A Design Psychologist Just Explained Why the Color of My Bed Sheets Matters — Now I Need to Buy a New Set

The psychology of color often examines how colors make you feel, but what if this practice is implemented in your space of slumber? Bed sheet color psychology looks at how the hues on your bedding can ultimately affect your mood and what colors have a positive and negative effect on your emotions, sleep, and overall wellbeing.

Now, we know there are certain bedsheet colors for sleep, but what about colors for mood? How do certain hues affect you, and can they really make a difference to your overall energy flow? Let's dive right in.

I spoke to a design psychology coach and color consultant to understand the layers of bed sheet color psychology and how it can impact behaviors and moods. Here's everything you need to know.

What Color Is Best for Bedding, According to Psychology?

You might have consider color psychology in interior design for your bedroom walls, but can your sheets really make a difference?

"The best bedding colors make you feel tranquil and ready to unwind in the evening and energized in the morning," says Daniela Araya, a principal designer and color consultant. "Typically, we associate bedrooms with cool-tone colors like blue, green, and purple because of their calming properties, but warm colors can also work for bedding. It’s all about selecting the right undertone to work in your room."

Interior stylist and design psychology coach Amber Dunford explains that the best bedding color depends on your body's overall temperature when you sleep. "If you tend to run hot in temperature as you sleep, you may want to incorporate bedding in colors found on the cooler side of the color wheel," says Amber. "Colors like blue and green can psychologically cool down your bed and provide the perception of a cooler sleeping environment."

She continues: "The opposite is true for those who feel cold throughout the night or sleep in cooler rooms. In this instance, layering warm colors like rust orange or red can mentally warm up bedding."

But before you choose your bedding color, it's important to understand the main theories associated with color psychology.

What Do the Color of Bed Sheets Mean?

There have been many scientific explorations of color psychology, and for many years, people have longed to understand how color can impact your overall mood and behavior. In a paper published by researchers Jicheng Yang and Xiaoying Shen in 2023, they say: "To sum up, color is the main factor affecting the human senses and also affects the physiology and psychology of the human body. It will inevitably affect the effect and function of the community environment design." But what exactly does this mean?

The researchers note that there are symbolic meanings that are often associated with certain colors. "Colors are able to communicate not just visual information but also feelings. One of the functions of color is to convey a range of feelings to people while also providing them with a striking visual impression," the paper reads.

The researchers state that these are the "common symbolic" meanings of colors:

Red: Festive, excited, passionate, dangerous, loving, auspicious, gaudy, enthusiastic, awe-inspiring.
Dark red: Noble, solemn, selfless.
Pink: Gentle, soft, earthy, reserved.
Lavender: Elegant, romantic, dreamy, sexy
Purple: Solemn, deep, mysterious, noble, arrogant, glamorous.
Blue: Serenity, lost, peaceful, wisdom, hope, reason, transcendence, refreshing, eternal.
Green: Hope, nature, balance, environmental protection, youth, growth, freshness.
Light yellow: Quiet, serene, light-hearted
Yellow: Hope, joy, light, confidence, dignity, danger.
Orange: Vitality, warmth, joy, kindness, joy, liveliness, leisure.
White: Sublime, clean, parting, truth, indifference.
Black: Simple, mysterious, composed, insidious, cold, evil, dead, noble.

Another study published in 2020 also looked at the association of color and emotions by studying 4,598 people from 30 different countries. The research subsequently revealed that certain colors were associated with different moods. For example, the color blue was linked to a feeling of relief, while green, by some, was linked to contentment. Black was associated with sadness, while red was linked with love.

So how does this effect how you choose your bedding color? Well, find the values that you most want to imbue into your bedroom, and go from there. Not everyone reacts to colors in the same way, and some people are happy to have dark and dramatic bedroom color ideas, while others want to keep things simple and peaceful.

"Think about the desired behaviors you want for the space, and use that as your starting point when selecting bedsheet colors," Amber says. "For example, if you get to bed much later than you would like, consider making your bedding more inviting with earthy layers like camel and terracotta hues. This will feel warm and draw you in, as these colors will mentally move toward us and feel like a bit of a hug."

Daniela adds: "I like to remind others that color is our friend and there’s a color for everyone. People often think being a 'color person' means covering every corner of your house in vibrant shades, but that’s a big color misconception. Use color your way and as a tool to create an environment that supports your desired feelings in the home. Using color in even the smallest doses, like in bedsheets, will allow you to reap the benefits of color psychology and create a more soothing and supportive home."

Amber Dunford

Amber Dunford is a former mental health clinician turned interior stylist and one of only a handful of “design psychologists” with expertise in the connection between space design and mental health. She spent years in private practice as a therapist before merging her passions for design and psychology by developing a college course on the relationship between the two. She believes there is a powerful and often underrated correlation between our mental well-being and the spaces we inhabit.

Which Bedsheet Color Is Good for Positive Energy?

As well as the type of bedding, the color you choose is just as important. Bed sheet color psychology looks at both bed sheet colors to avoid and hues you'll want to welcome into your space.

"Selecting the right bedsheet for positive energy is subjective and depends on a person’s preferences," Amber tells us. "For some, navy might be a calming and uplifting color. But for others, it can feel cold and elicit feelings of sadness. Consider your personal color associations and which colors you feel most positive when deciding which colors to use on your bedding." So, ultimately, the decision is yours.

"Yellow is my go-to color for radiating positive energy and joy," says Daniela. "In the bedroom, you can pare back your typical sunshine yellow vibrancy by choosing a softer buttery yellow or grounding mustard yellow. Both represent optimism and will create a cheerful bedroom environment."

If you'd like to mix and match in your space, there are many stunning colors that go with yellow. But be sure to stick to colors that have a positive effect on your mood.

How Do Bedding Colors Affect Your Mood?

"Color is transformative, and utilizing it in your home’s design will help you achieve the overall mood you’re seeking," explains Daniela. "This is true for any room in the home, but the bedroom is particularly important because it’s where we spend most of our time (a third of our lives!) resting and recharging."

In order to choose the right color for your bed sheets, the expert says you should "Start by asking yourself how your bedroom currently feels and how you want it to feel— then select colors that support those desired feelings."

Daniela continues: "Cool-tone colors like blue and green symbolize balance, calmness, and security. Both colors are tied to nature (think about how relaxed sitting by the ocean can make you feel or what walking through a park does to lower your cortisol). Warm tones like red and pink bring romance and passion, while yellow and orange are often tied to joy and friendliness." The color consultant says every color sets the tone for how you feel when you walk into a room — so make sure you choose your bed sheet color wisely.

Amber says if you often struggle with sleep and you're finding it quite hard to unwind, "you might want to invest in bedding that sticks within a monochromatic color scheme. When we are around this color palette, we tend to feel more relaxed and calm. For a little more excitement and interest, go for a contrasting color scheme using colors opposite one another on the color wheel. This creates an energizing effect and lifts our mood."

Well, there you have it: bed sheet color psychology isn't as complicated as it sounds. It's the understanding of how colors can impact your mood, space, and, in this case, sleep.

Given that our color expert highlighted yellow as one of the positive hues for bed sheets, why not try color drenching bedrooms in it? Or perhaps choose little accents around your home that bring this color in subtle yet elegant ways.