Having a living environment that works for – not against – your mental well-being is essential. After all, with the outside world often more stressful and chaotic than we’d like it to be, having a home that encourages us to rest, relax and be at ease is crucial for maintaining a positive state of mind.
Your property won’t automatically elevate your mental well-being. You’ll need to make it happen. Happily, even small changes to your home can have a big impact. We’ve put together some handy strategies below which should, when put together, have a noticeable and positive impact on your mental well-being.
Choosing calming colours
Your décor colour selections will have a subtle impact on your mood. To create a relaxing and joyful property, look at calming colours, such as greens (both light and dark greens work well), blue and neutral colours. It’s an easy and highly effective way to elevate the mood of your home, ensuring that you begin the day from an uplifted position.
Let in more natural light
Natural light boosts serotonin production and makes it easier to get a full night’s sleep. In other words, it’s an easy way to boost mental well-being. Exposure to natural light can also enhance physical well-being, too – one study found that heart attack victims were less likely to die if they were in sunlit wards.
The bottom line? Natural light is good for you, and it’s in your interest to let as much of it into your home as you can. Upgrading your windows, hanging mirrors at light access points and installing a roof lantern can all substantially increase the amount of natural light that can enter your property. In doing so, you’ll also be enhancing your property’s value – homebuyers love natural light – which can also put a smile on your face.
Open, organised spaces
It’s easy for homes to be cluttered after a few years of living in them. Yet, clothes that you never wear, random items that you once enjoyed and kitchen appliances you only use once in a blue moon aren’t just limiting the amount of free space you have in your home. They may also be impacting your mental health. Multiple studies have made the connection between clutter and stress, anxiety and depression, which should be all the motivation you need to have a clear-out.
Create a tech-free area
It’s not realistic to think that you’ll live without technology, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t value in limiting how much time you spend staring at your screens. If you work in front of a screen, then you’ll already be spending a big chunk of your time in front of a computer; working to make your home a screen-free sanctuary, at least a portion of the time, can give your brain the rest it needs and also encourages you to do other activities that support mental well-being, such as reading, yoga or meditation. You can limit tech use in your home by creating a tech-free zone (such as a single room) or imposing a tech curfew (say, after 7:30 pm).