5 Easy Ways To Make Your Room More Mindful

^{Photo by Nima Aksoy}

Summers is here, and so it's time to seize the day. The sky is brighter, and the sun is shining, which may not stay consistent, especially for those lucky few who dwell in the United Kingdom, so let's keep our fingers crossed! 

Wherever you are in the World, it's necessary for us all who are privileged enough to have a bedroom of our own to prioritize a healthy environment that we can return to each day to get some well-deserved shut-eye. 

Here are five simple ways you can make your bedroom a more mindful space.

Clean your room!

^{Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy}

We're starting off as simple as we can, clean your room!  

Hey, I'm not going to judge you because I've seen it all, smelled it all, and even have the vomit and teary eyes to prove it. 

In my formative years, I lived in a boys boarding house out in the countryside, and let me tell you, I've never smelt a more pungent smell than one of my housemates who refused to open his bedroom windows and wash his sheets and sports clothes. Of course, the matron decided to leave his room door wedged open so all those unlucky boys who inhabited the first floor could experience the smell of liquid hell! I think they shouldn't have allowed his mum to send him cheese from overseas.

Keeping your room clean and tidy allows you to manoeuvre through it smoothly and seamlessly, making the time spent in your room efficient, which is most beneficial on busy weekday mornings. Trust me. You don't want to be late for your Duke of Edinburgh camping trip because you're diving into a mountain of clothes searching for your pair of light glow-in-the-dark thermals. You won't find them.

Cleaning your room also improves the air quality by reducing the number of dust particles in the air and removing allergens which for me is very important. That level of irritation is not great for your airways and skin. You want your room to be a breeding ground for rest and rejuvenation, not bacteria.

A cleanroom can benefit general attendance, mental health, creativity, and academic performance. In a 2011 Princeton University study, from a sample of students, 80% said when asked about their learning environment, they found a lack of cleanliness distracting.

Get a plant

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Bring a little bit of nature into the bedroom by adding some greenery. Many studies have cited that plants bring calmness and concentration into places requiring productivity. It's primarily down to the fresh green colour stimulating the brain to focus, which leads to decisiveness.

According to the Human Spaces report on The Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace, green, even when viewed briefly, enhances creative performance and is a great benefit to have within a creative environment.

One of my biggest regrets in life is not saving a beautiful tall rose growing out of the sidewalk that I'd see every day on my early morning runs. It gave me a boost in my creativity and brought a smile to my face. One day it was just gone. I've never recovered!

Limit Technology Use

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I know, I know, I'm not your parent or legal guardian, so it may sound like I'm nagging you, but hear me out. Limit your use of technology a couple of hours before you go to bed and when you wake up early in the morning. You're probably thinking, I can't fall asleep unless I'm listening to my favourite podcast or audiobook, but I'm here to tell you that you don't know the great sleep you're missing. 

It's similar to when you go for a run. Are you tempted to listen to a music playlist, podcast, or audiobook? Once you've experienced a long run without audible devices, you'll quickly realise what you've been missing. 

Speaking from experience here, I can tell you that you'll perform better, and the run will feel effortless.

Make a schedule 

If you're wasting valuable time throughout your day being distracted and dealing with inconsistencies in your daily performance, making a schedule and following it to the best of your ability can help you.

The cool thing about making a schedule is that it gives you spare time to use for leisure, relaxation, and creative downtime.

Create a space for meditation and relaxation

When have you ever taken the time to relax and do nothing? And I don't mean sitting on your phone and surfing the internet for an hour. Have you ever taken the time to relish in your existence? No, then maybe you need to create a small space in your room to relax. 

Here's the catch, if you decide to create this area, you must make sure that you use it for only relaxation, so whenever you are in that space, your mind and body will associate it with tuning off. 

Now, all bedrooms may not have the space to have individual areas dedicated to a specific function, but here's a trick you can use. Buy a lamp or small object that you can place on your desk that you associate with mindfulness when you are relaxing and another for when you are studying. 

Take a look at this iconic piece of studying lore!