They say home is where the heart is. As you’ll see, home is also where your health is.
Your home is where you spend a significant amount of your time. It makes sense that its structure and design play a role in your wellbeing.
In this article, we take a look at what parts of your home can affect your health. We also provide tips for how you can modify your space to create a healthier environment.
Physical Effects
In this article, we primarily cover how you respond psychologically to your environment. But it’s important to note that your home can also cause physical effects.
Many houses, for instance, have poor indoor air quality. This can be due to poor ventilation, water damage, and even mold growth.
Poor indoor air quality is serious as it can make you and your family sick. You may experience symptoms such as coughing, fatigue, itchy skin, and difficulty concentrating.
Consider testing your indoor air quality if you experience these symptoms. You can then take action by hiring mold removal services, changing your AC filter, improving ventilation and moisture control, etc.
Lighting
Now, let’s discuss the parts of your home that affect you more psychologically.
One that comes to mind is its lighting. Lighting is a very simple aspect of your home but has a significant impact on your health.
You should take advantage of natural lighting as much as possible. Get curtains/blinds that will allow you to let in sunlight. This can improve your mood, alertness, and productivity.
These curtains/blinds should also effectively block out light when you want them to. This is especially important at night.
Additionally, as you wind down for bed, limit your exposure to blue light. Stay off your phone and use night lights that emit a warm light.
Before you go to bed, consider opening your blinds to wake up to the sun. Or, try a lightbox alarm that mimics natural sunlight.
Colors
When you paint a room, you should think carefully about what color to use. This is because color is another element that can have a huge psychological impact.
Choose your color depending on what effect you’re going for. For instance, if you’re painting the kitchen, you might want to choose a warm color like red. Warm colors stimulate the appetite, making it an appropriate choice.
Organization
Clutter is fairly common. Who’s house isn’t a little messy?
But, if you want to improve your mental health, consider doing a bit of organizing. You probably don’t realize it, but clutter can cause unnecessary stress.
It’s exhausting to constantly have to be aware of all the stuff you have. Put it away, and only take it out when you need it. You’ll feel much calmer and more in control.
Layout
You might’ve never thought twice about the layout of your house. This is surprising considering how big of an impact it can have!
In the past, architects made houses very segmented. They were closed-off, each room being distinct from one another. This can be beneficial as it offers privacy. However, it can also create a sense of isolation.
Today, this is no longer the case. Modern houses are much more open. One room bleeds into another, giving a sense of cohesiveness. This design may not offer as much privacy, but it can help residents feel less restricted.
Seeing as an architect determined the layout of your house during the building stages, you can’t really change it, unless you want to take on an expensive reconstruction project.
Nevertheless, it’s interesting to look at the effects of your home’s layout. And, you can keep these principles in mind if you ever buy a new house.
As you can see, your home can have serious impacts on your health. The good news? You have the power to modify your space to make these impacts positive!
