Achieving Better Sleep: Basic Cleaning Tips for Your Bedroom

As everyone knows, spring is all about renewal. As the cold of winter wanes and the sun begins to warm our bones, many people move into spring cleaning mode.

This practice can take many forms, from a furious session of purging items from your home to committing to a new daily practice like meditation or making dramatic changes to your diet.

The philosophy of “out with the old and in with the new” is a powerful one, and following it can definitely improve your sleep. During the winter, people tend to live in more of a cocoon, eating larger meals and staying inside to cope with the cold.

Whether these shifts are large or small, they have the potential to impact your sleep patterns—and, in severe cases, disrupt circadian rhythms.

Positioned after the spring equinox, let Sleep Awareness Week and World Sleep Day serve as reminders for you to take inventory of your sleep habits and environment.

That way, you can remove what’s not working as the daylight hours grow longer and add habits or make changes to your bedroom that have the potential to improve your sleep if you’re not resting consistently. Or, you can enhance your sleep recipe and/or the environment if you’re already sleeping soundly.

When people begin cleaning their houses from March through May, deep clean in the bedroom is often overlooked. Deep-cleaning your sleep space not only removes unnecessary clutter but also brings order to a place of calm. It also has the potential to remove allergens like dust mites that can negatively affect sleep.

Here are just a few tips you can follow to get started.

Spring Cleaning Checklist for the Bedroom

Cleaning up your sleep space can be as simple as pulling out the vacuum and the dust cloth, and it should not just happen once a year in the spring!

Microscopic house dust mites can wreak havoc with your allergies and, consequently, your sleep! [2] Here are a few general cleaning tips for your bedroom to prepare for a good night's sleep.

Below, find suggestions for spring cleaning tips designed to help you tackle each area effectively.

• Wash window screens and windows in the bedroom
• If possible, clean your mattress
• Vacuum the carpet and/or area rugs
• Remove carpet odors with baking soda
• Wash pillows routinely with warm water and replace them as needed
• Regularly wash your sheets and replace worn-out sheets
• Clean baseboards with a damp microfiber cloth to remove dust

Creating a daily cleaning schedule for your bedroom with the right cleaning tools can help you stay on top of it and continually have a clean bedroom that can promote good sleep hygiene.

Spring Cleaaning Tip: Remember, having a spring cleaning checklist can be a handy reminder of the annual cleaning tasks you need to tackle.

Regularly Wash Your Bedding

This is one of the best ways to guarantee a good night's sleep. Clean sheets, pillowcases, and blankets not only feel great against your skin but also help to reduce allergens and irritants that can disturb your sleep.

Dust, pet dander, and other particles can accumulate in your bedding over time, triggering allergies and causing discomfort. By regularly washing your bedding at least once a week, you can keep it clean and fresh and enjoy a more peaceful and restful night's sleep.

Plus, during allergy season, using hypoallergenic detergent and avoiding fabric softeners can help reduce the risk of skin irritation and allergy symptoms. Making these habits can result in a healthier and more comfortable sleep environment.

Did You Know: It's recommends washing bed sheets at least every two weeks. People with allergies, pets, and/or sensitive skin should do so more frequently. Mattress pads/protectors, pillow protector(s), and/or blankets should be washed at least seasonally.

Regularly washing your sheets may enhance the quality of your sleep. A survey has found that people who are "very satisfied" with their sleep tend to wash or change their sheets every 12.8 days on average. On the other hand, those who are "very unsatisfied" with their sleep tend to go an average of 19.9 days between washings. [3].

Declutter Your Sleep Space

Maintaining a clutter-free bedroom can help create a peaceful and calming sleep environment. An orderly room free of unnecessary items and disorders can significantly impact your mental health, reducing stress and anxiety levels, which are crucial for obtaining quality sleep.

To some, this can be an overwhelming task. If that's the case, start by organizing and neatly storing personal items, making sure everything has its place. Regularly clearing out anything that doesn't contribute to a restful atmosphere, such as work-related materials, excessive decorative items, or electronic devices, can also help.

Consider adopting minimalistic decor and functional storage solutions to keep surfaces clear and the room feeling more open and tranquil. This organization not only makes your space more visually appealing but also psychologically comforting, making it easier to unwind, relax, and drift into a restorative sleep.

Study: In a study, individuals who regularly made their beds almost every day were more likely to say they had good sleep compared with those who did so less often. [4]

Clean Under the Bed

Removing dust and clutter from under the bed can improve air quality in the room and create a more serene sleeping environment. Did you know that dust and clutter under the bed can affect the air quality in your room? Not only can it cause allergies and respiratory problems, but it can also disrupt your sleep.

