A bedroom with lots of Earth element (brick, neutral colors), symmetry and simplicity can be the best thing for an insomniac.
Feng shui bedroom tips are not hard to find, but where sleep is concerned, everyone has a unique trigger that keeps them up at night, so the approach to great sleep needs to be holistic and specific! For some, mind’s race due to workaholism, others stay up full of worry and anxiety, some have pain, many party too hard, some are vitamin deficient and yes, sometimes a weird bedroom environment all by itself can rob you of your beauty rest. Since its almost the weekend, I thought I would give you a great list of holistic ways to approach your better sleep… which will… I will bet you… make your whole life better!
When a client tells me that they are having trouble sleeping, I can see just how much the environment is influencing them and then, after asking a whole lot of questions, zero in on specific things to try that address the actual cause of sleeplessness. Now, I know some sleep disorders are clinical and the subject of sleep is much-studied and highly debated, but the basics we are apt to forget (or may not know!) can be a great starting point. As always, see a doctor if you are sleepless in a chronic fashion, as it can be debilitating, but lets make sure you count-out some of the big factors under your control.
A Troubleshooting Guide To Sleepless Nights
1. Check your caffeine. Tea, soda and chocolate count! If you are having caffeine late at night (after NOON is too late for sensitive people to keep drinking if they want to sleep at a reasonable hour.) Generally, you only want to have caffeine within the first few hours of waking, if at all. You may feel exhausted before bed, but that exhaustion then turns to a “wired” feeling that keeps you up as your body is dehydrated and exhausted from being so chemically stimulated all day!
2. Make sure your bedroom doesn’t have any common feng shui no-no’s. You can check this post on common bedroom feng shui issues to see if you need to adjust things slightly.
3. If you just can’t seem to relax physically, your jaw or your muscles seem tense, you can try what I can “natural ambien.” Although it works best with chamomile tea, if you are allergic (as I am) you can use mint or another herbal tea, and stir in a spoonful (you’ll need to experiment here) of Natural Calm magnesium drink with calcium. The first time I drank it was the first time I stopped grinding my teeth. Its semi-magical. (*You can always ask your doctor or the fairly knowledgeable sales people how best to take the Natural Calm, but my experience has been that its pretty safe for most people.)
4. Make sure your room gets dark enough. If you get too much light in your room, you may not be able to fall asleep or stay asleep. The easiest fix is a sleep mask if you can’t quite get the room dark enough. The neoprene sleep masks from Dreamstate have been touted as the gold-standard of sound sleep.
5. If you are prone to nightmares, try a little visualization exercise before bed. Count backwards from 100 to 1 in your head as you lie in bed on your back with as straight a spine as possible (this helps most people to relax deeply), then start visualizing! See beautiful images of abundance, peace and everything you are creating in your life as you ideally want them to be, a though you are watching a movie. If you are relaxed enough you will likely drift-off mid-visualization and start dreaming rather than experiencing anxiety-ridden nightmares. It takes a bit of practice, but its worth doing!
Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field
6. If you get wound-up as soon as you settle into bed, you might actually be sensitive to electronics. Try shutting down all your stuff- TV, computer, cell phone (at least the internet/ texting part!) and all other electronic goodies two hours before bed. If you have exposed and loose wires in your home, a little duct tape will fix them. And, last but not least, if you are in a home full of electronics, live near power cords/ transformers outside your home or are tremendously jumpy you might want to try an EMF blocker that plugs into an outlet in your house to calm down the electromagnetic activity (the waves from all these devices and wires!). Although I can’t say these EMF blockers have been highly tested in a scientific sense, my experience is that they do work!
7. And, as always, let your bedroom be a sanctuary! Keep your bedding fluffed, plush, and free of allergens. Lavender linen spray can take the sensory goodness up a notch in the sleep zone. A fabulous mattress cover can convert even a great mattress into a colossal mattress. Silk pillowcases can be extra luxurious.
