What was the best night’s sleep you ever had? What made it so perfect?

Maybe you were on vacation and got to sleep in a swanky hotel in an enormous bed with fluffy white pillows. (And ordered room service in the morning!)

Maybe it was a time when you didn’t have to be anywhere the next day so you could sleep as long as you wanted without an alarm—maybe 10 hours or more!

I used to not get very good sleep. I would wake up a lot during the night, have nightmares, and feel groggy no matter how many hours of shut-eye I got.

That all changed when I made a simple mindset shift: I started treating my bedroom as a sacred space.

I’ve talked about the importance of getting at least 8 hours of sleep per night and how napping can improve your day. But keeping your bedroom sacred will benefit you more than anything else you do.

What do I mean by sacred? You must treat your bedroom like a sanctuary.

This is where you recharge your body, are intimate with your partner, and where you begin each day. By treating your bedroom as a sacred space, you’ll train your body to expect to be recharged and nourished when you enter the room.

Here are some easy ways to make your bedroom a sacred haven.

Block Out Light

If you do not already have them, get some thick, opaque curtains for your bedroom windows. This prevents outside light (like cars, neon signs, and street lamps) from disrupting your sleep.

Ditch Your Electronics

Remove any unnecessary electronics in your bedroom. What’s unnecessary? Everything except your alarm clock. Your phone can stay ONLY if it acts as your alarm clock. Otherwise, leave your phone in another room.

That means no TV, no computer, no docking station, no video games, no fish tank—nothing! There are only 2 electronics in our bedroom: a lamp and an alarm clock. If you live in a house or apartment with other rooms, I implore you to move the electronics out of your bedroom.

If this seems a little hardcore, just try it for a week and see how you feel. You can always move your electronics back later, but I have a feeling you won’t want them back in the bedroom.

If you live in a 1-room space such as a studio apartment or a dorm room, put up a collapsible screen or curtain to block out the blinking lights. You’ll still be affected by their presence, but it’s better than nothing.

Hide Visible Clocks

You know that staring at the clock watching the minutes tick by isn’t an effective way to fall asleep. Face your alarm clock display away from you so you won’t focus on the time. And if counting sheep doesn’t work, try counting your blessings.

If your alarm clock is your phone, turn off all notifications except for the alarm. Really, your emails and social media accounts can wait until the morning.

Get Cool

Lower the thermostat a few degrees before you go to sleep. I admit that this idea is a difficult one for me to follow. I like to blast the heat and wrap myself up in the comforter like a snuggly burrito. Mmmm….

Our body temperature naturally lowers at night while we sleep. Turning down the thermostat will not only keep you from overheating, but it might lower your heating bills too.

Use Your Bedroom Only for Sleep and Sex

Yep, you read that right. Your bedroom has only 2 functions: (1) sleep and (2) sex. This means no reading in bed, working on your laptop, eating, knitting, or playing with the kids or dogs. Of course, dogs can sleep in the bed (I’m not heartless!), but no wrestling or feeding them on the bed.

You’re training your brain to associate the bed with sleep and sex; 2 very sacred things in my opinion. This way, you’ll fall asleep soon after your head hits the pillow instead of tossing and turning. And if your partner is with you…well, you’ll trigger some “adult” memories that might prompt you both to do some tossing and turning of a different sort.

What do you do to make your bedroom a sacred space?