Choosing the perfect color for a bedroom is much more than just a decorative decision.
Humans have a complex relationship with color, even if we’re unaware of our reactions to certain shades, and the hue of our bedroom walls can significantly alter our sleep patterns.
The best bedroom colors for a good night’s sleep are blue, yellow, and green.
Light pastel hues evoke feelings of calmness, relaxation, and contentment. Lavender, pink, silver, and orange are soothing, while some prefer the simplicity of beige, gray, or black.
Avoid dynamic colors, like red, when decorating a bedroom. Action-packed colors can agitate us before bed. Equally, steer clear of shades that make us sad, like deep brown.
What Colors Are Associated with Sleep?
Color is everywhere, playing a more prominent role in our daily lives than we realize. The Annual Review of Psychology said that color can influence how we act, think, and feel at any moment.
A DIY store will likely present you with a color wheel when reviewing paint options for bedroom walls.
Your eye may immediately be drawn to bright, active colors, especially if these are traditional favorites. Understand the impact of different hues, though.
High-impact colors, like red, will likely disturb sleep because these shades trigger feelings of danger, excitement, and passion in the brain.
Why Do Warm Colors Help You Sleep?
Despite these warnings, warm colors – shades of the red, orange, and yellow families – are positive for sleep. Cooler colors, like blue and green, have a warning, but this is often misunderstood advice.
Advice to embrace warm colors at bedtime relates to artificial light, not design schemes.
Like the blue light emitted by electronic devices, cool light is harsh on the retinas and can disturb sleep. Warmer lights, like yellows, are easier for the eyes to process in darkness.
It’s less a case of warm colors helping you to sleep, but warm colors won’t keep you awake.
Good Colors for Sleep
In theory, there’s no right or wrong color to paint the walls of an adult’s bedroom. The Journal of Healthcare Engineering stated that being surrounded by a preferred color can aid in sleep and relaxation.
However, there’s no denying that color psychology influences many of us.
Children are particularly susceptible to color, as per the International Journal of Pediatrics, while anybody who struggles with insomnia should be wary of inappropriate bedroom décor.
Let’s review the colors experts believe promote a positive and healthy night’s sleep, including the finish and whether certain shades are better than others.
Blue
Pale shades of blue are believed to invoke feelings of calm and comfort, while dark blues are bolder but still evoke sensations of trust and relaxation.
Many professional establishments like hotels use blue as a standard corporate brand.
In addition, Frontiers in Psychology explains how universities consider blue the perfect dormitory color to inspire calm and agile minds in students.
As a cool color, blue won’t attract too much heat or warmth. Temperature moderation is critical to sleeping well. However, the main reason to consider a blue bedroom is its calming sensation.
When the eyes process blue, the brain isn’t stimulated to produce stress hormones that agitate the body and mind. Instead, you’ll find yourself drifting into a state of relaxation that encourages sleep.
Yellow
Yellow is a popular color for children’s nurseries because it’s cheerful. The feelings of contentment inspired by yellow can encourage positive sleep patterns.
Also, yellow imitates the color of the sun, which can be invaluable in the mornings.
If you always feel tired and sluggish upon waking, no matter how much sleep you get, yellow walls may go some way to kickstarting your circadian rhythms.
If you wish to sleep in a yellow bedroom, use slightly lighter, more muted shades. These will provide many advantages without agitating the eye and brain.
Brighter, bolder yellows with a glossy finish can inspire bursts of energy. That’s great in the morning, but it’s the last thing you need when trying to sleep at night.
Green
Green is the perfect shade for your bedroom if you find peace and relaxation in nature. Olive and sage shades, in particular, promote a calm mind ready to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Green is believed to have a positive influence on our morning moods.
Waking up in a green room can make us feel like anything is possible, with the natural elements of the shade lending themselves to an unrelenting positivity.
Green is a non-stimulatory color, even if you’re not at one with the great outdoors and have spent your life in the city. This can be invaluable in a world that seems determined to keep us on our toes.
Lavender
Bright, bold purple is a color associated with magic and wonder.
That’s a big part of its appeal, but it’s also why purple is a terrible color for a bedroom. Purple walls will set a creative brain whirring at all hours, inspiring ideas and likely leading to intense dreams.
All isn’t lost, though. If you like purple hues, lavender is an excellent choice for a bedroom. Like the plant that gives this color its name, lavender is considered a byword for calm and tranquility.
Silver
Silver, like white, is a hue of cool purity and neutrality.
This can be just the ticket for somebody seeking a bedroom without sleep stimulation. Unlike white, silver isn’t a spartan color that can make a room look opulent and luxurious.
Another advantage of silver is that it’s simple to accessorize. Warm lighting can be applied to silver walls to complete a feeling of calm. Equally, furnishings could be constructed from any shade of wood.
Any silver walls mustn’t boast a glossy finish. Light will reflect on these, creating a disco effect that will keep you awake. If you opt for silver walls in your bedroom, keep everything matte.
Pink
Pink and blush shades for a bedroom are a way to embrace a love of red.
Bright, vibrant hot pink may look striking in Barbie’s dream house, but it won’t lend itself to a good night’s sleep. They’ll cause the same reaction as a deep, lively shade of red.
Soft pink shades are gentle and tender, making a bedroom feel safe and secure.
This can make the color perfect for people with demanding, hectic lifestyles. Retiring to a room with pink décor helps the stresses and strains of a day melt away at bedtime.
Orange
Another alternative to bright red is a soft and muted orange. Avoid a glossy finish, and use a bright, hearty shade. A subtle, gentle orange can inspire feelings of happiness and contentment.
If you embrace orange in a bedroom, pair it with brown wooden furnishings. While brown is another color we recommend steering clear of in terms of walls, it pairs well with orange accessories.
A muted orange and brown room will evoke feelings of sandy beaches in the brain. This, in turn, should make your bedroom feel like a relaxing vacation spot.
Gray
A light tint of stone gray can be an alternative to glossy white walls.
While gray walls may inspire you to retire to bed, they won’t pep you up in the morning. If you’re going to sleep in a gray room, you’ll need some flourishes elsewhere.
Beige
Beige is the best solution if you want a simple bedroom wall other than white.
Beige walls won’t win you any design awards from glossy magazines, but neither are you likely to regret this color choice. In many respects, its lack of distinction is also its greatest strength.
Nothing about beige stimulates you at night and keeps you awake.
Black
Black can be a calming color in the right context, and it’ll keep a room dark if you are prone to insomnia. If you wake up to use the bathroom at night, returning to a black room will relax you.
If you do decide on black walls, there are two considerations. You shouldn’t use a glossy finish as the light will rebound off the gloss, making a room feel smaller. Only get a matte finish.
Don’t use pure black. Brighten your walls with flashes of cool color here and there to make the area more welcoming. You may be surprised at the impact a flash of pale blue or green could have.
The color you paint a bedroom is a matter of personal choice. If you spin a color wheel and fall in love with a deep shade of red or brown, there’s nothing to say you can’t use these hues.
Just give the paint time to dry sufficiently before sleeping in that room.
