There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to set you up for the day ahead. Get a full eight hours and everything feels more manageable; scrape by on three and the whole day can feel like an uphill battle. But one common bedroom item could be quietly affecting your sleep quality — and it might be your mirror.
Charli Davies, a sleep expert working in partnership with Fableroom, says your bedroom mirror could be having a negative impact on how well you sleep. And it’s not simply the presence of a mirror that matters, but exactly where it’s positioned.
‘If your mirror is bouncing light from outside your bedroom door or window, this could disturb your sleep depending on the level of light,’ Charlie tells us. ‘If you get up in the night, seeing movement in the mirror can put your brain on high alert meaning you find it harder to go back to sleep again.’
Where should I avoid putting my bedroom mirror?
Knowing the downsides of a bedroom mirror is all well and good, but is there a particularly bad place to put it? According to Charli, there is.
‘When looking at the layout of a bedroom and designing it for the best sleep possible, it’s best to avoid putting a mirror directly in the line of sight from your bed,’ Charli says. ‘This avoids being able to see any movement if you wake in the night which can put your brain in high alert for a few moments which can make it difficult to fall back to sleep again quickly.’
Every room will be different but if you study where the light falls when you wake up in the morning, you should be able to move your mirror accordingly.
Where is the optimal place to move my bedroom mirror?
According to Charli, the best way to ensure a good night’s sleep is to have no mirror in your bedroom at all. As this won’t be an attractive proposition for everyone, Charli has also recommended some alternatives.
‘Placing mirrors on the inside of furniture is a great solution, whether this is on the inside of your wardrobe or having an open top dresser with a mirror inside which can be closed. This avoids the possibility of a mirror bouncing light – or of us seeing any movement when we wake in the night,’ Charli says.
Who knew a simple bedroom mirror could cause so much trouble?
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