How to Make Your Bedroom Darker and Create a Sleep-Friendly Space

Many of the improvements in our technology over the years have been pretty cool. 

Social media, global travel and Artificial Intelligence (unless you think that robots will overthrow us all) are just some of the culture-shifting advances we’ve seen.

They’re even 3-D printing steaks now. Crazy.

But like most things in life, there’s a cost.

Growing evidence suggests that modern advancements are taking their toll on human health. One way this is happening is by damaging our sleep quality.

Our damaged sleep quality is largely down to the time we spend on a myriad of electronic devices such as televisions, computers, and smartphones. 

The light emitted from these devices messes with our sleep in surprisingly dark ways. 

Let us explain how.

When it comes to getting great sleep, light is your arch-nemesis (especially if you’re a superhero, which you are). If your bedroom isn’t dark at night, your sleep is likely being impacted.

Light is the most important external factor that affects our sleep in two key ways. When it comes to your bedroom, the darker you can make it, the better.

Firstly, light plays a key role in regulating your circadian rhythm. This is your body’s internal clock that tells you when to be awake and when to sleep. 

And secondly, light also affects the production of melatonin, an essential hormone for sleep.

To understand this more fully, let’s dive into the details of these two aspects (just a little bit) more.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. When it’s dark, brain's pineal gland kicks off melatonin production. 

When released, it makes you drowsy and gets you nice and ready for bed. Doctors even prescribe synthetic Melatonin to help people who struggle to sleep.

When it’s light, however, melatonin production slows or even stops.

Here’s how it should go down:

Clock: “Hey CP! I’m deciding if we should sleep yet. Is it day or night?”

CP: “Well this bedroom is pretty dark, so night must be approaching…”

Clock: “Excellent. I’ll start to slow things down then. Release the Melatonin! It’s time for bed.”

The Circadian Pacemaker looks around and tells your internal clock whether it’s dark or light. The clock gets the message and decides what needs to happen in the body.

If it’s dark, time to sleep. If it’s light, time to be active, and so on.

Back in the old days, this system worked wonderfully without a hitch. People went to bed when it was dark and arose when it was light. On and on it went for most of human history.

But then something changed.

Humans discovered electricity, and with it, artificial light. We could now create an environment free from the dark.

Now, artificial light is absolutely everywhere. It’s on the streets, in our homes, in our cars, on our TVs, and even in our pockets. No matter where we go, we can barely escape it.

This absolute abundance of light is throwing the communication between the internal clock and the circadian pacemaker out of whack, and our bodily processes are equally out of sorts.

Your body doesn’t know it’s dark outside. Without the dark, it doesn’t know that night has approached and it’s time for sleep.

For example, here’s what happens when you’re on your smartphone at night:

Clock: “Yo CP! It’s me again. I’m deciding if we should sleep yet. Is it dark yet?”

CP: “I….I don’t know. I think it’s still light out.”

Clock: “What? That’s impossible. We’ve been awake for 20 hours. It should be getting dark by now.”

CP: “But… it isn’t dark. I can see light right in front of my face.”

Clock: “Right. Well, we can’t go to sleep until it’s dark. We’re staying awake. Halt the Melatonin!”

Rest of the body: “But we need rest!”

Clock: “Did you hear me? We aren’t sleeping unless it’s dark.”

Internally, your clock is telling its own time, out of alignment with the outside world. With artificial light, you can effectively extend the day.

If this continues, your body stops getting the rest it requires in order to function optimally. The consequences of this lack of proper rest can be devastating, not just on your physical health but your mental well-being, too.

In the pursuit of great sleep, your bedroom makes a big difference.

A dark, cool, and quiet bedroom creates the right conditions for your body to get the rest it needs.

No, your dark bedroom doesn’t need to be coated in Musou Black. It’s literally the darkest paint ever created, according to Design Taxi.⁽⁵⁾

Nor does your dark bedroom need to be so quiet that it measures negative decibels, says the Smithsonian Magazine.⁽⁶⁾

But if you want to sleep really well and give yourself the rest you need to create an amazing life, making your bedroom dark, quiet and cool is the best thing you can do.

Making your bedroom darker doesn’t have to be difficult. It doesn’t have to cost a ton of money, either. A dark bedroom is accessible to everyone.

Here’s a list of some simple tips (and sleep gadgets) to make your bedroom darker than your ex’s heart (sorry!).

Blackout blinds are fantastic at creating a darker sleeping environment.

In addition to blocking out artificial light, blackout blinds block out natural light, too. That way, the sunrise won’t come crashing into your bedroom in the small hours.

The result? You’ll be able to enjoy your lie-in no matter what’s going on outside.

One caveat: as you shop for blackout blinds, make sure you find a product that has at least two layers. This is essential for creating a totally dark bedroom.

Blackout drapes and blinds are the most common ways of creating a dark bedroom. Unfortunately, they are often the most expensive solutions (they’re damn effective though).

If you don’t mind forking out the money, it’s definitely worth considering how much it would cost to put them up in your room.

Blackout drapes are very much like standard curtains. The only difference is the fabric they use. These curtains use a thicker fabric to block out as much light as they possibly can. They do a really good job of making your room darker, for the most part.

In addition to the fabric, they often have liners inside that help to block any light that is making its way through the curtain. 

A decent set of blackout drapes can make your bedroom completely dark.

Hear us out for a moment. We know this isn’t the most optimal way of making your bedroom darker, but it’s honestly one of the most effective solutions available.

