going to do that. I like being able to mess around with my phone sitting on my bed in the evenings.
So if you are not willing to move your phone, the next best thing is to move your charger. Putting your charger away from your bed carries multiple health benefits. It will make it easier for you to stay away from your phone before you go to bed. If you use your phone as an alarm clock as I do, keeping your phone from your bed means that you actually have to get out of your bed to turn your alarm clock off which will help actually wake you up. And in fact, charging your phone in bed is a potential fire hazard.
Don’t move your phone away from your room entirely. Just keep it a little farther away.
-
The War on Clutter
Clutter looks ugly, and it is also an actual serious health hazard. On a psychological level, clutter drains your mental energy. People with cluttered rooms feel like they are not in control of their own bedrooms, and thus by extension not in control of their lives. Clutter is also a potential fire hazard and helps collect spread dust and mold.
Dealing with existing and keeping more clutter from accumulating is a task which can take all day and can have many steps. But the most basic way to fight clutter is to look at what you truly need, whether books or electronics or clothes. Have you used them in the past few months? Do you have active plans to use them anytime soon? If not, consider donating or just getting rid of unwanted items to have a more spacious room.
-
Get New Bedding Material
To get a proper night’s sleep, you need to choose a mattress which fits for you. It can take some time to find the perfect mattress, but the good news is that buying a mattress is easier and cheaper than ever before. Whether you prefer a firm or memory foam mattress, online retailers like Amerisleep, Casper, Purple, Tufts & Needle offer a wide variety of mattresses which you can try out for free and then return.
Getting a new mattress is important, but do not forget to look at new sheets and bed linens as well. An important thing to remember when buying new bedding material is that being more expensive or having a higher thread count does not always mean better. Pay attention to reviews of different bedding material, and above all try it out yourself until you find the combination which works for you.