Decorating an entire house is an intimidating thing for many people. There are a lot of things to consider and many choices to make. With so many things to think about and coordinate it can be overwhelming and sometimes we forget to consider certain things when making some of our choices.
As it relates to choosing what color to paint rooms most of us tend to think about how the paint color will go with the existing furniture, flooring, and woodwork. We will also think about how well our choice will flow with the rest of the house.
However, one thing that many of us forget is if the paint color we are choosing works well with the activities that will take place in that part of the home. As it relates to the bedroom, we often fail to consider if our color choice will help or hinder our chances of getting a good night’s sleep.
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Psychology of Color
There is ever-growing research into the Psychology of color. Colors have the ability to convey emotions, the power to impact our moods, and can impact our perceptions. Some colors are more stimulating while other colors can make us feel more calm and relaxed. Marketers have been taking advantage of this information for years.
So it only makes sense that we should consider a color’s impact on us before we decide to use it in our bedroom.
Which Colors Are Best for Sleeping?
Travelodge, a hotel booking website, was also wondering if certain colors were more likely to promote getting a good night’s sleep. So they conducted a study to see what bedroom colors people had and finding out how much sleep they were getting each night.
The study found that people whose rooms were painted blue slept longer than people whose rooms were painted a different color.
The results Travelodge reported are not surprising. Blue is a color that Is typically associated with feelings of calm. Because of this blue can help us to feel more relaxed and lowering our blood pressure and heart rate, which are all conducive to sleep.
While blue was found to be the best color for bedrooms, other colors that were deemed to be good for bedrooms included:
- Yellow
- Green
- Silver
- Orange
Colors that the study found to be poor choices were:
- Purple
- Brown
- Grey
What If You Prefer Other Colors?
Not everyone likes the same colors. So what should you do if you don’t like blue or one of the other colors that were found to be better for bedrooms?
Try to avoid using intense or bright colors. They tend to be more stimulating and make it more difficult to rest and relax.
If a bright or bold color is the one that you are most attracted to you could try using a similar shade in a more muted color. Another helpful thing that you could do would be to choose a paint with a flat finish – since flat paint finish won’t reflect light.
What Types of Paint Finishes and Paint Are Best for Bedrooms?
Paint Finishes
Valspar says that depending on how you use the bedroom any finish might be appropriate.
Flat and matte finishes or great for elegant bedrooms, such as a master suite or guest bedroom. These finishes will help conceal flaws. Matte finishes are great options if the room gets a lot of sun (to help avoid reflections).
Satin and eggshell clean-up easier and are great for high-traffic areas like a kid’s bedroom.
Semi-gloss is great if you are painting detailed woodwork and/or wainscoting. The shine it produces will contrast nicely with matte and satin painted walls.
Low VOC Paint
Another thing you might consider in your bedroom, as well as in your entire home, is a low VOC paint. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds, which are solvents that get released into the air when paint dries. VOCs can cause headaches and dizziness in some people and some VOCs are even suspected to be carcinogens.
The federal government has a cap on the amount of VOCs in paint. So low VOC paints are paints that are adhering to a more strict standard and contain less of these solvents, which makes these paints better for your health. There are even some paints that are touted as having no VOCs.
When low and no VOC paints first hit the market these paints were often talked about as being not as durable as their higher VOC counterparts. However, Consumer Reports now states that all the paints in their tests claimed to have no or low VOCs, with many of them performing very well.
Conclusion
So whether you are in the process of decorating your bedroom or just have a hard time getting a good night’s rest you might want to consider painting your room blue, or one of the other colors that have been found to be beneficial to sleeping.
Remember to consider the amount of traffic in the room and the color that you are using when selecting the paint finish you want to use.
Finally, remember to use a low VOC paint, because it is hard to get a good night’s sleep when you have a headache and don’t feel well.