The Best Bedroom Colors to Enhance Your Sleep Quality
Your mattress might not be the only factor keeping you up at night.
Having trouble achieving restful sleep or relaxing in your bedroom? Your color scheme could be the culprit. Colors have the power to evoke specific feelings and set the tone for home interiors. Your bedroom is the place for you to relax and unwind after each day, so your color scheme should reflect that. Keep reading to learn about the best bedroom colors to help you sleep well and wake up refreshed.
Jump ahead to explore color options or check out these next sections for tips on choosing a bedroom color.
Why Does Your Bedroom Color Palette Matter?
Tips for Choosing Good Bedroom Colors
Best Bedroom Colors for Sleep
Worst Bedroom Colors for Sleep
Why Does Your Bedroom Color Palette Matter?
Color therapy is a practice that uses different colors as a way to motivate, energize, calm, heal, and ease stress. Therefore, the color scheme you choose for your bedding, wall color, and room accents may have more of an effect on your moods and sleep patterns than you think! If you have a good mattress, comfortable sheets, and calm lighting but still have trouble falling asleep, it might be time to reenvision your bedroom colors.
Do they keep you awake and energized? Or help you feel calm and at peace? When choosing bedroom colors, you might think darker shades can help create a space that's easy to fall asleep in. But in actuality, darker shades actually stimulate the eye even more than lighter shades, making it harder to fall asleep! Choosing light- or medium-toned colors help to create the calm effect in your bedroom that makes it easy to fall asleep. If you want to learn more on which colors not to include in your bedroom, check out the last section of this guide!
Tips for Choosing Good Bedroom Colors
Review these tips to help you in your quest for the ideal bedroom colors to make sleep a breeze.
- Survey your current color palette: Take a look around your bedroom and think about how its color scheme makes you feel. Does it make you want to relax and sleep? Or do you feel energized and creative? The right bedroom colors should make you feel relaxed and help you unwind for bed. Save the more vibrant, bold colors for your kitchen, living room, home office, or home gym, as these rooms are meant for productivity, creativity, and entertaining.
- When in doubt, go for light pastels: If you have a color you love, consider opting for lighter, pastel shades instead of darker shades. A good example of this would be swapping dark purple for lavender.
- Consider a combination of calming colors: The bedroom pictured above has a combination of soothing colors including blue, beige, and muted shades of yellow and pink to add interest and warmth all in one.
Tip!
Need more help deciding on relaxing colors for bedrooms? Ask a Designer: How Do You Choose Paint Colors?
Best Bedroom Colors for Sleep
When it comes to bedroom colors, the best ones soothe and relax, add warmth, bring happiness, and create the perfect environment for sleep. Keep reading to learn about how each of these colors can benefit your sleep.
Cool Blue
Blue is one of the best bedroom colors for quality sleep and relaxation – so much so that a lot of hotels use blue in the decor schemes for their guests. Not only does the color blue echo tranquil elements in nature like the sky and water; it also creates a calming effect when perceived through our eyes. This is because blue is "non-stimulating.” Non-stimulating colors prevent the production of cortisol and other hormones that heighten energy or stress, making blue the perfect bedroom color to help you relax and fall asleep.
Opt for light/pale blue and medium-toned blues for your walls and bedding because they're soft on the eyes. Use darker shades of blue like navy as accent colors for depth, but sparingly, as too much dark blue could stimulate the eyes and keep you up at night.
Green is another calm color for bedrooms because of its ability to relax and uplift you at the same time. It helps create a sense of tranquility and balance, like being in nature, making it a great color choice for falling asleep and waking up rejuvenated. You can't go wrong with light green shades, sage green, or any shade of green with blue undertones. Save dark or bright shades like hunter green or spring green for pops of color to maintain a calming ambience.
Pink is a comforting option for any neutral bedroom where you want to add a touch of color and warmth. The color pink represents feelings of comfort, tenderness, and safety, which makes it a great soft color for a bedroom where quality sleep is a must. Opt for blush, pastel, or mauve shades to set the tone for a cozy night's sleep.
Beige is one of the best bed colors because it represents simplicity, warmth, and comfort. This is because beige has a tan appearance that makes it soft on the eyes. Beige is also a great alternative to white walls because of its warmth and neutrality. Use beige throughout your bedroom to transform it into a restful retreat to sleep and rejuvenate.
Tip!
Review these 24 Cozy & Comfortable Bedroom Designs You'll Want to Try for more ideas.
Soothing Silver
You might be surprised to know that silver is a good color for a bedroom if you want to improve your sleep quality. This is because silver is light, uplifting, and peaceful compared to other gray tones. Look for furniture, bedding, decor, and wall coverings that have a matte silver or light sheen to promote a laid-back atmosphere. Add dimension to silver color schemes with light gray.
White makes rooms feel fresh, light, and clean, which is what makes it one of the best bedroom colors to help you calm your mind and sleep soundly. When in doubt, opt for warm white shades with yellow undertones like ivory or cream to help soften the look and create a comforting ambience.
Yellow promotes happiness and warmth, which makes it a wonderful bedroom color to help you fall asleep content and wake up ready for the day. Stick to light shades of yellow to maintain a relaxed ambience. Brighter shades might energize the room and make it harder to fall asleep.
The right shades of orange help make your bedroom a warm, happy, and comforting atmosphere to sleep in. Look for shades of orange with pink or cream undertones like peach or pale orange. Or opt for earthy terracotta orange for an equally relaxing feel. Complement orange color schemes with beige or cream accents.
The colors mentioned below work great as bedroom accent colors or in other rooms in your home, but they shouldn't be the main focus of your bedroom color scheme because they don't promote feelings of relaxation (which is essential for sleep!)
Black: The color black doesn't work for bedrooms because it represents fear, anger, and other negative emotions. So a black color scheme may not be the best choice for achieving restful sleep.
Brown: Dark brown also does better as an accent color in bedrooms because it can convey a tone of sadness in large quantities. As a result, you might be left feeling restless and unable to sleep.
Dark Gray: Like black and brown, dark gray color schemes can contribute to feelings of sadness when used as the main room color. Use dark gray for bedroom accents in white or silver bedrooms to add depth without taking over the vibe of your space.
Red: Red stimulates the eyes and can heighten blood pressure, which is why it's a popular color for stop signs and emergency signals. It creates a sense of alertness and urgency, which is great in certain environments, but not when you're trying to get to sleep!
Purple: Purple increases creativity but also conveys mystery. Because of this, you're less likely to get a good night's sleep in a purple-themed bedroom.
Tip!
Check out 23 Bedroom Decor Ideas to Create a Relaxing Retreat or determine the best Bedroom Rug Ideas to Enhance Your Sleeping Space with our guides.
If you’re interested in learning more about color design, check out these Color Palette Ideas for Living Rooms, Bedrooms, & More for inspiration on which colors work best for each room in your house.
In conclusion, the best bedroom colors for sleep are ultimately the ones that bring you a sense of peace and happiness.
Design your way to a better night's sleep, now!
