6 tips for making your room comfortable when you’re stuck in bed

There’s nothing worse than being sick and stuck in bed. You’d much rather be out and about doing things and living your life, but your chronic illness has other ideas. It can be hard not to get depressed, and while there are no easy answers, here are a few tips to help you out next time your illness leaves you stuck in bed.

1. When you’re stuck in bed- Make sure you have a comfortable pillow

There’s nothing better than having the perfect pillow. For years my husband and I used cheap pillows, and then when we bought a new mattress they gave us two new cooling gel pillows in the deal. We love those pillows so much we take them everywhere we go. We even take them when we’re staying in a nice hotel because their pillows still aren’t as comfortable as ours.

If you have trouble getting comfortable, another great option is a body pillow. It’s been a long time since I was pregnant, but I still use a maternity pillow because they are so comfortable.

2. Use a sound machine or a fan to block out noise

I’m a very light sleeper, and I have two loud children and a husband that sleepwalks and snores, so I have to have something that blocks out the noise. I lot of people really like sound machines, but I’ve honestly found that the best thing that works for me is a cheap box fan. It has to be a cheap one because the expensive ones don’t make any noise! I also use the fan when I’m not feeling well and I just need to block out the noise going on in my own house.

3. Have a soft or warm blanket

When I’m in pain it hurts when anything touches my skin, even a blanket. So it’s really important for me to have the perfect blanket.

Another great tool is an electric blanket. I don’t need one of these currently because I practically live on the sun (aka Texas), but many people with chronic illness swear by them because they are one of the only things that can warm them up. When I was a kid growing up in Michigan my Mom was the only one with an electric blanket, so we used to sneak into her bed and use it to warm us up before we went to bed in our cold rooms. So now electric blankets bring back some good memories, even though I don’t have use for one anymore.

4. Make your room smell nice

This can be really helpful if you are not sensitive to smells. I am far from being an essential oils enthusiast, and I’ll never sell them or claim that they cure chronic illness, but I do like to use them in a diffuser to make a room smell nice. They also come in handy when you have a cold and can diffuse peppermint oil into the air.

 

Another more economical option is to use an aromatic plugin. I just sold my house, and when we put the house on the market the realtor put plugins in every room. It made my house smell amazing! It was a small thing, but it made a big difference.

5. Bring some color to your room

For a more economical way to bring color into your room consider artificial flowers. Real flowers are of course ideal but are too hard to take care of when you’re stuck in bed. Artificial flowers are an easy solution.

6. Use good lighting

Ideally, you would light your room with natural sunlight during the day, but that isn’t always possible. One of my favorite things about my room is that my husband hooked up our smart light bulbs to Alexa, and now I can turn off my lights without getting out of bed. It’s a small change, but it makes a huge difference.

In case you don’t have a spouse that’s obsessed with Alexa like I do, a lamp is a more convenient option. It’s also another great way to bring color to a room.

Being stuck in your bed is frustrating, but hopefully, these things can brighten up your room a bit and make you more comfortable.