You don't need us to tell you that a good night’s sleep is essential for your wellbeing. As Dr Pamela Thacher, associate professor of psychology at St Lawrence University confirms,“poor sleep is known to compromise cognition”. I can personally confirm that it's impossible to deal with balancing home-schooling and work if your cognitive functions are reduced because of lack of sleep!
It’s been proven that by reducing clutter we lower our levels of cortisol and improve your ability to get a good night’s sleep. According to The Healthline, 'stress levels affect sleep as the two responses share the same pathway. When stress disrupts this axis, it can disrupt your sleep cycles as well'.
So, how can we help?
I've long maintained that clutter in the home makes me feel stressed, and it's being backed up more and more by science. A recent article in the New York Times maintains that, 'clutter can... induce a physiological response, including increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone'.
One way I've found to keep your stress levels down so you can give yourself the best chance of a great nights’ sleep is by keeping your bedroom environment calm, clean and organised.
We’ve got some really quick fixes to keep your space clear of clutter as well as keeping everything you need for a restful nights sleep close at hand.
- The bedside table can be a bit of a clutter magnet - How about using one of our vanity cases or big makeup bags to keep it clear? I don’t know about you, but I like to have things to hand when I’m in bed to do my final end of the day tasks. My hand cream, my face serum and my rose quartz eye roller are essential to my bed-time routine. Now I keep everything I need in a beauty bag that I can store neatly underneath my bed, or in my bedside table. It is a game changer for me!
- Create a sleep aid pack by filling a beauty bag with all the essentials to help aid a good night’s sleep. Include a lavender bag, face mask, ear plugs and aromatherapy oils which can be on hand easily if you are finding it hard to drop off. I also keep a set of headphones in mine to listen to sleep podcasts without waking up the other half.
- I use a large makeup bag to store my kindle and charger together in my bedroom table drawer. That way if I wake up in the night, I can read without waking my partner – although try not to read an exciting thriller if you want a restful night’s sleep! Our Amy 3 in 1 makeup wallet is exactly the right size to store a kindle and charger and keep them neat and tidy. (see below).
We would love to hear if these tips have helped and if you have any other ways to use our vanity cases or beauty bags to create a night-time routine.
We're passionate about sharing organisation techniques to help you create a calmer and clearer mindset - head over to our blog on how to transform your morning routine for more.