What is the Best Direction to Sleep?
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Updated
December 22, 2022
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Sound sleep can rejuvenate your body and help you start another new day, all fresh! The ancient texts of Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui recommend some DOs and DON’Ts as per the science of architecture and the importance of polarity for a restful sleep. These rules are said to impact a sleeper’s physical and mental health.
So, in this article, we discuss the ideal direction you sleep in as per Vastu Shastra, Feng Shui, and other guiding principles to maximize the benefits.
What Is the Best Direction to Sleep?
Both Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui recommend sleeping with your head pointed southwards.
But that’s not all.
While we know that for getting a good night’s sleep, it is essential to have a calm and comforting environment, common sleeping habits include dimming the lights, adjusting the room temperature, drawing curtains, and much more. But apart from this, what is the best sleeping position?
The answer to this is broadly defined by science and psychology, with 2 main practices, namely feng shui, and Vastu Shastra, having their right direction to sleep. While both these practices have different histories, their main principles remain similar.
Both these practices are largely based on the four directions North, West, South, and East, and consider 5 major elements of nature, namely air, earth, fire, space, water. Both these practices believe that lying down in a certain position affects your overall sleep quality and promotes good health.
What Is the Best Direction to Sleep?
Vastu Shastra’s best position to sleep is head facing south. This means, while lying down, your head should point towards the south, and your feet pointing to north. Some recent research supports this claim considering bedroom orientation as a factor affecting sleep.
Vastu Shastra tradition hails from India, and its primary focus is space. It believes that space interacts with elements to affect our well-being. It treats the human body as a component having its own North and South poles. Hence, as per Vastu, sleeping with head facing north makes your body’s magnetic field asymmetrical, leading to headaches and high blood pressure.
Hence, your sleeping pattern should align with the Earth’s electromagnetic field.
Another reason why the best direction to sleep in is south is because, as per Vastu, the house of deity Yama dwells in the South, which is associated with happiness, wealth, and positivity.
Although a few pieces of research indicate sleeping in a southward-facing position can improve your sleep and overall health, more research is needed to back the theory with scientific claims.
Further, to ensure sound sleep promotes good health, you should scientifically know the best direction for sleep. Some experts say certain sleeping positions are ideal for people with specific concerns. For example, sleeping in a side position is recommended for those having pain in the back or neck.
Some researchers point out some animals naturally align their bodies in the north-south direction when eating or sleeping.
According to Ayurveda, sleeping on one’s left side promotes easy breathing and improves the body’s functions.
Vastu Shastra also has a few other guidelines for electromagnetic energies for quality sleep. These include:
- Not have electronics in your room at night
- Painting the walls with light colors like white, cream, pastel shades, or lighter earth tones
- Close the windows and doors within the room
- Avoid mirrors facing the bed
- Having a clutter-free bedroom
Is it Bad to Sleep In Other Direction?
As your head acts as a north pole, sleeping with your head facing towards the north is considered a worst-case scenario, according to the guidelines of sleeping direction as per Vastu.
It’s been said that sleeping with your body facing north can cause headaches and other health issues. So while sleeping, your head should face south to align it with the Earth’s magnetic pull to establish a balance. It also suggests that the entire bedroom be oriented towards the south to improve your sleeping quality.
A study suggests people who sleep facing north-south positions take longer to switch to rapid eye movement (REP) sleep, which is an important stage for overall health. As per the study, the individuals who slept in the east-west direction didn’t sleep well.
So, which direction should your bed face?
As per Vastu, your bed should face the southwest wall of your room. Similarly, your head should face towards the south, southeast, or southwest. It should never be towards the north while sleeping.
What Is the Best Direction to Sleep According to Feng Shui?
While Vastu Shastra is primarily concerned with space, the Chinese practice of Feng Shui mainly believe in the elements of your area and Chi- the flow of energy in the room more than the direction.
Practitioners of Feng Shui, too, prefer southward direction because of the natural climate of China where warm winds can be experienced from the south.
As per Feng Shui, you should also keep your bed away from windows and doors to promote the flow of chi or energy while you sleep. More concrete research is needed to support this.
