The Best Ayurvedic Design Tips for a Restful Bedroom
By: Naveera Perera
@homepublication
Improve sleep naturally.
Ayurveda takes a holistic approach to wellness. Instead of only looking at your nutrition and lifestyle choices, ayurveda dictates that interior design, in terms of colour, furniture, fabrics and layout holds significant value when attracting good vibes and energy from the universe.
According to ayurveda, sleep is one of the three pillars of good health, which is known as nidra. In the spirit of embracing an ‘holistic’ approach to good sleep, the design of your bedroom by default becomes an integral space in your household. This is even more heightened when we consider the fact that we are living in an age where hybrid work is now the norm rather than the exception. As a result, people today are more than ever spending more time in their bedroom for things other than sleep. In fact, according to a 2023 study by the University of New South Wales, Sydney, around 40 per cent of respondents used their bedroom as their living space.
It is possible that all the activity taking place in your bedroom is affecting your sleep purely because your bedroom is no longer organised for effective sleep. To help you to improve sleep naturally we spoke to an ayurvedic expert, Dr Gihani Weerasekara who shared a few ayurvedic design tips for a restful bedroom.
Dr. Gihani Weerasekara is a registered ayurvedic doctor at Siddhalepa Ayurveda in Sri Lanka, a renowned
ayurvedic company who own ayurvedic hospitals and spas.
Weerasekara has completed her BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery) at the University of Colombo, a diploma in Ayurvedic Panchakarma and a certificate in Herbal Cosmetology.
Tapping into the Ultimate Power of Ayurvedic Sleep
The ancient science of ayurveda emphasises that sleep is essential for you to freshen up, rejuvenate and re-energise your body, mind, and spirit. Multiple research exists pointing out that failing to have proper sleep can start a chain of negative reactions - it can affect your hormones, your energy levels and even impact your organs.
Similar to other bodily functions in ayurveda, peaceful sleep is only possible where the tridoshas, inclusive of vata, pitta and kapha, are in perfect balance. Each of them controls different aspects:
Vata controls every physical movement in addition to our mental state and emotions. It is made of ether and air.
Pitta controls everything from our metabolism, appetite and digestion to the health of our plasma, saliva, blood and sweat. It is made of fire and water.
Kapha controls structure such as the health of your bones, muscles, nails and skin as well as your mucus, saliva and plasma. It is made of earth and water.
Dosha-Specific Design Tips for Peaceful Sleep
Creating a restful bedroom does not have to be an overwhelming process. To help you, we have rounded up the best ayurvedic bedroom design tips according to your dosha.
Get cosy if you are vata-dominant
If you are a light sleeper or have general issues with sleep such as grinding your teeth or sleep walking, you may be suffering from vata dosha.
Weerasekara suggests to adopt these :
Reduce light and sound in your bedroom by adding dimmer switches for instance.
Choose warm and earthy colours like honey yellow, beige or pestle. Alternatively, choose relaxing bedroom paint colours like shades of green. Emerald in particular is known to have a calming effect.
Choose simple and small geometric shapes or stripes coupled with ombre colours instead of over stimulating patterns.
Soothe yourself if you are pitta-dominant
If you are a night owl that experiences restless nights and have a preference for thinner covers because you easily sweat or find it warm, you might have pitta-dosha.
To balance this, Weerasekara says the below might help:
Sleep between 10.00 p.m. and 600 a.m.
Keep the room temperature cool.
Use calming ayurvedic bedroom colours like blue and green to calm and relax.
Avoid warm colours that might intensify pitta's nature.
Get colourful if you are kapha-dominant
If you are a heavy sleeper, to the point that your family and friends joke about how hard it is to wake you up at any time, but also find yourself waking up every so often to urinate or suddenly experience breathing difficulties, you might have kapha dosha.
Here’s how you can balance it according to Weerasekara:
Use fiery vibrant colours like red and orange.
Avoid subdued colours or all neutral palettes as they can be draining for kapha energy.
Since people with this dosha have a tendency to oversleep, it is recommended to set an early wakeup time.
Ayurvedic Bedroom Accessories and Tips for Blissful Sleep
If you are looking for some ayurvedic bedroom decor for sleep, Weerasekara offers tips on the kind of furniture and accessories that help with creating a positive flow of energy:
Natural textiles all the way
Weerasekara notes that “the choice of fabrics for furniture and bedding can significantly impact our well-being” and can act as a natural sleep aid.
Weerasekara advises purchasing fabrics “made from natural fibres, such as organic cotton as they resonate with Ayurvedic principles and promote balance”.
When it comes to your bedding, you need to get specific to elevate your night-time routine. “Choose light, breathable, and cooling fabrics for bedding” suggests Weerasekara. She offered examples of “cotton and linen as excellent choices” and advised to “opt for soft tones to offset negativity and enhance emotional wellness”.
For dosha specific fabrics that promote ayurvedic sleep, Weerasekara recommends to “use cosy and soft fabrics like wool blankets” for vata-dosha, “choose light weight sheets for bed” if you are a pitta-dosha or “add wool blankets” for kapha-dosha.
Choose bedroom furniture made with organic materials
Weerasekara notes that you should “purchase furniture or ornaments made of organic materials like wood and stone”. This is because, she highlighted that they “have their own energies and can create a harmonious living space”. The key to an ayurvedic bedroom design is to embrace a minimalistic concept in your bedroom so there is less clutter and more space for good energy to spread out without interruption.
For example, Weerasekara advises you to “choose light coloured wooden furniture” for vata-dosha in addition to adding “gold or copper metal accents” where possible. Pitta-dosha types are recommended to “incorporate silver accents accessories” while a kapha-dosha sleep tip is to “add gold or copper metal accents to create a warm and stimulating environment”.
Add plants for freshness
Hanging art or photographs are great, but a great alternative is to add one or two natural plants near the windowsill for instance. Weerasekara suggests “adding warm accessories like bright flowers” is a good vata dosha sleep tip, whereas “adding green plants to the room” to set a cooling ambiance for the fiery pitta-dosha. A demotivated kapha-dosha on the other hand will find that “adding colourful plants rather than just green plants” will give them a boost of positive energy.
Placement of your bedroom mirror
Ayurveda notes that if a mirror is placed opposite the bed, it collects and reflects stress back at you. As such, as a general rule of thumb, Weerasekara notes that “positioning mirrors on north or east walls can amplify prosperity energies”. However, if the mirror cannot be moved or there is no position in your room that does not reflect your bed, remember to cover your mirror in the night with a cloth as part of your pre-sleep routine so that you cannot see your reflection.
Position of your bed
Your ayurvedic sleep sanctuary will not be complete if your bed is placed in the wrong position. “According to Ayurveda, the south is considered the best direction for sleeping,” says Weerasekara. This is supported by the magnetic theory which refers to the belief that aligning furniture (or, in this case, your body) according to the earth's electromagnetic field can influence your energy.
Hence, sleeping with your head towards the south results in “the negative charge of the Earth’s south pole attracting the north pole of your magnetic field, creating a harmonious exchange of energy” explains Weerasekara. She pointed out that you need to “position the bed in such a way that it has a clear view of the door without being directly in line”. This, she says, “promotes a sense of security”.
Keep Reading: Design for Wellbeing with these Ayurvedic Interior Hacks
