Spring Clean Your Nursery for Better Sleep

Where we sleep is just as important as how we sleep. Look at it this way- not many of us are able to fall asleep anywhere other than in our own beds, right? Now think about your bedroom. You have the nice pillows, the matching curtains and the beautiful pictures on the wall. It’s cosy, it’s inviting, it’s peaceful. Hopefully! All of these little touches help us to relax, and to fall asleep more easily. When you’re away from home, you might find that the bed you’re sleeping in doesn’t feel quite right, and something about the atmosphere in the room makes it difficult to drop off. This could be down to the fact that the room just isn’t right for sleeping in. Now think about your baby’s nursery. Are there toys cluttering up the room on a regular basis? It happens easily. Are there ‘loud’ pictures hanging on the walls? Is your baby’s bed comfortable enough? This week we’re looking at ways you can spring clean your nursery for better sleep- because if a nice room is necessary for you to get a good night’s sleep, the same goes for your baby too!

Calm

We want the nursery to be calm. Anything else will hinder sleep, so keep this in mind. There’s plenty of time for dark walls and expressive paintings when your little one is a teenager! For now, choose colours and accessories that are soothing and easy on the eye. Cool blues and soft yellows are great- in fact pastel colours in general work really well.

It’s all about the lighting

At bedtime, we need the room to be dim enough for the body to start producing melatonin, which is going to send your baby to sleep. During the day time it’s not so easy to do this, so black out blinds should be top of your list when you spring clean the nursery. Next, think about the actual lighting in the room too. Have you got a dimmer switch? Use it for night feeds etc. If not, a dim night light can be just as effective. And speaking of night lights, don’t be fooled into thinking a ‘calm blue’ will help your little one sleep- in fact quite the opposite is true! Studies have found that blue lights prevent the production of melatonin, and it’s red lights that actually promote the production instead.

White Noise

Lots of babies respond really well to white noise at sleep time, so investing in machine that can produce this for you is a really great idea. If you know that your baby sleeps better with white noise, place the machine discreetly in the room, away from reach etc.

De clutter 

It’s so easy to collect things when you have kids! But too many toys, clothes, books and other items in the nursery can seriously affect how well your baby sleeps at night. Not to mention the hazards when you creep in to check on them. We’ve all stepped on that really noisy toy at just the wrong time, haven’t we? As your baby gets older, lots of toys in the bedroom can also cause issues when it comes to settling down for bed too, so if you can store them elsewhere for now it’s a good idea.

What does your nursery look like right now?