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What direction should your bed face


Which Direction is Best to Sleep in?

There is an art to designing the best bedroom environment for sleep. You can dim the lights, repaint your walls a calming hue, and splurge on comfortable bedding.

Eastern medicine and spiritual practices suggest there may be even more you can do — all the way down to adjusting the direction you sleep in.

Which Direction Is Best to Sleep in?

According to ancient traditions like vastu shastra, the best direction to sleep in is toward the south. This theory is also supported by some recent research. This means that when you lie in bed, your head is pointed south, and your feet are pointed north.

Why Is South the Best Sleeping Direction?

Some research has found that animals, such as cattle and deer, naturally align their bodies in a north-south direction when they are eating or resting. Additionally, preliminary research shows that when people switch to sleeping in a southward-facing direction, their blood pressure lowers and their sleep quality improves.

The Earth’s electromagnetic field may offer an explanation for this, according to some research and vastu shastra.

Vastu shastra is an ancient architectural tradition that hails from India. Practitioners view buildings as living organisms that can be designed in harmony with the energy of the universe. The concept leans on Hindu mythology and beliefs, such as the human body having its own north and south poles, similar to the Earth.

When you sleep toward the south,

according to vastu shastra, you line up your body’s magnetic energy with that of the Earth. Your “north pole,” or your head, is oriented towards the Earth’s south pole, so opposite poles can attract. When you lie the other way, you have two similar poles facing each other, which practitioners believe may contribute to headaches and high blood pressure.

While there is no research connecting headaches and sleep direction, there is some evidence that sleeping toward the south may reduce your risk of high blood pressure. One study compared people who slept in an east-west direction versus north-south direction. After a period of three months, those who slept in the north-south orientation had lower blood pressure, better sleep quality, and longer sleep overall. As a result, the researchers concluded that sleeping in alignment with the Earth’s electromagnetic field could improve sleep quality.

A recent study showed alterations in the participants’ brain waves when they were exposed to manipulated electromagnetic fields, suggesting that humans may be sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic energy. However, older studies that have exposed people to magnetic fields during sleep have found that it had no effect on their sleep quality, so more research is still needed in this area.

Is It Bad to Sleep in Other Directions?

Because your head functions like a north pole, sleeping with your body in a north-facing position is considered a worst-case scenario, according to vastu shastra. It creates tension that may lead to headaches and other health problems. To achieve balance, your head should point southward while you sleep, in line with the Earth’s electromagnetic pull. Ideally, your entire bedroom would be oriented south as well.

Some research has shown that those who sleep in the north-south position also take longer  to enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, an essential stage of sleep for cognitive functioning, emotional well-being, and overall health. In this study, those who slept in an east-west position entered REM sleep earlier. However, other research has shown that those who sleep east-west get less sleep overall. Until more research is done, the pros and cons of the east-west sleeping orientation may cancel each other out.

 

Other Principles from Eastern Medicine for Sleep

Sleeping orientation is just one Eastern medicine principle designed to promote sleep. Vastu shastra offers many others, as does the Chinese practice of feng shui. Feng shui focuses on promoting the flow of positive energy, or chi, in your environment through the thoughtful placement and orientation of objects. For example, in the bedroom, practitioners may replace a desk with a loveseat to improve their love life, or move their bed against the wall for better chi.

While their particulars may vary, both feng shui and vastu shastra share a focus on energetic balance and the importance of designing your space to promote health and well-being.

If you are interested in other ways to improve your sleep and the design of your bedroom, you may want to consider some additional recommendations from feng shui and vastu shastra.

Place Your Bed in a Harmonious Position

According to the principles of feng shui, you should place your bed directly against a wall, but not underneath any windows. Ideally, it should be placed on the wall opposite to your bedroom door, in a spot where you can see the door clearly but are not directly in line with it. This is said to put you in the “command position,”  which makes you feel empowered and in control.

If your bed does not fit on that opposite wall, you can add a mirror to the room so you can see the door and maintain that sense of control.

Also, do not sleep with your feet pointed toward the door. This so-called “coffin position” is considered an unlucky sleep position in feng shui, since it mimics the way a person’s corpse is carried out of a room when a person dies.

