With 38K monthly UK searches for topics around insomnia, interior design specialists at IDSystems recommend subtle interior design uplifts that can improve your sleep.
- 3.7K people in the UK search for ‘how to sleep better’ every month, with a further 5.9K searches for ‘sleep hygiene’.
- A blend of ‘tweak’ and ‘treatment’, the term has been used to refer to small changes to enhance a person’s appearance – something which can be easily translated for improving home spaces.
- From changing your pillow to installing charging stations for smart devices, home ‘tweakments’ can deliver significant improvements to your sleep, without the need for major renovations or expense.
Below, IDSystems’ interior design stylist Kerry Nicholson recommends five home tweakments that can help you go from restless to refreshed:
- Invest in a new duvet or pillows
Image: Pexels
Finding the right pillow type significantly impacts the quality of your sleep. A study by Physiotherapy Canada found that many people experience compromised sleep quality until they find a pillow type that suits them, with feather pillow users “most likely to report both poor sleep quality and poor pillow comfort”. The study suggests that those using latex and polyester pillows were more likely to report high sleep quality and pillow comfort.
- Blackout curtains
Image: Unsplash
According to WebMD, “using blackout curtains and other sleep hygiene methods can help you experience deeper, longer, and more refreshing sleep.” 29K monthly UK searches for blackout curtains reinforce the popularity of this approach.
- New windows
Image: IDSystems / Selencky Parsons Architects / Siobhan Doran Photography
While blackout curtains help you sleep during the night, exposure to natural light during the day has been proven to improve mood and help regulate sleep patterns. While the difference can be subtle, upgrading your windows will flood your house with natural daylight and revitalise the overall look of your home.
“To increase the amount of daylight in your house, you don’t necessarily need to change the brickwork.” Nicholson explains: “Modern aluminium windows have a slim frame, meaning there is more space for a bigger glass pane, even if the overall window opening is the same size.”
- Plants and greenery
Image: Blooming Artificial
Access to green spaces has been proven to improve sleep, and even very small-scale greenery such as potted plants or a green wall can reduce stress.
A major home design trend for 2025 is Biophilic design, the idea of ‘bringing the outdoors in’ – with indoor or rooftop gardens where space is limited, or for buildings in densely urban areas. Following this trend doesn’t have to mean creating a jungle, but houseplants and flowers (fresh, dried, or artificial) can help you easily follow this trend and benefit from the vibrancy of nature’s colours.
- Create a charging station
Image: Pexels
Excessive smartphone use can result in stress and a lack of sleep. With 1.1K average monthly UK searches for ‘digital detox’ and increasing concern about smartphone addiction, installing wireless charging pads is a tweakment that will encourage you and your family to reduce the amount of time you spend on your phone and contribute to improved mental health.
If you’re considering upgrading your windows, contact the IDSystems team for expert advice, or review the full list of interior tweakments for more ideas on subtle design uplifts.