Wishing you extra-good nights! xxx Dana
Welcome to Creating Genius!
I spent the last year creating this e-guide to balancing and unblocking life by pulling together the best of a decade of space-changing and life-shifting feng shui! It’s 50 days and 50 ways to use feng shui to shift your space and your routines to move from “stuck” to creatively inspired and alive.
Start Creating Genius right HERE!
Gather up your magic & make gorgeous dreams come true!
xoxo Dana
Hi Dana ~ Wonderful site and blog, thank you for sharing your feng shui wisdom with we devotees.
I’ve had a hard time finding an answer to my burning feng shui question and was hoping you could help me with it.
My home entry is in my “helpful people and travel” bagua. Do I treat that area as such?
Or….is it imperative that the main entrance to the home be treated as one’s “career” bagua ?
Thank you in advance for any assistance you might have to offer.
Diane
Diane! Thank you! And great question! Yep, your home entry is the Helpful People area (also known as Compassion) in the bagua. That said, make sure you open to a bright space, perhaps flanked with plants, a lot of color (perhaps a chandelier!?) and a definitive sense of welcome! This is a very important energy to have flowing in your life, that of compassion & welcome!!!
xoxo Dana
Hi Dana!
I’ve been really enjoying your blog as I’ve been trying to incorporate feng shui into my life. I have been feeling down recently and like I have almost no energy. So, I did have a couple questions that I hoped you could help me with.
Right now I am living with my parents (while I commute to college) so I only really have one room to use as a bedroom, study room, etc. (although I do use another room to hold a computer and most of my books). My room is mostly pastel blues, greens, and purples. I do love pink, and enjoy orange and yellow (and within the past two months suddenly have an appreciation for red). However, I do not really have them as a part of my room. Should I try to incorporate them more? Also, for reference, most of my furniture is wooden (along with the door) and I do have two bamboo plants as well.
I was wondering also how to set up the Bagua Map- The front door to my home is one way, and my room’s door is perpendicular to it. So, should I align the map with the front door, or my door?
Thank you!
I also wanted to let you know that I awarded you the Versatile Blogger Award! Here is the link to my blog post about it: http://sunnymothernature.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/1277/
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Hi Kim!
To start with… in your situation I’d align the bottom of the bagua with the wall of your bedroom’s door. thats your main room, so focus there.
Can you paint? I would consider painting in a warm color (maybe a pink beige- very earthy- or a very chic coral) because the cool colors & your issues seem contradictory. Leave all the linens, etc, the same & paint the walls to start. That’s what I would do, & its the cheapest & most dramatic fix- Not too saturated a hue, not too bright, not too deep.. but warm & pink or coral…- based on what you told me.
Its hard to give specific advice & feng shui is very specific, but thats the most intuitively & generally specific I can be & I hope it helps!
& thank you for the blog accolade! So much! xoxoxo Dana
Hi Dana!
Thanks for the help. I thought it would be aligned with my door, but then I second-guessed myself about that, so thanks for the clarification.
And painting is an awesome idea! I’m just not sure if I’d be able to very quickly (Painting may have to wait until spring or summer :/ ). However, a pink beige or a coral sounds like a beautiful wall color! Either of those completely fits me, but I would have never thought of picking either of those colors myself. I think I’ll add a couple accents in my room in those colors to help tie me over until I can paint. And I totally understand- just what you could give me is very helpful and I’m going to try to incorporate into my room~ thank you!!
And you’re welcome! 🙂
~Kim
Love this article. Some great feng shui principals covered here! Thanks!
Hi,
I love this post. I have tried many tips from this post and have got some positive result from it. Thank you so much……
love to hear it!!!
Hi Dana, really great article! I was wondering if you have a link for the EMF blocker that plugs into an outlet? It goes to an error page when you click on it. Loved all the info in this post! Thanks for writing it:)
i emailed you 🙂 xoxo