Remove Clutter and Electronics

Proponents of feng shui also say that clutter can mess with your chi. Clear clutter, and you’ll have more space for good energy to enter. Some research suggests that when we observe more distance between objects, it improves our emotional state.

As with vastu shastra, many feng shui practitioners worry about the effects of electromagnetic fields, which may be an incentive to keep electronics out of the bedroom. Removing electronics from the bedroom is also one of the core tenets of good sleep hygiene, a set of habits that is designed to promote better sleep.

Promote Good Energy in Your Bedroom Design

Feng shui says objects like curtains, artwork, and plants can capture negative energy, known as “sha chi,” and transform it into good chi. Plants in particular can add a calming energy to your bedroom and help relieve stress.

Couples who share a bedroom may want to take an additional step to remove anything that is not related to their relationship, like a desk or a work computer. Additionally, couples may consider adjusting the placement of certain items to direct all the positive chi toward helping their relationship flourish and thrive.

Repaint Your Bedroom

Both feng shui and vastu shastra recommend certain color schemes for different directions to promote particular energies. Feng shui, for example, draws associations between the following colors and cardinal points:

One way to achieve an energetic boost toward one of these goals might be to paint the accent wall in that direction with the corresponding color.

Vastu shastra takes a slightly different approach, instead recommending that a person select a color scheme based on their personality. Vastu shastra believes that each person has more or less of the natural elements, which are called “doshas”:

Many of these recommendations stem from ancient practices. They remain popular today, although there is not always a wealth of scientific research backing them up. Still, there is no harm in trying a different sleep direction, and seeing how it makes you feel.

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How to Place Your Bed for Good Feng Shui

By

Anjie Cho

Anjie Cho

Anjie Cho is a certified feng shui consultant, professional architect, and author with over 20 years of experience designing spaces. She co-founded the Mindful Design Feng Shui School and wrote "Holistic Spaces: 108 Ways to Create a Mindful and Peaceful Home."

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 01/15/21

The Spruce / Almar Creative

According to feng shui principles, the bed is the most important piece of furniture in your home because it represents you. 

Just think about how many hours you spend in your bed. You probably devote more time there than any other place. And the time that you are in bed, you are typically resting or sleeping. When asleep, you’re in a passive “yin” state and more susceptible to the energies around you. So your bed placement affects you in your conscious and unconscious states.

Therefore, if you start anywhere with feng shui, start with your bed! If at all possible, always place the bed for the best feng shui. If it’s really impossible, there are some ways to correct it. I highly suggest you can place it in the best way and opt to correct it if you have no other option. Here are some tips to place your bed for good feng shui. 

In which direction should the bed be and where should you sleep with your head?

Content

  1. Tips for good sleep
  2. What should be a feng shui bed?
  3. How to make a feng shui bed
  4. Overview of the main feng shui rules for the bedroom
  5. More tips for restful sleep

Did you know that the quality of sleep can depend on the direction of the bed relative to the cardinal points? For example, people who sleep in an east-west direction have longer deep sleep phases than those who sleep in a north-south direction.

South, north... are you serious?

Yes, the quality of our sleep can depend on the direction of the bed.

At least there is such a theory. But how justified is it? If so, how should our bed be located? In what direction relative to the cardinal points should we sleep?

Along with the quality of the mattress and bed, your restful night's sleep depends on the direction of the bed. In 1987, Prof. Gerhard Bauer from the Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried published a paper. He studied the sleep of eight participants in the experiment and placed some mattresses in an east-west direction, and others in a north-south direction. Result: If the mattress was positioned east-west, the deep sleep phase began several minutes earlier than when the mattress was positioned north-south. This could be an argument in favor of placing the bed in an east-west direction. But attention: science has not yet recognized the "theory of location relative to the cardinal points. "

Curiously, some babies turn around in their sleep just like a compass needle. We've put together some tips from the Far East and modern science to help you wake up in the morning full of energy.

Feng Shui pays great attention not only to the location of the bed, but also to its shape. It must be rectangular. The material is better to use natural. In extreme cases, plastic, pasted over, for example, with veneer, is suitable. According to the teachings of Feng Shui, it does not accumulate negative energy.

The Architektoria online store has beds with an eco-friendly lifting mechanism made of wood for this case.

