Bismarck, North Dakota - News

PHILADELPHIA - Seventy-six percent of Americans have trouble sleeping, according to a poll conducted last year by the National Sleep Foundation.

It's no surprise, then, that Hollandia International, a European luxury-bed company, decided to open its first U.S. showroom last month, at Philadelphia's Marketplace Design Center. With so many sleep-deprived people out there, the company is betting that more than a few will be willing to shell out $10,000 or more for one of its mechanized, massaging "sleep systems."

But it turns out you don't need to spend five figures to get a good night's sleep. What you really need, the experts say, is a properly furnished and decorated bedroom.

Light levels, colors, the art on your walls, the pattern on your bedding, what you keep in the room - and what's not in there - can make all the difference between a wakeful night and a restful one.

"Your bedroom is not just important; it's critical," says Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep-disorder specialist whose new book, "Good Night: The Sleep Doctor's 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health" (Dutton, $24.95), devotes an entire chapter to bedroom makeovers.

Melanie Lewandowski, a feng shui practitioner based in Maple Shade, applies ancient Chinese concepts of energy to transform clients' bedrooms into slumber sanctuaries.

"In order to go to sleep at night, we need to let our guard down and relax," Lewandowski says. "So the quality of what we have around us in our bedroom is crucial."

When people can't sleep, they can't believe the problem might be as simple as too much light coming into the bedroom, says Grace Pien, a sleep-medicine physician at the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

"But so often," Pien says, "the solution is improving the sleeping environment."

How, then, does one turn a bed chamber into a temple of sound sleep? We culled some tips from our panel of experts.

3 Reserve the bedroom for sleep and sex. "If the bedroom is where you do work, watch television, and the kids hang out, the purpose of the room becomes diluted," Pien says. "The brain stops thinking of the bedroom as a place for sleeping."

So move out the exercise equipment and find a new place for that desk and computer. If that's not possible, string up a curtain to block the area from view, or set up a folding screen.

On the issue of television, the experts are divided. A definite no-no, Lewandowski says. But Breus, who oversees sleep labs in Arizona and California, says, "For certain types of people who can't turn their minds off, a TV can help them rev down."

Banishing your animals is also worth considering.

"Some people are calmed by the presence of a pet," Pien says. "But if a pet is disruptive ... if they want to go in and out of a room and the owner has to get up to let them out, or if it's a 100-pound Doberman who takes up a sizable part of the bed, that may not be a good idea."

3 Lose the clutter. Piles of clothes, toys and unopened mail do not create a restful environment.

"When a bedroom looks so disorganized, you are going to take your worries to bed," Pien says. "Having a calm, organized room is likely going to help a lot of people with sleep. That's not a research-driven conclusion; it's common sense."

Lewandowski advises her clients against storing anything under the bed. "You want to keep that space open, so energy can move around."

Get rid of any stacks of bedside reading material as well, and keep no more than three to five books at hand. (No floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, please.)

3 Control the light. "The darker your room is, the better you are going to sleep," says Breus, who suggests installing room-darkening shades or drapes. A cheaper fix: A good pair of eye shades.

Install dimmers, and during the time you're winding down, make sure no source of light in the room is more than 40 watts.

For nighttime readers, book lights are essential, Breus says. "You don't want a bright light from a lamp on your head. That will wake you up."

And be sure to put night lights in hallways and bathrooms. "If you switch on the light to find the toilet, you've just told your brain it's morning," he says.

3 Quiet things down. Close all doors. Move your bed if there's a bathroom, laundry or hallway on the other side of the wall.

Live on a noisy street? Consider triple-glazed, sound-dampening windows. If that's not in the budget, Pien says, "Sometimes heavier drapes can help block out some of the sound."

Earplugs, of course, are the most economical solution and an essential accessory for anyone who sleeps with a snorer. (Breus suggests a pair with a decibel rating of 32 or 33.) Also useful are white-noise machines or ambient sound CDs.

"The data suggest that ocean sounds can make you sleep, but a babbling brook or rain sounds make you go to the bathroom," he says.

3 Keep it sweet. Smells can affect sleep, the experts say, so keep the bedroom clean, ferret out mold, ban smoking and change those sheets at least once a week. If your guy likes to snooze in the T-shirt and boxers he wore all day, buy him some pajamas and make sure he wears them.

Infusing the bedroom with such scents as lavender and vanilla can also help bring on sleep, research shows.

"You don't even have to go to a specialty store," Breus says. "Bath & Body Works has a fantastic aromatherapy line that has a diffuser you can plug into the wall."

3 Decorate serenely. Though there are cultural differences surrounding use of pattern and color, the bedroom is generally the place to forgo bold hues and patterns in favor of paler hues, matte finishes, and soft textures, Breus says.

"You want to keep it calm," Lewandowski agrees. Think rose tones, or soft greens, she says, and avoid vivid patterns or too much pattern. But an excess of white, especially in the bedding, is seen in feng shui terms as energy-depleting.

Both Breus and Lewandowski advise caution with wall art.

"So many people are not aware of what is around them and what it conveys," says Lewandowski, who has advised clients to remove from their bedrooms photos of relatives who inspired worry, and artworks with a dark and violent edge.

"You want to notice what is the last thing you see when you go to bed at night," she says. An image that calms, soothes and nourishes is best.

"It could be a photograph with your spouse or family in happy times, or something that suggests the qualities you want to bring into your life."

Feng shui practitioners believe that all objects are embued with subtle energy that can affect our emotional state.

So if you're still using the bedroom set you bought in a previous marriage, think again. Ditching it just might improve your sleep.

And if you can't afford to do that?

"Change the mattress," Lewandowski says.