Other Guiding Principles and Sleeping Suggestions From Feng Shui
Similar to Vastu Shastra, Feng Shui has some recommendations or additional guidelines that help promote quality sleep and regulate blood pressure.
It aims to promote the chi through the powerful placement and orientation of objects and by removing any obstacles.
For example, practitioners suggest replacing a desk with a loveseat to enhance the love life and avoiding doors and windows where you sleep.
It has some guiding principles that focus on promoting an energetic balance and the importance of designing your room in a way that promotes health and well-being.
So, below are some of the additional recommendations by Feng Shui that you might want to consider:
Place Your Bed in Proper Position
As per the principles of Feng Shui, you should place your bed against a wall. However, it should not be underneath any windows. Precisely, it should be placed on the wall opposite the door of your bedroom.
It should be at a spot where the door is visible but not directly in line with it. This is said to put you in an empowered position. If by any chance your bed does not fit on that opposite wall, you can place a mirror in the room so that you can see the door and continue to maintain a sense of control.
As per Feng Shui, you should not sleep with your feet facing the door i.e in coffin position as it is considered unlucky. The reason for this is straightforward – it mimics a person’s corpse being carried out after their death.
Remove Clutter and Electronics from Your Room
As per Feng Shui, clutter can mess up with the chi or the flow of energy in the room. So it suggests clearing the clutter to boost the flow of energy. A few studies also indicate that observing more distance between objects can improve our emotional state.
Similar to Vastu Shastra, Feng Shui practitioners are concerned with the adverse effects of the electromagnetic field and hence it is suggested to keep the electronics out of the bedroom.
Removing electronics from the bedroom or switching them off well before sleep time is also considered a good habit that promotes better and timely sleep.
Bring Good Energy in Your Bedroom Design
According to Feng Shui, particular objects like curtains, plants, and art pieces can capture the negative energy in the room and convert it into positive energy, i.e., convert ‘sha chi’ to ‘good chi.’
It adds, plants can even provide calming energy to the bedroom, which would help relieve stress.
Feng Shui recommends removing things or objects unrelated to the relationship for couples. For example, it includes desk space or a computer for work. Moreover, couples can adjust the placement of some items to ensure all the positive chi is directed to help their relationship flourish and remove all the negative aspects of energy.
Color Your Bedroom
Fen Shui draws some associations between different colors and cardinal points to promote particular energies. This is as follows:
Green is associated with the east to facilitate the creation and growth
White or gray are associated with the west to help make money
Red is related to the south for more power
Black is related to the north for enhanced communication
An effective way to achieve an energy boost is by painting the accent wall with the corresponding color.
Feng Shui also suggests adding soft natural colors to the room, such as light blue, green, teal, etc., which help create a quiet, tranquil vibe and spread healing energy.
On the other hand, Vastu takes a different approach and suggests going with the color as per different doshas in the body.
Does Sleep Direction Really Matter?
Every individual has their sleeping orientation and patterns. The best sleeping direction recommended by Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui is considered healthy by the practitioners, and some studies have known they radiate positive energy, prevent headaches, and improve blood circulation. Yet, these lack concrete clinical backing.
More or less, it is based on personal choice.
If you have faith in Vastu Shastra and/or Feng Shui, there is no harm in experimenting and observing if these guidelines work well for you and improve your life significantly.
Nevertheless, you should always follow proper sleep hygiene for the best results.
Conclusion
Sleep is vital to your well-being and overall health as it is the process in which your body repairs itself and gets prepared for the next day. If you’re still wondering which direction should you sleep in, you should know that both Vastu and Feng Shui recommend sleeping in with the head pointing southwards for their reasons or beliefs. Having a balanced flow of energy is said to have positive health effects, and hence, you can try and see if these sleep direction guidelines improve your sleep quality. If not, it is recommended to visit a health practitioner to understand the underlying causes of sleep disruption.
FAQs
According to Vastu Shastra, wives should sleep on the left side of their husbands. This is done to increase the love and affection in the relationship and maintain a happy marriage. However, mirrors should not be facing the bed as it is known to bring marital discord.
As per Vastu Shastra, the best sleeping positions for couples are south, southwest, and southeast. This is known to bring relationship compatibility and stability. However, it also advises couples not to sleep facing north as it brings stress and exhaustion.
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