Also pay attention to the mattress. For a couple, it is better to buy a single double room. If you buy two mattresses, then this can negatively affect the energies of the couple, which will not be able to interact.

Question "How to put a bed in Feng Shui?" worries people for a long time. The most common rule in feng shui says: the bed should be diagonal from the bedroom door so that the person lying on the bed can see who enters the room. According to ancient Indian teachings, it is best to sleep with your head to the south or east.

Also in Feng Shui, the direction of the bed, which contributes to a deep and healing sleep, is calculated strictly individually.

The decisive factors for optimal Feng Shui sleep are the year of birth and gender.
The result of the calculation is called the gua number. If you want to calculate your sleeping direction, there are online gua number calculators on the internet.

Along with advice on the direction of the bed, feng shui offers a few other rules that should help you find the best place in the room for the bed.

A solid wall at the head of the head, so that "no one attacked you from behind." A solid wall behind your head in Feng Shui means protection and safety.
Away from windows and doors so that there is no draft. These air currents in feng shui are called qi energy. They interfere with sleep. Thus, it is impossible to put a bed between opposite windows or between a window and a door.

You can't let something put pressure on you from above. Do not hang shelves or heavy picture frames directly above the head of the bed, they act depressingly. According to Feng Shui, this area is best left empty.

According to Feng Shui, the wall near which the bed stands should be free from water pipes or electrical wiring.
No large plants, the bed should remain stress-free. Most plants are not suitable for the bedroom. In addition, according to Feng Shui, they produce the so-called Yang Qi and interfere with the process of falling asleep.

If the room has a roof slope or beams, position the bed so that your eyes do not fall on the slopes and beams.
You can not put a mirror in front of the bed. Reflection also creates Yang-Qi energy, which interferes with rest.

When planning a bedroom, you can not follow only the principles of Feng Shui. We've rounded up the Top 9 Bedroom Planning Mistakes.

As a general rule, most people sleep best in a north-south, east-west, and west-east direction. Direction from south to north, i.e. when the head is in the south, it interferes with sleep for many people. Except in those cases when this direction corresponds to the received number of gua.

Also, your bedroom should be free from electromagnetic fields. This means that you need to remove the TV, smartphone and laptop from the bedroom.

Since we spend a third of our lives in bed, it's worth trying to follow these tips for positioning the bed relative to the cardinal points. If you also follow additional feng shui guidelines, then you are on the right track to restful sleep.

Healthy sleep is very important for good health, and the direction we sleep in can have a positive effect on the quality of sleep.

How to put a bed in the bedroom: the rules of Feng Shui placement

Going to bed, we think that in the morning we will feel rested, invigorated “like cucumbers”. But this is not always the case. You wake up and it seems that during the night you dragged a bunch of bags. The house carries a certain energy, and this affects the state of health, mood. Most of all it is felt in the bedroom. In this room, serenity, comfort, peace should be felt. When you do not sleep well at night, and in the morning your health leaves much to be desired, it is worth considering whether the bed is correctly positioned.

When we put a bed in a bedroom, we don't think that the ceiling affects the overall atmosphere and energy in the room.

Position the bed so that your feet are not facing the door.

Contents

Relationship between ceiling, bed and sleep

When we put a bed in a bedroom, we don't think that the ceiling affects the general atmosphere and energy in the room. Large chandeliers should not be hung over the bed, during sleep you will unconsciously feel anxiety. Bulky lighting fixtures are not suitable either. If you are going to make repairs, it is better if the ceiling is even, without visible beams. The best option is a stretch ceiling.

Do not hang large chandeliers over the bed, during sleep you will unconsciously feel uneasy.

The back of the furniture must be elevated, and the head of the bed must rest against the wall.

Fans of mirrored ceilings should avoid this idea. It is unacceptable for a sleeping person to be seen in a mirror. If he suddenly wakes up, he may be frightened. An important point - when you lie on the bed, you must definitely see the door. If this is unrealistic, then a mirror should hang on the wall, where it is reflected.

An important point is that when you lie on the bed, you must definitely see the door.

Access to the bed must be from two sides, so you will not remain single.

How to put the bed in relation to the door and cardinal points according to Feng Shui

We spend a lot of time in the bedroom. Gaining strength, recovering after a hard day. I wanted nothing to interfere with a good rest. It is necessary to thoroughly weigh and think over how to put the bed, what pieces of furniture are needed and how to arrange them. Then it will be comfortable, you will get up in the morning in a great mood.

