Is Your Home Helping or Hindering Your Wellbeing?

When it comes to managing our wellbeing, there are so many factors at play. From stress reduction to a wholesome diet to physical activity, the list goes on!

But have you ever considered how the very environment surrounding you plays a role in keeping you healthy and well? Our environment has a fundamental influence on us, and yet the connection between our home and health is often overlooked or misunderstood.

Did you know? On average we spend 90% of our time indoors....

What a staggering statistic..... Although it is not a huge surprise given many of us live and work indoors, it is still a substantial percentage of our time and we definitely need to act on it. Now more than ever, we should be building indoor environments that promote and support our health, productivity and wellbeing. Environments that work for our lifestyle, needs and those that live there. Spaces that allow us to thrive, feel good, and be our best selves.

Our home environment has a direct influence on our health and wellbeing both in the short and long term. A healthy home environment can:

• Help us to feel safe, grounded and connected

• Reduce risk of injury and safety incidents

• Reduce physical health ailments such as respiratory irritation and fatigue

• Reduce risk of chronic health conditions including asthma, obesity, mental health conditions, respiratory conditions, autoimmunity

• Enhance mood, emotional regulation and productivity

• Increase psychological wellbeing

Take a moment to think about an indoor environment that didn't help you to feel your best. Why was that do you think?

I can recall many a time sitting in a cold open plan office with bright, harsh, overhead fluorescent beam lighting, no natural light and constant glare on my computer screen. Not to mention the stale air saturated with someone else's intoxicating cologne, and the constant chatter and distractions I could just not block out. It did not take long at all for me to start feeling completely overstimulated, fatigued, drained and headachey. My digestion was off and I could feel my stomach was sore. My eyes were dry and I felt tired but wired at the same time. Even worse, I usually wasn't able to truly shift this negative physical, emotional and mental state until I had finally reached the grounding comforts of my own home (note- with the lights turned wayyy down!). People (like myself) who identify as highly sensitive can have an even harder time in poorly thought out and unhealthy spaces, and this is something that we really should shine more light on, ,especially when planning functional, health promoting indoor environments.

But what does this look like? How do we create this for our own home environment of workspace?

There are a number of scientifically validated factors that are key to creating a healthy, safe and supportive home environment. You may find that you already have some of these areas covered off, and maybe a couple that you need to review and work on.

These include but are not limited to:

1. Environmental factors

   • Light (natural + artificial)

   • Air Quality (dust, mold, airflow)

   • Biophilic Elements (bringing nature in, natural materials and decor, live greenery)

   • Excess Clutter

2. Design

   • Layout + Flow (Functionality, furniture positioning, Feng Shui principles)

   • Design Principals + Elements (Colour, direction, scale, pattern, texture, dimension)

3. Expression

   • Hygge principles (Creating comfort and connection)

   • Safety and Nourishment

   • Injecting your personality and personal touches

   
   

It's important to identify how to create a healthy safe space but it's even more important to understand how these factors play a part exactly and what you can do to ensure you cover this off in your own home.

Want to take a deeper dive? Check out my other blog posts and educational content.