Aluminum foil easily reflects the sun to stop it from shining into your bedroom. Next to no light will come through your window, and in the sweaty summer, the heat will also be deflected from the room.

Something you will need to be aware of is that your landlord might not appreciate you adorning room after room in your home with foil,  for a whole bunch of (justifiable) reasons.

Before making your bedroom dark with this method, you will want to check to make sure that you are not doing anything that might land you in a spot of trouble.

This method may not be the most appealing or attractive method out there, but it is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to make your bedroom dark.

You might be tempted to have your phone face-up on your bed stand, but every time you get a notification, your phone may buzz and briefly turn the screen on. 

It might seem harmless when you’re asleep, but as we mentioned earlier, any light can disrupt your sleep. 

Another option to make sure you get total bedroom darkness would be to use airplane mode or even turn your phone off altogether.

But if you really don’t want to be late for work, you could always get an analog clock!

It might seem pretty innocuous, but that light creeping in from under the door can sneakily sabotage your dark room. In order to prevent this from happening, either invest in a draft stopper or simply roll a towel under the door. 

As for the sides of the door, you could use weather stripping to block out the light. And as an added bonus, this method also stops dust, bugs, noise, and drafts from entering your room. 

Win-win!

If you really want to make your bedroom as dark as possible, you might want to consider repainting your walls a different color. 

It might seem like a drastic measure, but using a darker color for your walls can make a huge difference when it comes to making your bedroom dark. 

When done properly, a dark colored bedroom can make the space seem larger — because rather than the walls reflecting the light back to you and creating a glare, the darker colors absorb light and blur the edges of the room to create a sense of depth.

Another added benefit is that a darker decor can create a cozy, calming feel to help you chill out and fall asleep more easily. If you're not a fan of dark colors, read this article for more options: Are The Colors in Your Bedroom Helping You Sleep (or Keeping You Awake)?

It might be time to rearrange your room and get a little dark feng shui in your environment. If your bed is facing a light source, you might want to arrange your room so that this isn’t the case.

To avoid light creeping in when you don’t want it to, you could make it part of your evening routine to switch off all of the lights in any adjacent room. 

That way, you embody the spirit of darkness in your whole home, as well as your bedroom (at least until the morning chorus).

We like to go above and beyond the call of duty. Now that your bedroom is really dark, we thought we’d give you a few sleep tips to complement your new dark bedroom.

What about those late nights where you go to bed too late after watching a few too many episodes on Netflix? Well, if you invest in some smart bulbs, you might not need to worry. 

Smart bulbs are a pretty nifty bedroom addition. Unlike regular bulbs, they can be set to emit red light after a certain time. This means that instead of blue light invading your beautiful dark room, you get a soothing red light as you go about your late-night business.

It isn’t just the blue light from your devices that keeps you up — it’s the mental stimulation of the novel information you’re taking in from being on your device. And this includes binge-watching your favorite shows. Read our article Binge-Watching Is Ruining Your Sleep. These Sleep-Friendly Streaming Tips Can Help to find out why.

Scrolling on TikTok right before bed is probably not a great way to give your brain the chance to relax and unwind, because it still has to process all the information you feed it. 

Instead of giving your brain the message that it’s time to be up and active, dedicate an “electronic-free” hour before bed and allow it to slow down.

In addition to light and sound, your bedroom temperature also affects sleep quality. Have you ever noticed that it can be a nightmare to get to sleep during those super-hot summer heatwaves?

According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine it’s because bedroom temperature might even affect your sleep quality as much as, if not more than, external noise.⁽⁸⁾

But what is the ideal sleep temperature to complement your beautiful, dark bedroom?

Around 70°F (20°C) seems to be the comfortable sweet spot for most people, although seeing as you’re a wonderfully unique human, your preferences factor into this, too.

Getting a fan, opening the windows, and keeping the (hopefully blackout) blinds shut during the day can help keep your bedroom cool in the summer. Or you might want to consider sleeping in the buff. Here are 10 Reasons Why Everyone Should Sleep Naked.

If you want to sleep like a baby (minus waking up crying 10 times a night), it’s time to make your bedroom darker.

If you’ve been having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, the tips above will help make your bedroom dark, cool and calming.

Trying even one of the suggestions above could make your bedroom super duper dark, and dramatically improve the quality of your sleep. (You can also try finding out the scent to help you sleep, and if you need some extra help in choosing the best sleep products to really optimize your sleep, we've got your back!)

So tell us, which tip are you going to try first? Leave a comment below.

Sources::

(1) “The Global Problem of Insufficient Sleep and Its Serious Public Health Implications” National Library of Medicine, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6473877/. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(2) “Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society on the Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: Methodology and Discussion” National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26194576/. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(3) “Is 5 Hours Enough Sleep?” Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/is-5-hours-enough-sleep. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(4) “Sleep Duration and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies” National Library of Medicine, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864873/. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(5) “Here’s What A Room Painted In World’s Blackest Acrylic ‘Musou Black’ Looks Like” Design Taxi, designtaxi.com/news/412863/Here-s-What-A-Room-Painted-In-World-s-Blackest-Acrylic-Musou-Black-Looks-Like/. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(6) “Earth’s Quietest Place Will Drive You Crazy in 45 Minutes” Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earths-quietest-place-will-drive-you-crazy-in-45-minutes-180948160/. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(7) “Does Red Light at Night Help or Hinder Your Sleep?” Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/why-not-to-have-red-lights-on-at-night. Accessed 08 March 2024.

(8) “Relative and combined effects of heat and noise exposure on sleep in humans” National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1811316/. Accessed 08 March 2024.