Key Points

• Earth's electromagnetic field plays a vital role in determining the direction of your sleep based on your location.
• Based on clinical observations and ancient Vastu Shastra tradition, the south direction is ideal for sleeping in countries on the Indian subcontinent.
• According to an early scientific study, sleeping while facing the south direction has been linked to better sleep.
• Feng Shui may help create a more positive atmosphere in your bedroom.

Getting adequate sleep is vital for a person's health and overall well-being. While the ideal amount of sleep varies depending on age and other circumstances, most people, especially adults, should aim for anywhere between 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.

Your body needs enough sleep at night, and getting enough sleep helps you wake up feeling refreshed.

The first step to boosting your sleep is to create an ideal sleeping environment in your bedroom, which is an art. Following things you can do;

• Ensure that the room is sufficiently dark and reasonably quiet so that it doesn't interfere with your sleep.
• Select a comfortable temperature that can promote sleep.
• Pay attention to the quality of your bed and mattress. Bed accessories should be comfortable, and the room should be well-ventilated.

Working on the above points can significantly influence your sleep quality.

However, in addition to checking your bedroom's layout, verifying your sleeping direction—that is, how your face rests when you sleep, is equally essential to ensure a good night's sleep.

Various early practices have proved many times that apart from taking care of the physical aspects of your bedroom, one needs to understand the impact of sleeping direction.

Disciplines like Vastu Shastra can help restore a person's optimal sleeping requirements. Even a small change, like changing your sleep direction, can significantly impact your physical and mental well-being.

Best Direction for Sleeping

As per Vastu Shastra, directions significantly affect a person's sleep quality. Different directions offer different results, and while some directions are recommended, others are not due to various factors.

Below are the recommendations for sleep directions and their effects on the human body.

Why is East Considered the Best Direction for Sleep?

According to Vastu Shastra, the East is the direction of sunrise and is considered beneficial for spiritual pursuits like meditation. It enhances concentration and memory, thereby bringing stability to your thoughts.

Thus, sleeping with the head positioned in the East and the feet placed towards the West can bring positive changes to a person pursuing knowledge. It is the recommended sleep direction for a child's mental growth, especially in their early formative years.

Also, according to Ayurveda, sleeping with your face towards the east balances your vata, pitta, and kapha doshas and is the preferred direction for someone looking to transform themself.

Why is South considered the Best Direction for Sleeping?

Following our traditions, it is suggested that facing the South is ideal for sleeping. This means that your feet should be pointing north, and your head should be pointing south when lying in bed.

According to Vastu Shastra practitioners, the human body has its own North and South poles, just like the Earth, and energy alignment with the cosmos is very important.

When you sleep facing south, you align your body's magnetic energy with the Earth's. It has also been observed in the sleeping patterns of other mammals, wherein their body automatically aligns in a north-south direction when sleeping.

Some indications indicate that sleeping with your head facing South may lower your risk of high blood pressure, even if no research directly links headaches and sleep direction.

However, preliminary studies have indicated that people's blood pressure decreases and their sleep quality increases when they sleep with their faces toward the South. This could be credited to the Earth's electromagnetic field.

Some new studies also confirm this theory as well. According to these studies, Earth's electromagnetic field is vital in determining our health and general well-being. These electromagnetic fields also affect Earth's two hemispheres - North and South.

Therefore, for people residing in the northern hemisphere, sleeping facing south is optimal, whereas for people in the southern hemisphere, sleeping facing north is the best position for the head.

Since India falls under the northern hemisphere, the ideal sleeping direction, per Vastu Shastra, would also be south-facing, with feet in the north direction, which can help improve one's emotional and physical health.

Thus, there might be a direct relationship between the magnetic pull of the Earth and the optimal Vastu sleeping position.

Nonetheless, individuals residing in different hemispheres should follow distinct guidelines on maintaining a specific head direction while they sleep.

Best Direction for Sleep in the Northern Hemisphere

The Earth's magnetic poles and that of the human body are similar and largely aligned. So when a person is in the northern hemisphere, the magnetic charge will run from North to south; therefore, sleeping with one's head facing North can cause the two positive charges to repel one another due to the electromagnetic effect.

In that case, the optimum direction to sleep would be the head pointing towards any direction except North.

Vastu Shastra principles suggest the direction of sleep between East and South, with the legs pointing towards North or West and the head facing east or South.

If sleeping either east or South is not feasible, you can opt to sleep with your face in the northeast or west direction. But sleeping with your head facing North is just not recommended. For this reason, it's critical to arrange the bed to ensure optimal energy flow and restful sleep.

The above sleeping directions work best if you live in the northern hemisphere. But what about people in the southern hemisphere?

Best Direction for Sleep in the Southern Hemisphere

Going by the studies mentioned above, the ideal sleep direction for people residing in the Southern Hemisphere is head facing North while feet are pointing towards the South.