Improving the air quality in your room can be as simple as taking time to remove dust and clutter, but this task is often overlooked. Additionally, keeping the area under your bed clean can prevent the accumulation of dust mites, which can cause asthma and other respiratory problems.

Regularly Wash Windows

Keeping your bedroom fresh and clean includes remembering to wash your windows - a task that is often overlooked. Regularly cleaning curtains or blinds helps eliminate accumulated dust, dirt, and odors, contributing to a healthier environment.

Remember to also pay attention to your walls, window panes, and frames with a microfiber cloth or damp sponge to remove smudges, fingerprints, and grime. These simple steps can make a big difference in creating a more comfortable, clean bedroom.

Make the Bedroom a Technology-Free Zone

For better sleep, transform your bedroom into a technology-free area by removing items like TVs, phone chargers, and computers, and avoid using the space as an office.

This step involves designating your sleep space solely for sleeping purposes. By doing so, you can minimize the temptation to expose yourself to blue light before bedtime and reduce the possibility of sleep disturbances caused by flashing LED lights and notification sounds.

Although it may seem extreme, sleep experts recommend trying this approach for a month to determine whether it improves sleep quality.

Incorporate Indoor Plants

Consider adding indoor plants, such as snake plants, to your bedroom. They can provide numerous benefits. Not only do they help improve air quality by absorbing pollutants and releasing oxygen, but they also add a sense of calm and beauty to the room. [5]

Indoor plants have been shown to reduce stress levels, increase productivity, and promote overall well-being. So, whether you want to brighten your bedroom or create a more peaceful atmosphere, adding indoor plants is worth considering.

Other Ways to Improve Your Sleep This Spring

Besides a thorough spring cleaning of the bedroom, here are some other effective ways to enhance your sleep this spring:

Enjoy the Outdoors

A lack of sunlight exposure definitely affects your sleep. Getting sunlight is important because it’s your main source of Vitamin D, which is critical for maintaining serotonin levels for a healthy sleep-wake cycle.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) is the central master clock in humans. Light from the environment enters your eyes and helps the SCN reset for the next sleep-wake cycle. Morning sunlight can help improve sleep quality [6], making it even more important to get outside. Youngblood recommends getting outdoors by 9 a.m., even when it’s cold.

Now that spring is here, you don’t have any excuses! Running your toes through the green grass and taking a deep breath can help you ground yourself for your upcoming day and provide essential sleep benefits [7].

Did You Know: Performing exercise can help promote better sleep?

Get Some Fresh Air

As the weather continues to get warmer, it's time to open your bedroom windows. Nothing helps you sleep and breathe better than nice, cool, fresh air. In a recent study, improved ventilation and airflow have been related to better sleep. [8]

Bedrooms often have high moisture levels in the air. This can make the room feel warm and clammy, disrupting sleep.

By having the windows and doors open, the humid air from the inside has a chance to exit through the windows and allow the dryer air back in the house. Doing so can help create a less humid environment in your bedroom.

Take Steps to Reset Your Sleep Habits

When assessing your sleep habits, it's important to consider your chronotype and lifestyle. Understanding how your chronotype affects your sleep is a crucial first step towards improving it.

Youngblood observed, “I’ve talked to so many people who started going to bed when their body was telling them to instead of ‘pushing through’—and their quality of sleep improved dramatically”.

While sleep apps and technologies can help you track your sleep, they can be daunting for the uninitiated. Furthermore, they aren’t necessary for a reset. Simply start by going to bed and waking up at the same time.

Creating a stricter sleep schedule is the single most important step you can take. Once you’re on track, you can remove some habits (like using technology before bed) or add new ones (like meditation).

Final Thought

As you can see, various cleaning tips can significantly enhance your sleep. The state of our bedroom plays a pivotal role in how well we sleep. Keeping it clutter-free creates a serene and inviting space, conducive to relaxation and better sleep.

Regular washing of bedding, including sheets, pillowcases, and blankets, is essential in maintaining a hygienic sleep area, reducing allergens that can disturb your rest. Dusting and vacuuming, especially under the bed, are crucial in preventing dust mite accumulation, which can trigger respiratory issues and disrupt sleep.

Cleaning your window treatments and ensuring your windows are spotless improves the air quality and enhances the room's overall atmosphere. Additionally, incorporating calming scents can help create a more relaxing atmosphere.

Adding these spring cleaning tips into your routine will not only result in a tidier space but also foster a bedroom environment that supports uninterrupted and rejuvenating sleep. Remember, a clean and organized bedroom isn't just pleasing to the eye; it's a foundation for good sleep hygiene. So, as you embark on your spring cleaning journey, consider these spring cleaning tips as investments in your nightly rest and overall well-being.