How to Create the Ultimate Study friendly Bedroom for Teens

Along with supporting your teen through fractious friendships, erupting pimples and the up and down list-too-long to name that are present during the awkward transition from childhood to adulthood, helping your teenager to develop good studying habits is a life lesson that will hopefully benefit them during these turbulent teenage years and beyond.

When it comes to learning, every teen is unique, as a parent, it’s helpful to try and understand more about how your child learns as this will help you to establish a positive study environment in your home. While some teenagers relish the thought of studying, others may need a little more support, either way the environment in which they study is incredibly important. A study undertaken by the University of Salford revealed that the classroom environment can affect student’s learning and academic progress by as much as 25%, whilst we’re not here to design a school classroom, this report emphasises the value of getting the learning environment right.

A teen’s bedroom is more often than not their most favoured room in the house, so it makes sense to adapt your teen’s room to incorporate study space rather than battle to get them out of their bedroom to study somewhere else – a great tip from an enlightened parent is “choose your battles wisely!”.

If you’ve decided to adopt this two-in-one approach I’ve got a few ideas to help you create the ultimate study friendly bedroom for teens.

Harry-High-Sleeper-Bed-With-Desk
Harry High Rise Bed with Wardrobe

It’s all about the Desk Bed

Every student needs a comfortable, quiet place to study, so providing a suitable study area will be a top priority. While your teen may think that loafing in their PJ’s in bed is a perfectly good solution, I can verify (having done a stint of working at home) that productivity is markedly improved when you get out of bed and get dressed for work!

A great solution is a bed with a desk, these space saving beds don’t eat up every inch of floor space with separate pieces of furniture as they cleverly combine a bed and desk all in one.

There are several different designs of desk bed, from high sleepers with a desk to cabin beds, beds that convert into a desk, to beds with a corner desk. I’m sure your discerning teen will have a clear idea of what they’d like, however before you hit “add to basket” let’s take a closer look at a few bed and desk combo’s for your teen’s bedroom;

  1. High Sleeper Desk Bed

As the name suggests a high sleeper desk bed stands tall and proud, comfortably housing a desk underneath the bed.

With a selection of designs to choose from offering up different features, a high sleeper desk bed provides an all in one sleep and study station.

For the fashionista’s the Parisot Higher Kids High Sleeper Bed with Desk & Wardrobe neatly presents a combination of bed, desk wardrobe and storage into one space saving teen bed. Providing plenty of storage for your teen to keep their room tidy, they will hopefully have a clear mind when it comes to studying too.

If your teen simply wants a loft bed with desk the Harry High Rise Bed may appeal, with its understated design it would suit many a teen themed bedroom.

  1. Bed with Pull Out Desk

If you’re teenager’s bedroom is particularly small or they’d prefer not to be reminded of their study while they enjoy a bit of R&R a bed with pull out desk could be the answer. The Trasman Girona Mid Sleeper Cabin Bed offers up a sizeable pull out desk that tucks away under the bed when it’s not needed.

  1. Bed with Desk & Sofa

Encourage a healthy balance of work and relaxation, with the Noah Kids High Sleeper Bed that includes a comfy sofa bed, ideal for visiting friends or for kicking back to watch a film. With the optional extension to the fixed desk, you can create a larger desk space for those students who love to spread out!

  1. Bed with Desk & Storage

A bed that offers up study space and storage space makes for a fabulous teen bed combo. As seen below with the Ava High Sleeper Bed with Desk and Wardrobe, your teen will have oodles of shelving space to store their books and pop up their fav Polaroid prints of memorable moments.

  1. Desk to Bed

The ultimate desk bed surely must be a bed that itself converts into a desk! With a lift and a clip the ingenious Denver 2 in 1 Desk & Day Bed in White swiftly transforms from teen day bed to a practical large desk. Granted they will have to clear their desk before they can jump back into bed, but at least it will teach them to tidy up!

If room allows, your teen may prefer a separate desk in their bedroom, check out these cool desks for teenagers for a bit of inspiration.

