Lighting is so important. It can change our brain, alter a mood, set a scene. Light – in both its natural and artificial forms – also affects our sleep, for better or for worse. So here, we have three tips for achieving cosy, calm home lighting, and a few of our favourite lamps for improving sleep.

Tip 1: Choose warm white. 

We’ve heard the advice when it comes to our screens: block the blue light, turn on night mode. Because the bright (blue-based) light keeps our brains active. And, the ambience a little too hospital-like. We recommend that for any lights in your home you don’t need for critical tasks such as cooking dinner or plucking your eyebrows, use warm white globes for a relaxed, cosy, calm hue.

Tip 2: Turn off your downlights, turn on your lamps.

Bedside lamps, standing lamps, even a couple of uplights positioned behind your furniture will create a lovely evening glow in your home. Downlights tend to shine in your eyes – and the globes are often brighter than they need to be. But lamps are an easy addition that make a HUGE difference. 

Tip 3: Embrace the dimmers.

Many lights can become dimmable ones, with the right globe and a dimmer switch. As the night rolls in you can slowly dim your lights to match, and feel ready for darkness – and shut eye – at bedtime.

Our favourite lamps

Casper Glow Light – a simple, self-dimming bedside lamp

A simple little light with some clever tricks, Casper’s Glow Light emits a warm light that feels calming, but bright enough for reading or other bedtime rituals. It will slowly dim itself until it turns all the way off. It’s portable, so it can light your way down the hall in the night. And, with the corresponding app you can schedule it to turn on when you need to wake up.

https://casper.com/accessories/glow.html

Loftie Lamp – the designer choice backed by sleep science

If you’re wanting ambience, this lamp will give it to you in spades. It looks like a modern take on an iconic lamp shape, and will look great in any room. But there’s so much more – it has a sunset function that has the light slowly recede towards the base, dimming the room as it goes. It features different light moods based on iconic sunset views from around the world. And it even has a red light mode – because red light is known to encourage the production of melatonin, our body’s natural sleep drug! In the morning, the lamp can slowly illuminate from the bottom – like the sunrise – when it’s time to wake up.

https://byloftie.com/products/loftie-lamp

Phillips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake Up Light – the closest thing to sleeping like the sun

Phillips has long been known for its smart light options – and array of sleep-enhancing technology. The SmartSleep Sleep and Wake Up Light is one of its more advanced bedside lights – featuring simulated sunset and sunrise on a personalised schedule, soundscapes to help you relax, and light-guided breathwork programs too. It’s not the prettiest in the list, but it does come highly recommended.

https://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/HF3650_60/smartsleep-sleep-and-wake-up-light