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After reading a snippet about feng shui in a
teen magazine, my daughter entered her bedroom with the dictum she had read
in mind: Keep only what you love. She systematically removed everything she
didn't love! The result is a gem of a room -- all her own and perfect in
every way for her unique self.
Ask yourself: What do you love? What do you
want to keep in your bedroom? What brings you a sense of calm? Which fabrics
feel good to you? How do you want to decorate?
Including earth's elements in the bedroom
environment enhances the space considerably. Do you like to sleep with fresh
air? There is a joke in my family that my mother can't sleep unless she has
a gale-force wind blowing through her bedroom. She could never sleep with
closed windows. For many of us, stuffy rooms don't feel as good as rooms
full of fresh air, so provide as much fresh air as you can and as the
weather permits.
The earth element in the bedroom is a key
component of restful sleep. I like having all natural bedding that comes
from the land and not from a factory, and I want my bed to rest on a wooden
floor. It makes me feel like I am grounded when I sleep. The emotional
watery element of dreams and intuition has a place in the bedroom too, and
dream journals help to foster a connection to this world. And fire, of
course, represents passion, light, and heat. Be sure to have all four
elements included in your bedroom for the most peaceful rest and restorative
sleep.
Pleasing the Senses
The general premise of the bedroom is that
you want as little in it as possible, and you want what you have there to be
natural and clean. Renovate or paint only when you can have the windows open
for enough time to fully air out the room from paint and chemical smells,
and sleep elsewhere in the meantime. You'll spend one-third of your life in
your bedroom, so focus your attention on making the room pleasurable.
Smell:
What you smell when you sleep really matters. It makes the difference
between rest and restlessness. Most synthetic chemicals intrude on your
sleep by stimulating the central nervous system, often interrupting your
rest with tension and agitation. It's better to have a tranquil sleep with
soothing smells, such as fresh air from an open window or pure air from a
clean, simply furnished room accented with natural materials.
Smells to avoid in the bedroom can include
synthetic mattresses; carpet, paint, or stain; cleaning products such as
furniture polish; clothes that have been dry-cleaned; moth balls; and
anything else with a strong smell. Synthetic smells from mattresses can be
subtle, but they can have a powerful impact with their blend of fire
retardants, stain-resistant solvents, and pesticides.
Dry-cleaned clothes can be a serious hazard
in the bedroom. The cleaning solvents used can waft through your bedroom,
exposing you to powerful neurotoxins while you sleep. My advice is to
purchase natural-fiber clothing that doesn't require dry-cleaning, of
course. That may not always be possible though, so switch to having your
clothes wet cleaned, or hang the newly dry-cleaned clothes outside for a few
days before bringing them into a bedroom closet. If you'd like to be
especially vigilant, never bring dry-cleaned clothes into a bedroom; hang
them, instead, in a closet far away from the sleeping areas. I personally
never dry-clean anything; the solvents are terrible for the earth, for those
who work in dry-cleaning establishments, and for humans and pets.
Even the natural materials in your bedroom
are best if they are as inert as possible. For example, fresh pine has a
smell that could interfere with restful sleep, as can a houseplant if the
soil is a bit mildewed or waterlogged. Smells that interfere with a relaxing
sleep may seem so commonplace that you may not think about them, like the
fragrance from a perfume bottle or the scented detergent that lingers on
your sheets. It's best to wash laundry with an unscented detergent. The less
you smell when you sleep, the better.
Some smells in the bedroom don't originate
there. For example, fumes in the air may be a result of pesticides used
elsewhere or may mean your oil burner needs tuning. Take the appropriate
steps to avoid or clear away sources of pollution.
Sound:
Natural noises are welcome to many of us. Going to sleep in August with the
racket of crickets or waking up at dawn to the call of a wood thrush is
something that's comforting to me, but it may bother you. The bird song
before dawn in the summer in New York's Hudson Valley is enough to wake the
dead, and many complain about it. One family I know has fans in each room so
the entire family can drown out nature. "It sounds like a jet engine going
through the house," the father of four noted to me. Each to their own
choices! Even fans whirling or sirens and traffic in New York City can be
harmonious if it is what you like and are used to.
I feel that you should turn off
technological noise (white noise) when you go to sleep. White noise is any
random noise that contains an equal amount of energy per frequency band and
is generated by computers, TVs, and even white noisemakers. In simple terms,
you could identify white noise as a drone or hum. Turn off the TV or the
computer if either is in your bedroom. White noise can entrain your own
rhythms, and that is not what you would want for deep, restful, healing
sleep.
I like surrounding my sleeping environment
with as much natural sound as I can manage. An indoor water fountain is one
way to add harmonious, soothing, natural sounds to your nights. Water
falling is a medley of tone colors and natural harmonies, and it can keep
out unwelcome sounds, such as traffic and pedestrian noise. Compare that
with a computer droning incessantly with no variation in tone or pitch.