While there is no magic formula for creating the ideal bedroom study environment, there are a few aspects that are proven in how an environment affects our learning;

Ava-Wooden-High-Sleeper-With-Desk-And-Storage
Ava High Sleeper Bed with Desk and Wardrobe

Tips for Creating a Study Friendly Bedroom Environment

In my recent article, a better night’s sleep for teens, we looked at many aspects that can affect the quantity and quality of your teen’s sleep. Their bedroom environment plays a major role in promoting good sleep, so if they are combining sleep and study into one room it’s important to ensure their bedroom environment creates a healthy space for both their sleep and study.

Colour scheme

Colour psychology is fascinating and isn’t a new concept, in fact researchers have been studying the effects of colour on the human brain for generations. The colour of your teen’s bedroom may influence their working performance and have an impact on their behaviour.

Bear in mind, that this isn’t a definitive science as personal preference will also influence your teenager’s feelings towards colour (they may dislike red as it’s their arch enemy’s favourite colour) however we can’t escape the fact that certain shades create a more calm and relaxing environment, while others are known to stimulate our senses or make the room feel energised and vibrant.

Perhaps spend a little time analysing colours with your teenager and figure out a hue that will establish a positive learning environment in their bedroom.

Plant life

Plants are an amazing part of our ecosystem. Studies have been conducted into the effects of plants in classrooms with results identifying there are clear benefits to children’s mental health and behaviour.

Introducing a house plant to your teen’s bedroom is a simple addition that could have a positive impact in creating an environment that aids concentration and creativity.

If you’re worried your teenager isn’t capable of keeping a real life green friend alive (I’m guilty of killing a few!), a study undertaken by the University of Melbourne revealed that just glancing at a grassy green roof for only 40 seconds markedly boosts concentration. So really, just by including a green wall, a green wall print or even a faux green plant, should be sufficient to improve efficiency and focus.

Tone down the tech

Gaming consoles are popular with teens (and big teens, aka grown men!) and are great fun to play, however they also serve as a big distraction. If your teen has a gaming console in their bedroom, you could consider negotiating certain times that they hand over the controller so it isn’t tempting while they’re meant to be studying. Or a better still, keep the games consoles for a communal family room and away from bedrooms altogether.

Lighting

When you’re juggling the balance of lighting for learning and for relaxation it can be hard to find the right level!

Research has identified that the correct type of lighting can significantly improve children’s learning, especially if it is natural light – save the LED strip lights for movie nights!

Good lighting is important so that your teen’s eyes don’t get overtired. If they can’t achieve a good level of natural light, a bright white light is a great working light option for during the day, however if they’re a studious night owl a yellowish orange light is more relaxing for their eyes. A desk lamp can provide the right level of lighting when they are studying.

Noah Kids High Sleeper Bed in White

The Teen Centered Approach

It can be hard to hand over the design reigns, after all you’ve probably undertaken a few projects from designing their nursery, to planning their first fun themed bedroom, however as much as you may want to have the final say, your teen’s bedroom is their space and it’s important for them to have some control over it. It may seem insignificant but sometimes all it takes to spur a little more motivation to study, is knowing that your opinion is valued and listened to.

Parisot Higher Kids High Sleeper Bed with Desk & Wardrobe

I hope I’ve given you a few useful hints and tips for creating a bedroom that will help your teen knuckle down to some serious study and of course relish in some well deserved down time too – as the old saying goes, “all work and no play makes Jack (substitute for Jill) a dull boy/girl!”.

For more teen room tips, we have a super savvy customer service team who are totally in touch with all things hip and cool, ping them an email or pick up the phone +44 (0) 1305 231 231 they’d be delighted to help.

Nathalie

With more than 10 years’ experience in providing advice and support to parents looking for their perfect kids bed, mother of 2, Nathalie Davis is passionate about helping children develop. In her role as Director of Product Procurement at Cuckooland, Nathalie has helped thousands of parents improve their children’s sleep and sleeping habits through the beds and mattresses she sources and the articles she writes. In her spare time she teaches her Golden Retriever to be a responsible vegetarian and is often spotted sifting through clothes at her local Charity Shops.

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