Fans of mirrored ceilings should avoid this idea.

The bedroom should have a bright, even ceiling, overhanging beams over the bed is unacceptable.

Now it has become fashionable to create an interior using the ancient Chinese teachings of Feng Shui. According to the rules, the dwelling is divided into zones, they affect us, increase or decrease the flow of Qi energy. The Earth's magnetic field and atmospheric pressure are of great importance. The forces of nature can have a positive impact if we have certain knowledge. The correct position of the bed will contribute to a restful sleep, the body will rest as much as possible after a hard day.

It is necessary to carefully consider and think over how to put the bed, what pieces of furniture are needed and how to arrange them.

Arrange furniture so that sharp corners do not point towards the bed.

The position of the direction of the headboard is interpreted in different ways, but most opinions agree. According to Feng Shui, it is better to put the head of the bed in the east, according to the movement of the sun. You sleep with your head in this direction of the world, become wiser and stronger. The body is fully restored, peace and tranquility sets in in the family. Position to the southeast - will be accompanied by luck and prosperity. Sleep with your head to the southwest - your union will be reliable and long. If you want to improve your health, choose a position to the south, you can achieve a lot in life.

Now it has become fashionable to create an interior using the ancient Chinese teachings of Feng Shui.

The double bed must have a full mattress.

All the bad energy reflected from him will have a bad effect on sleep.

Position to the northeast will contribute to spiritual development. Those who wish to stabilize their financial situation are advised to put their bed in the west or north, and your children or grandchildren may become famous. Whoever feels broken, tired, needs to sleep in the north. Sleep to the northwest - go to distant countries. In order for the Qi energy to flow correctly, the bedroom must be clean and comfortable, without blockages under the bed, unnecessary items in the room.

The correct position of the bed will contribute to a restful sleep, the body will rest as much as possible after a hard day.

The bed should not stand all the way on the floor, it must have legs so that the energy can pass everywhere.

Among other things, it is worth following some rules.

The position of the direction of the headboard is interpreted in different ways, but most opinions agree.

There must be bedside tables near the bed, and lamps on them.

If you follow these rules, your sleep will become calm, you will wake up in a great mood.

Sustainability is key

A good, sturdy bed is essential for good health. The quality factor and stability of this piece of furniture is completely influenced by the material from which it is made and the arrangement of the bed. The material must meet the necessary requirements. Don't waste your money on low quality furniture. In its production, adhesives are used, they contain harmful substances. It is important to make sure that the bed is assembled with high quality, it is strong and durable, good fittings are used. These moments affect how long the bed can last.

According to Feng Shui, it is better to put the head of the bed in the east, according to the movement of the sun.

A good, sturdy bed is the key to good health.

How not to position the bed

In the bedroom we relax, gain strength, it is important to position the bed so that negative energy does not interfere with a good rest. How to put the bed in such a way as to avoid this?

  1. No need to place it opposite the front door. If it is impossible to rearrange it, you need to put a fence.
  2. Avoid head-to-head to the window, otherwise hang thick curtains on the windows. But still, such an arrangement of the bed does not give a sense of security, in addition, it can see through the window well, and this will lead to a cold.
  3. Do not put the bed against the wall if there is running water behind it.
  4. If the apartment has two levels, the bedroom must be chosen so that there is no kitchen under it.
  5. Move bed away from radiators.
  6. Do not place the bed in the middle of the room. This will create a feeling of insecurity.
  7. It is important that there are no mirrors opposite the bed, you should not be reflected in them.
  8. Don't put the TV in front of the bed, it will make you feel bad. All the bad energy reflected from it will have a bad effect on sleep.

The position to the northeast will contribute to spiritual development.

The material must meet the required requirements.

In the bedroom we relax, gain strength, it is important to place the bed in such a way that negative energy does not interfere with proper rest.

If you follow these rules, your sleep will become calm, you will wake up in a great mood.

Whoever feels weak, tired, needs to sleep in the north.

It is important to make sure that the bed is of high quality, it is strong and durable, and good fittings are used.

VIDEO: How to put a bed according to feng shui: the most ideal bed position in the bedroom.

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