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A linen armchair with a green throw, a lamp just lit, a book and a mug on a stool, slippers on the rug at golden hour

Maison · 15 min

A lit path from bed to bathroom

A few low lights along the route you take at night, so the walk to the bathroom is never in the dark.

15 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
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Many trips and falls at home happen on ordinary routes, and the walk from bed to bathroom in the night is one of the most ordinary of all. You are half awake, the floor is dark, and something has been left where it was not this morning. A few soft lights along that one route can make the walk easier and steadier.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. Tonight, before bed, walk the route from your bed to the bathroom with the main lights off, and notice where it is darkest and where you reach out for a wall.

  2. Clear the route of anything at foot level: shoes, bags, cables, the edge of a rug that lifts.

  3. Put a low, soft light at the darkest points, for example a plug-in night light in the hall or a motion-sensor light that comes on as you pass. Choose a warm, dim light rather than a bright white one.

  4. Keep a light within reach of the bed, so you are never getting up in full darkness, and try the route again the next night.

The reason

Why it helps

Dim, warm light is enough to see edges and doorways without waking you fully, so it can be easier to get back to sleep afterwards. Clearing one route, rather than the whole home, is small enough to do tonight, and it is the route that matters most when you are tired and unsteady.

A gentle variation

If you share a room with someone who sleeps lightly, put the lights low down, near the floor, and facing away from the bed. If you cannot get new lights, leave a door open to a lit hall, or keep a small battery light by the bed.

Hands passing a dish across a candlelit table set with glasses and greens

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

If you look after someone who gets up in the night, walk the route with them in the evening and ask where they find it hardest. They know the dark spots better than anyone. Decide together where the lights go, so the home still feels like theirs.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

Tonight, walk from your bed to the bathroom with the lights off and move one thing that is in the way.

Add it to your day

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