How a Rug Can Save Your Sleep Routine
March is National Sleep Month, a time to highlight the importance of sleep and its effects on our overall health and well-being.
Did you know that stepping onto a soft plush rug before bed can help your brain know it’s time for rest?
Having a soft rug under your bed creates an underfoot sleep zone for both getting into bed at night and waking up in the morning. Stepping from a rug offers the perfect transition from a soft, warm base to the comfort of a snug bed. Not only this, but your rug will become part of your sleep routine, a cue for your brain that rest is coming.
Then, in the morning, with a soft rug underfoot, the first sensation your body experiences when getting out of bed is a gentle sensory transition from sleep to wakefulness rather than the shock of a cold, hard floor. Easing into the day in this way helps to keep your brain in a calm and relaxed state, ready for the day ahead.
Choosing the right material for your rug is essential
Natural fibres such as wool and cotton always work well in bedrooms. Wool provides a fluffy softness combined with natural temperature regulation, while cotton or washable fibre blends make it easier to maintain a clean,allergen-free sleeping environment.
It is also worth noting that high-quality washable synthetic blends can deliver the same sleep hygiene benefit as natural fibres, because being washable means they can be kept genuinely clean, which matters more in practice than fibre origin alone.
Be strategic about rug placement, as it could be the catalyst to a good night’s rest
To get the optimum sensory benefit from your rug as an ‘in-and-out-of-bed’ transition, you would naturally place it next to where you get into and out of the bed. However, you could also place the rug underneath the bed itself.
Here you would look to buy a rug which is large enough to extend around 45–60 cm beyond the sides of the bed, so your feet land on the rug when getting in and out of bed. The ideal rug size would then depend on the size of your bed and how much of the rug you prefer to be visible around it.
As a quick guide, use the table below to choose the right rug width for your bed:
| Bed size | Bed width | Min rug width | Size with 60cm overhang |
| Single | 90 cm | 180 cm | 210 cm |
| Double | 135 cm | 225 cm | 255 cm |
| King | 150 cm | 240 cm | 270 cm |
| Super-King | 180 cm | 270 cm | 300 cm |
An extra benefit of having a rug under the bed is that it can help absorb movement vibrations. This can then help minimise micro-awakenings from a partner moving during the night.
Not only this, but the placement of your rug in the room can also enhance a sense of calm and balance. A well-placed rug in terms of the layout and symmetry of the bedroom can bring a sense of stability and anchoring for the room, helping to make the room feel restful rather than visually off-centre.
And finally, for the holistic bedroom environment, a nature-inspired colourway is ideal.
The primary colour scheme to create a relaxed environment is based around muted palettes and ‘nature-inspired’ colours.
For the walls and even the ceiling, use pale blues, which are associated with the sea and sky, and linked with longer sleep duration in surveys. You could also opt for pastel greens, inspired by the forest and soft lavenders, gentle taupes and beiges.
However, for sleep, you should avoid the more stimulating and alerting colours, including bright reds, deep purples, vivid oranges and yellows. These colours are visually energising and can increase alertness rather than relaxation.
Written by Dave Gibson, renowned sleep expert