Color is a very powerful tool that can influence our mood, productivity, and even sleep. Thus, have created a list of the best bedroom colors for sleep as well as a list of colors that are not recommended for this room.
The color of your bedroom is what you see immediately before doing to sleep, so you need to choose such a color that can make this process smoother and make your sleep deeper.
How Colors Affect Us
It is not new that colors affect us, they have a very strong psychological influence on our behavior which is unconscious. There’s even such field as color psychology which is focused on how colors affect perceptions and behaviors.
Here is how colors traditionally are associated with the influence on our mood and behavior. Warm colors (the red area of the color spectrum) trigger emotions from feelings of comfort to anger. Cool colors (the blue side of the spectrum) have an impact ranging from evoking feelings of relaxation to melancholy.
So, let’s dive deeper and understand the best bedroom colors for sleep and also the worst.
Best bedroom colors for sleep
1. The best color for sleep is blue
The blue color is usually described as calm and relaxing. This is a non-threatening color that is associated with the sky and clear water. Thus, the same as looking at the sea reduces anxiety and calms down, your bedroom colored with blue can act in a similar way.
When it comes to the effects of blue on the body, it helps reduce blood pressure and slower heart rate which are natural processes before sleep. Moreover, special receptors in our eyes
that is responsible for sending information to the brain to control circadian rhythms, are more sensitive to the color blue.
According to the study by Travelodge where 2000 Britains participated, people with the blue scheme in their bedrooms get on average almost 8 hours of sleep which is the most compared to people with other color schemes.
So, blue is probably the best color for the bedroom. It induces feelings of calmness which is key for smoothly getting asleep. But you do not need to make your walls blue. You can have some blue details like curtains or bedding.
2. Green is also good for the bedroom
The green color is peaceful as it is associated with nature—trees, grass, forests, and mountains. Like nature has a calming effect on us, green color creates a restful environment needed for good sleep and it also reduces stress. According to the same study by Travelodge, people who live in green-colored bedrooms sleep on average 7 hours 30 minutes.
Additionally, people who sleep in green rooms usually wake in a better mood and are more energetic.
Some researchers think the positive association with green is hardwired in our brains from evolution: Early humans knew that green in nature indicated a place where they could find food, water, and shelter.
One study shows that green is evolutionary a positive and calming color for us as centuries ago humans knew that green place means they could find food, water, and shelter.
However, opt for soft cold green rather than yellow-green.
3. You can’t go wrong with beige
Beige (and light brown as well) is a neutral color without a strict association which allows creating a well-balanced bedroom. Meanwhile, it is a low-distraction color and allows to create a calming space.
This color is also good for the bedroom as it allows easily using additional home decor and color accents without making a room bland. Moreover, you can create a great before-sleep space with the right lighting which is easily incorporated with beige.
Finally, a beige room looks great with a lot of plants which also acts calming, like the green color.
4. Yellow for warmth
This is a soft and warm color that is associated with sunshine and can help you wake up with a positive mindset. You should opt for light yellow which can decrease stress and anxiety while bringing warmth into your bedroom.
In a similar way works orange but choose natural orange tones like terracotta or clay orange.
5. White is an evergreen classic
While this color can be described as sterile and can create an unfriendly atmosphere, this color is classic and represents purity. White walls of your bedroom can be easily supplemented with bright furniture, curtains, bedding, a rug, etc.
Worst bedroom colors for sleep
1. The worst color for sleep is red
Red is probably the worst color you can choose for your bedroom. Red is traditionally associated with danger. Moreover and warning as it’s one of the most visible colors in the color spectrum. This color has the ability to instantly grab people’s attention thus, it’s used as a stop sign in red traffic lights and in other things for the same purpose.
Meanwhile, this color is associated with blood and fire. So, this all means that red can cause anxiety, increase stress, and aggression which are all bad for your sleep.
Moreover, the color is reported to elevate blood pressure, increase heart and respiration rate. This is also what you would like to avoid before sleep and generally in your bedroom.
Dark gray is the worst color to sleep in according to the study. Participants with rooms painted dark gray said they felt lonely, and the average sleep time was 6 hours.
2. Orange is a slippery choice
While natural and light orange can be good for the bedroom as it creates warmth, we would generally not recommend this color for your bedroom.
This color is described as an energetic color that indices enthusiasm and excitement. Moreover, this color, being close to red, is an attention-getter and is considered highly stimulating. For this reason, a lot of sports teams use this color for their uniform and a lot of companies use this color for branding and conversion elements.
Thus, it’s better to avoid this color for huge elements in your bedroom. However, you can still use it for some decor elements.
3. Purple is polarizing and artificial
Purple is a kind of controversial color. There’s no united perception of purple but with no doubt, it’s not a neutral color. It can be described as an exotic and polarizing color, so some people can really love it and some people really hate it. Moreover, there is a lot of association with this color, from mysterious to sadness and even death.
Its feature is that purple does not often occur in nature and this color is not traditional for us. For this reason, it can stimulate our brains, increase blood pressure, and can even increase anxiety.
Some people find it energetic. But in any case, it’s not a good match for your bedroom and for your sleep.
Bedroom Color Light to Help You Sleep
Light in your bedroom is what also has a direct impact on the quality of your sleep. The choice here is usually between warm yellow or cold white-blue light.
As the opposite to walls of your bedroom, cold blue and white lighting is bad for our sleep while the best choice for bedroom lighting is a warm yellow. white and blue light. The reason behind is that such lightening suppresses the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin, in the body.
Wrap-up
So, colors in your bedroom is what can strongly influence our sleep, for better or worse. Thus, we should not neglect this aspect and choose colors for our bedroom walls and huge elements wisely. The best colors to sleep well are blue, yellow and green, while the worst colors to sleep in are red, orange, and purple.