According to Vastu Shastra, the head can be positioned in any direction while sleeping except facing south. Thus, North, East, and West are the recommended sleeping directions for people in the Southern Hemisphere.

Is Sleeping in Different Directions Bad?

Vastu Shastra states that sleeping with your body facing north is the worst possible situation due to your body's natural alignment with the Earth's magnetic field. It can cause headaches and other health issues, whereas sleeping with your head pointing south would be ideal for your overall health.

But what about other sleeping directions? According to some studies, those who sleep in a north-south direction also take longer to reach the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of their sleep, which is crucial for maintaining emotional and cognitive abilities and overall health.

Meanwhile, people who sleep in the east-west direction experience an earlier onset of REM sleep. But then, studies have also indicated that people who sleep east-west get less sleep overall.

Therefore, the benefits of sleeping in other directions are yet to be fully validated clinically. However, if you go by Vastu Shastra, the East direction is recommended by children, whereas the South direction is recommended for adults.

Feng Shui Principles for Better Sleep

Apart from Vastu Shastra, Feng Shui is another well-known discipline that has provided significant insights to promote better sleep.

A Chinese technique, the main goal of Feng Shui is to help re-arrange elements in your home to create a flow of chi, or positive energy.

Following are some more suggestions from both Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui, which can enhance your bedroom's layout and quality of sleep.

Bed Position to Promote Harmony

Feng Shui suggests that your bed be positioned squarely against a wall across your bedroom entrance. The bed can face the door but not solely in conformity with it. Beds should not be set below windows.

If the wall across from your bed is too small, you can always add a mirror to the space so you can still see the door and feel in control.

Additionally, avoid sleeping with your feet facing the door. According to Feng Shui, sleeping in the so-called "coffin position" is unfortunate because it resembles how a person's corpse is taken out of a room after they pass away.

Encourage Positive Energy with Bedroom Design

According to Feng Shui, plants have magical properties and can infuse positivity in your bedroom by creating a soothing aura.

Using artwork, curtains, etc., can absorb negative energy and change it into positive energy, which can help relieve stress.

It might be a good idea for people who share a bedroom to remove objects with undesirable energy, like an extra piece of furniture or an electronic device.

Objects with abundant positive energy should be re-positioned across rooms to rotate all the good energy around the house.

Use of Mirrors

Mirrors are like gateways and can multiply energy, just like light. Mirrors can be placed strategically to improve the flow of chi in the house, especially in bedrooms.

However, mirrors should not be placed on opposite beds, wherein the reflection is visible while sitting or lying on the bed. As per Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra, it is considered bad and can also affect health.

The Colour of the Walls of Your Bedroom

As per Feng Shui, specific colour schemes should be used in different directions to attract distinct energies. For instance, the following colour combinations and their cardinal points are suggested with Feng Shui:

• Red colour represents power and should be used in the South;
• Green colour encourages creation and expansion and should be used in the East;
• White or grey is the colour of money and should be used in the West;
• Black represents communication and should be used in the North.

Painting the accent wall in the suggested direction, with the matching hue, could be one method to promote better sleep.

Vastu Shastra goes one step further and suggests that colour schemes should be used according to a person's personality. According to Vastu Shastra, every individual possesses varying degrees of the natural elements known as "doshas":

• People with an air-based vata dosha should wear green and yellow.
• Paint with blues and greens if you have a pitta dosha (fire and water).
• Choose reds and violets if your kapha dosha is Earth and water.

Placement of Lights

Lights plays a vital role in the aesthetics of your room and can easily affect your sleep quality.

According to Feng Shui, lights can enhance your room's looks and catalyse yang energy. The concept of chi energy is central to Feng Shui and is critical of all aspects of the Feng Shui practice.

Solar energy is the sun's physical manifestation, and light is the form of the sun's manifestation.

Therefore, placing lights at the correct location can promote energy flow and eliminate problem areas through better illumination.

Thus, changing the room's lighting is the simplest solution if you want to infuse more yang energy into a bedroom.

Limit the Use of Electronics and Take the Clutter Out

According to Feng Shui, unwanted clutter can disrupt your qi flow. Therefore, it is recommended that you clear clutter from your room to promote positive energy flow.

Positive energy can bring harmony to your sleep. Research has also confirmed that our emotional quotient is enhanced when surrounded by positive energy.

Electronics have their electromagnetic fields, which may interfere with energy flow and affect sleep quality. To avoid such interference, one should limit electronic devices from the bedroom or at least keep electronics away from your sleeping bed.

Conclusion

Sleep should be an integral part of your plan if you want to lead a healthy life. While room layout is important, the direction of your sleep also matters, as it can affect the quality of your sleep.

Going through the abovementioned suggestions, many of which have roots in traditional methods, can make an immense difference. Even if there isn't usually enough scientific evidence to support them, they are still accepted today.

Nevertheless, experimenting with the above findings is acceptable to achieve your sleep goal.