You might want to play with capacitive sensing for a while then, including using the metal rod over your bed.
I've been able to use a jumper wire as a rock-solid cap sensor but by leaving the UNO open to static.
When I got that working on insulated wire, I only had to get inches close for it to read the same as touch.
I have used aluminum foil for sensors I could tune to know close from touch. That took a while.
You would need to make something that would not false because you rolled over in the night.
Try turning on the working lamp by touching it with a metal pole. IMO it should work. If so then a wire from the bed to the lamp should also work.
As far as the led strip, you could point a light detector at the lamp and use a positive read to light the leds.
You can even fit an Arduino into it and make things happen that a simple circuit would not.
But I wouldn't have the Arduino sending capacitive read pulses to something that is already being used that way.