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A woman with a cup of tea on a window seat at dusk, looking out at the sea, one brass lamp lit

Calm · 15 min

A cooler, darker, quieter room

Fifteen minutes spent on the bedroom itself: a little cooler, a little darker, a little quieter.

15 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
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We spend a third of our lives in the bedroom and rarely look at it. Small changes to temperature, light and noise can make a room much easier to sleep in, and none of them need to cost much.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. Lie on the bed tonight with the light off and notice: is any light coming in? Is anything humming, ticking or blinking?

  2. Deal with the light: cover small glowing lights with tape or turn the device away, and use a heavier curtain or a folded blanket over a thin one.

  3. Make the room a touch cooler than the rest of the house, with a window open a crack or the heating lower, and use layers on the bed you can add or kick off.

  4. Move one thing that does not belong to sleep out of sight: the laundry pile, the work bag, the paperwork.

The reason

Why it helps

Bodies sleep best when they can cool down a little through the night, and even small amounts of light or a sudden noise can pull us towards waking. A room that is cool, dark and calm asks less of a tired mind. Clearing away the reminders of work and chores helps the room mean rest again.

A gentle variation

If you need to hear someone in the night, a parent or a person you care for, keep a monitor or the door open, and make everything else as quiet as you can. A soft, steady sound such as a fan can cover small noises without hiding the ones that matter.

One hand resting over another on a wooden table

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

Bedrooms are shared spaces, and people often disagree about temperature and light. Make two small adjustments each rather than one big compromise: separate blankets, an eye mask for one, a book light instead of the big light.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

Tonight, lie in the dark for one minute, find one light or sound you can remove, and remove it.

Add it to your day

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