The sound of your alarm clock is often the
first sound you hear in the morning. I have been looking for a
mellow-sounding alarm clock -- something that will wake me up with crashing
ocean waves or quiet music; instead, I have one that sounds as if the fire
alarm is going off. A pleasant-sounding alarm clock can help start off your
day with more equilibrium. A radio alarm clock that awakens me to the news
is not for me simply because the news is so often sensationalist and geared
toward provoking fear. That's not a way that I want to start my day.
Sight:
Our natural circadian body rhythm is determined by the light of day and the
dark of night. Some people have trouble sleeping because they don't receive
enough natural light during the day, and consequently, their systems don't
turn off at night. Others don't get enough true darkness at night to fully
activate their body rhythms, an increasing problem for those who live in
well-lit cities like New York.
Managing these light issues, as well as
coordinating the light we receive with the sleep we need, is something most
of us have to think through at some point. What parent of a young child
hasn't contemplated long and hard the value of window shades when their
young child wakes up with the first light of dawn? When you invest in window
treatments, find a type that doesn't collect dust (like swags), and choose a
simple, clean look with materials that are easily cleaned. Blinds are now
made from untreated natural products, such as natural grasses, bamboo, and
woods, and can be cleaned easily with a damp cloth. Natural-fiber curtains
may appeal to you. Just make sure your window treatments don't have an odor.
I live in the country, without streetlights or surrounding buildings, and I
find that I get the sleep I need regardless of the natural light. As a
result, I don't have any curtains at all because I don't need them for
privacy. This minimalist approach works even for my teenage daughter.
Color is a treat for the eye, and the color
of your bedroom should feel restful and conducive to harmony and quiet. The
bedroom is also an intimate room, and you want it to be pleasing. Blue is
often chosen for bedrooms and meditation rooms because blue's cool energy is
calming, restful, peaceful, and spiritual. Blue helps inspire quiet
meditation and soothes you to sleep. Color therapy with blue has been found
to reduce blood pressure.
Green might be a good second choice for a
bedroom color because it is naturally restful (imagine the landscape in
early spring as the trees are budding). It also has a vibrancy about it, so
if you go with green, make sure it is a light green. Some red touches add
sensuality, but don't overdo red in the bedroom because it can be exhausting
and too energizing. I recommend white ceilings because they reflect light
and brighten any room.
Lighting has a few important purposes in
the bedroom -- for reading in bed, for finding clothes in a closet, and for
giving you a sense of safety and security. I like sleeping in the deep dark,
my daughter likes to have her door open and the bathroom light on to banish
any images from her imagination, and my elderly mother always needs a night
light to help her feel confident that she won't fall. While light for
sleeping is an individual matter, be sure there is good lighting for reading
in bed. Reading before sleep is a genuine pleasure, and good lighting
lessens the strain on your eyes.
Touch:
The amount of enjoyment we get from our skin touching the covers is
determined by the sensual, soft feel of our bedding fabrics. Clean, soft,
and even silky sheets are as seductive against the skin as anything man-made
could ever be. Feather beds -- cloudlike cushions that are placed on the
mattress under the bottom sheet -- are heavenly.
The ideal bedroom temperature for deep
sleep is between 55º and 68ºF. During the winter, place hot water bottles in
the bed before crawling under the covers to make the bed a welcoming, cozy
place. My friend Pat places a hot water bottle in her kids' beds when
they're sick. To me, that one small gesture shows how loving and nurturing a
mother she is!
Being cool in the summer is just as
important as being warm in the winter. Sleeping with moisture-absorbing
sheets in the summer helps to keep you from feeling clammy from perspiration
during the night. Light flax linen is a particularly cool and inviting
fabric for summer, although it is expensive (try saving money by finding
used linen sheets at estate sales).
How important is your choice of fabric for
bedding? Very important! I recall reading about a study that compared the
heart rates of those sleeping under wool versus polyester, and they reported
that the heart rate is lower when sleeping under wool. On a scale from 1 to
10 (with 10 being wonderful), rate how you feel in the morning when you wake
up. Keep improving your bedroom environment until you have a full 10.
Your Sixth Sense:
Once you have accomplished many of the tasks required to have a nontoxic and
uncluttered bedroom, take some time to sit in there and absorb how it feels.
Open your intuitive mind to give you information about the room's comfort
level.
Reprinted from: Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice
for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle by
Annie B. Bond © 2005 Annie B. Bond. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc.,
Emmaus, PA 18098.
Annie B. Bond is considered an
authoritative voice on the natural lifestyle. In her work and her books, she
offers advice for creating a home that is in harmony with the earth. Her
journey toward health led to her first bestseller, Clean & Green, and
then to The Green Kitchen Handbook and Better Basics for the Home.
Annie is also an intuitive energy healer and dowser. She is the executive
producer of Care2.com's Healthy Living channel, editing six free
e-newsletters that are sent to 1.8 million subscribers; and she hosts
Annie's Healthy Living Network in Care2Connect, where she also posts
a blog. Annie is also a columnist for Body+Soul magazine. Visit her
Web site at
www.homeenlightenment.com.
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