Home Upgrades to Boost Your Health and Well-Being

If you’re holding onto a lot of stress or emotional dysregulation, you often look at your work, lifestyle, or interpersonal relationships as the source. While these factors are indeed prominent contributors to poor physical and mental health, the comfort of the home is often overlooked when it comes to improving well-being. Excess clutter, poor air quality, or alarming color schemes can foster negative feelings toward your personal space. A safe and calming living area can make it easier to destress and maintain a healthy well-being. Certain upgrades and changes can help ensure that your home remains at peak comfort.

Bring in Nature

Elements found in nature have been found to offer many benefits to your health and well-being. Indoor plants enhance air quality, aesthetics, and your mood by removing toxic compounds from the air and providing therapeutic benefits through proper care and maintenance. Some studies have shown that the mere presence of plants in the home can improve mood and relaxation for occupants. Other natural elements, such as water features, exposed wood, natural fabrics, and stone countertops, can also contribute to these benefits.

Boost Natural Light

If you’re not a fan of potted plants, a decent exposure to sunlight can improve your mood, health, and sleep schedule. Vitamin D, from the sun’s rays, can help reduce symptoms of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and more. Natural light helps regulate your body’s circadian rhythm, increasing the likelihood you’ll be tired at night and fall asleep quickly and deeply. If you’re blocking natural light access in your home, open the blinds or curtains more often. Replace your windows with more energy-efficient options if that is a concern. Adding more window access can also improve your home’s lighting. As a bonus, sunlight brightens up a room emotionally, making it feel less cramped and cluttered.

Reconsider the Color Scheme

The dominant colors in your home can actually impact your mental health. Bright, alarming colors such as a vivid red or yellow can cause anxiety and discomfort. If you’re surrounded by bright colors that make you feel nervous or antsy, or a darker color scheme in your office makes you feel tired, you may want to change up your color palette. For those who love colorful rooms, soft greens and blues typically induce feelings of refreshing calm and productivity, respectively. For those who prefer neutral tones, whites tend to brighten up spaces and provide a “clean” feeling. Darker tones, such as black, can evoke a sense of power or luxury, but they can also be too intimate, making a space feel uncomfortably cramped. Learn about color psychology and try out various paint swatches to see if they evoke an emotion that better aligns with your lifestyle and the room’s purpose.

Create a Cozy Tech-Free Zone

Screens and technology play a huge role in everyone’s lives, from entertainment to the workplace. Taking a break from the chaos of social media and online availability can give your mind the healthy reset it needs. Even a five-minute break from the phone can help reduce stress and improve mood. Create a tech-free space in your home. It should be comfortable and cozy, such as a beanbag chair with a bookshelf in a nook, or a cozy window bench for birdwatching. You can go there as a break from work or as a way to unwind after an intense tech-filled day.

Improve Indoor Air Quality

Dust, dirt, and dander can easily enter the air in your home, especially when you forget to replace an AC filter or you don’t have an air purifier. Poor air quality can exacerbate certain health conditions, including asthma, lung cancer, and pneumonia. When you can’t receive proper oxygen, you can increase the chances of developing symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. These symptoms can significantly affect your productivity levels, mood, and general well-being. Ensure that your HVAC system is inspected and cleaned regularly, including changing the AC filter once a quarter or more frequently if you have pets. Ensure temperatures are well-regulated by improving your home’s insulation and sealing weather drafts. You can also add an interior or exterior insulation system to protect the home’s air quality and temperature. Air purifiers can work in conjunction with your HVAC system to further filter out air pollutants.

Upgrade Your Bedroom for the Best Sleep

Your bedroom should be a den of relaxation to promote a healthy sleep schedule. If you’re having trouble getting the sleep you need, consider a minor room makeover. If your mattress is causing issues, try replacing it with one that promotes pain-free and restful sleep. Set up your phone recharging station to be out of reach from where you sleep; you won’t be tempted to scroll in bed, and you’ll need to get out of bed to shut off your alarm. Include comfortable bedding along with colors that induce a sense of calm and relaxation on the walls, curtains, and bed itself. Declutter the closets and drawers for easier access to your wardrobe as well.

Declutter Your Entire Home

It’s easy to accumulate clutter, even in a clean home. Mail can pile up, or remote controls for your devices can be scattered all over the place. When you organize the chaos, you’ll find it easier to achieve a sense of inner peace. Your home’s clutter often mimics your emotional well-being. Cleaning and organizing surfaces are excellent ways to start decluttering. Recycle or toss items you no longer need. Ensure everything has a designated space. Store items that you don’t use regularly. When your home is free of clutter, it’s a more comfortable and productive space.

Conclusion

Often, a home’s layout, cleanliness, or décor style can significantly affect your emotional state. You don’t need to move homes or revamp your entire layout to reduce your stress. Often, the subtlest changes have the most profound effect on one’s physical and mental health, such as clearing clutter off the home’s surfaces. Ensure the color scheme you choose reflects the emotional state you want to evoke. Bring natural elements into the home to reduce stress and improve air quality. Ensure your home is running at peak performance when it comes to temperature regulation, air quality, and cleanliness. Your home should be a comfortable space where you feel safe.

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