When considering color and its impact on sleep, it’s natural to overlook the hues that adorn your windows. Recent studies in the psychology of color have focused primarily on large surfaces, from bedroom walls to bed sheets. To get a restful night’s sleep, window dressing is very important.
Curtain colors don’t work alone in improving sleep. They work in relation to other factors such as finding the best mattress for your needs. However, wellness experts and designers agree that the color of your curtains affects how you feel in your bedroom. This translates into the quality of sleep and general health.
If you’ve taken notes of what bedroom wall colors to avoid, these curtain colors are the next step to improving your sleep quality.
Colors like red, black, purple, and orange evoke certain emotions that are not needed in the bedroom. These shades can be used as accent pieces, but avoid using them as block colors in a room (such as curtains). Here’s what you need to know about each:
1. Red
Red is at the top of every expert’s list of colors to avoid, but why is red such a problem when it comes to sleep?
A bright or intense red color stimulates brain activity and can evoke emotions of excitement and anger. If your bedroom is too red, your pulse will increase, making it easier to wake up and harder to fall asleep.
Though red is also one of the most vibrant colors to choose from, it symbolizes conflict, danger, and power. All this is not welcome in a space where you want to relax and fall asleep. Red curtains are too intense and are not recommended for use in bedrooms.
2. Orange
Just like red, orange should also be avoided due to its energizing properties. Orange-colored curtains stimulate our brain and body activity, making us more alert than we need to be when we are in the bedroom—making it hard to wind down before bed.
You can’t easily fall asleep or stay asleep long enough without waking up in the middle of the night if you have too much orange color around.
3. Purple
When it comes to relaxing bedroom ideas, you can be forgiven for thinking that purple is one of the best colors because it does have some soothing properties. However, this soothing tone can actually interfere with your sleep in the long run.
Even if you use purple as an accent color in your curtains and bedding, be careful not to overdo it in your bedroom. Additional drowsiness will interfere with your ability to fall asleep or stay asleep.
4. Yellow
Yellow is a fun color known for its ability to fill a space with positivity. However, a recent study revealed that yellow is one of the worst colors for promoting sleep, after 22% of those surveyed admitted that having this color in their bedroom did not let them sleep well (every night).
It might seem surprising at first, but it makes sense given how upbeat this shade is. It makes it harder for your brain to relax when you’re trying to rest.
5. Black
Black may seem like the best color idea to go for curtains because of its ability to block out sunlight that can disturb your sleep in the morning. However, it is known to trigger alertness signals in the brain. Therefore, it may be better to look for other colors to block the morning light.
