A Simple Bedroom

Every room in your home should serve a purpose.

Your kitchen is for making food and entertaining. Your bathroom is for taking care of personal hygiene. Your garage is for storage. And your bedroom?

For many people, their bedroom is for:

• Watching TV
• Getting Okay Sleep
• Using Their Smartphone Late Into The Night
• Occasional Intimacy

Sound familiar?

Our bedrooms in particular have became the room in our home that has strayed far from it’s primary purpose(s). With most homes having a TV in their master bedroom, and smartphones seemingly stuck to us, we can’t escape “entertainment” even in the most private room in our home.

What should a simple bedroom’s purpose be?

Here’s my take:

• Restful Sleep
• Intimacy

You bedroom should be a spot for you to rest and rejuvenate. It should be your retreat at the end of the day to get sleep and keep your body healthy. For those in a relationship, it should also be a spot for intimacy.

Your bedroom should NOT be for entertainment. It should NOT be a place for reading emails and scrolling through social media feeds. It should NOT be a place where you lay down wide awake, staring at an alarm clock.

The more you confuse the purpose of your bedroom, the more your health and relationships will suffer. Poor quality sleep can be devastating to your health, and lack of intimacy in a relationship can remove the closeness between you and your partner.

So simplifying your bedroom is not just about a minimal look, it’s important for your wellbeing.

How To Simplify Your Bedroom

Redefine The Purpose – When starting to simplify your bedroom, start by truly redefining it’s purpose. What is your bedroom for? With a purpose in mind, it’s much easier to simplify with intention.

Only Go To Bed When Tired – From a habit forming standpoint, you should only be going to bed when you are tired. This will train your brain to view your bed as a place to rest, not a place to “mess around on my phone until I’m ready to fall asleep.” If you are not tired, try reading or relaxing in another room until you are ready for bed.

No TV – One of the worst things you can do for your health and relationship is have a TV in your bedroom. It’s terrible for your sleep. It fills your mind with garbage at the start and end of your day. And it actively discourages good communication and intimacy with a loved one. No TV!

A Better Alarm Clock – Most alarm clocks suck. They usually have too bright of numbers on them, and their “alarm” noise feels like a literal alarm to your mind when it goes off in the morning. About 8 years ago I switched a “natural light” alarm clock. Which is an alarm clock that uses light to slowly wake you up in the morning, instead of just an audible alarm. You wake up more naturally through simulating a sunrise.

Smartphone Out of Reach – Your smartphone produces light that tricks your brain into thinking that it is daytime. Your smartphone also has access to the internet, social media, email, etc., that enable your to brain to go into a neurochemical frenzy of scrolling and clicking. So far better sleep, keep your smartphone out of reach from your bed.

Fewer “Surfaces” to Accumulate Stuff – As a place to retreat and unwind, it’s important to keep your bedroom clear of clutter. The only surfaces we have in our bedroom are two small night nightstands and two small dressers. This was intentional to prevent us from adding clutter, as well as open up the room visually.