5 Ways to Design Your Home for Wellness
If you’re living a healthy lifestyle, or if that’s your aim, don’t forget about your home’s wellness potential. As Psychology Today notes, it’s been scientifically proven that our physical and mental health are significantly proven by the environment of the home in which we live.
Here’s how you can design your home for maximum wellness.
The Entryway
One of the primary spots that toxins make their way into your home is the entryway as toxins are brought in by dirty shoes. Once they make it past the entry way, they’re spread all over the house. That dirt carries things like pesticides, chemicals from roadways, heavy metals and bacteria from animal waste. And, if you have kids that like to play on the floor, just imagine what they’re crawling through. Design your entryway so that it encourages people to immediately remove their shoes when they come in, perhaps adding a seating area to make it easier to do so, along with a friendly sign. If you have small children, provider a shorter seat for them too. Using a seating bench that opens is a great idea as it can also be used as storage.
Living Room
Most of us spend a lot of time hanging out in our living rooms, so living room design is important too. One of the most important things you can do there is to open up the windows to bring in the fresh air. The problem is, more and more homes are designed with fixed picture windows that don’t open. While some are okay for enjoying a picturesque view, be sure that you have some windows that open up to replace toxic air with fresh air. Unless the area you live in is very polluted, the air in your home is most likely much more polluted than it is outside. In fact, the EPA has estimated that indoor air is approximately two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.
Add More Greenery Throughout
Multiple studies have revealed that having more plants in a home can improve memory retention, concentration and the moods of those who inhabit it. Just the sight of greenery is said to reduce stress as just the sight of them, and the presence of natural elements, is known to lower stress. That’s because they release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide to freshen the air and eliminate harmful toxins.
The Bathroom
There are numerous ways to design a bathroom for wellness. First, when installing a shower (as opposed to a tub), choose a zero threshold shower which means there will be no lip to step over when getting in or out, as tripping over it is a common accident. Next, be sure you have a filtered showerhead. If you don’t, that showerhead is most likely spraying you with chemical-filled water that can cause a variety of health issues, minor problems such as skin irritation to potentially life-threatening diseases.
Design a Relaxation Area
One of the best things you can do for wellness is to have a relaxation room. A quiet place without noise, which doesn’t just mean sound, but clutter. Step away from the idea that you have to have knickknacks in every spot and make it minimalistic, adding perhaps just a comfortable chair for meditation or reading, some natural elements like flowers, plants or a water feature.
