Relieving Stress in the Home
A cluttered home is not a welcome sight. Piled-up dirty dishes, a dark atmosphere, and disorganized furniture can all wreak havoc on your mental health.
In fact, recent research shows that environmental factors can significantly impact stress levels. If you’re lacking motivation or struggling with despair or anxiety, it could be because of your environment.
What Your Home Communicates
Before visitors come over, we typically scramble to tidy up the house. We fly from room to room, collecting books, toys, nicknacks, pencils, and more to shove into a closet and out of sight. This is immediately followed by fluffing the seat cushions and dusting the end tables.
We then scrub the counters and wash (or hide) the dirty dishes. Why do we do this? It’s because we realize that the state of our home communicates something about us to those who enter. We want to make a good impression.
Dr. Stacey Denise
But have you ever stopped to consider what your home is communicating to you? Here are a few unexpected (and perhaps damning) attitudes that your home’s condition may be the cause of.
- Disorganization: instability, lack of control, anxiety, irritation
- Lack of space—trapped, low motivation, desire to leave
- Low lighting: depression, sadness, low social stamina
- Discordant colors: aggression, ease, and sickness
If you’re experiencing these negative emotions, especially while at home, and want to know why, you may only have to glance around you.
Tips to Create a Better Space
The solution involves more than simply washing the dishes and opening the curtains (although that’s a great place to start). It would help if you considered other changes that would uplift your spirit. Below are five design changes to consider:
Donate the clutter:
An organized room facilitates an organized mind. Some people have been inspired to clean after watching the hit Netflix series “Tidying Up.” The founder, Marie Kondo, promotes organization using the tenets of Feng Shui. She encourages people to let go of possessions that don’t bring them joy. The first step toward achieving a clean, open space is donating excess clutter.
Use color
Color is important in our world because it not only makes us more creative but also helps us share important information. Proper color coordination helps people read road signs, and children follow textbook directions. In the home, color has another important role. It can be used to influence psychological traits, including mood. While color itself is important, saturation and brightness are also key. For instance, all components work together to create harmony or discord. Not everything needs to, or should, match in a home; however, all colors should complement each other. For more information about color psychology, read this article.
Display art:
Personal taste greatly influences what you find appealing, comforting, or alarming. You may prefer natural landscapes or textured metal close-ups. Although we have different preferences, art is a universal language. It communicates with us and influences us, whether we realize it or not. Even babies form associations between patterns, colors, shapes, and images.
Our brains are designed to appreciate and respond to such elements. That’s why we appreciate the creativity and beauty expressed through artistic pieces, including sculptures, pottery, ceramics, and even dishware. Consider how the art in your home is affecting you. Should you donate it and seek out pieces that better influence your emotions? If you’re looking for something new to brighten your home, we offer a large selection of quality prints at: Ceyise Studios.
Let the light in
Does your room always have its curtains drawn? If yes, you’re depriving yourself of the vital mood-lifting benefits of sunlight! Replace your curtains with sheers and keep the blinds raised throughout the day. For privacy reasons, you may purchase inexpensive window films that hide the details of the home without blocking sunlight. However, if your room is naturally dark, place mirrors and other reflective surfaces around the room, such as crystals or hammered brass, and consequently, the light will be scattered more efficiently.
Since most windows block UVA radiation, you will not be able to increase your vitamin D levels by standing near a window. Instead, go outside!
Dr. Stacey Denise
According to the National Institutes of Health, between 5 and 30 minutes of sun exposure to your unprotected face, arms, legs, or back between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. about two to three times every week is recommended. Do not wear sunscreen during this time since it can block vitamin D production.
Bring in nature:
Whether they are made of wood, stone, metal, or flowers, natural elements add beauty and health to your home.
Place real, easy-to-care-for plants around the house to clean the air, and use small decorative items like candles, fountains, and vases with river stones to bring the beauty of nature inside.
Consider hiring an interior designer.
If you want to make changes to your home but aren’t sure if you can do it on your own, you might want to hire an interior designer. They are highly conversant with color palettes, storage options, and lighting designs.
A good interior designer can help you feel better and healthier and make the process easy and fun.
Psychologists have proposed a method for treating individuals with depression called bright light therapy.
Because natural sunlight and human psychology are connected, they believe that light exposure through the form of dawn simulation can work as an external antidepressant while improving circadian sleep problems.
-Dr. Stacey Denise
Start Today
If you’re feeling down, demotivated, or discouraged, it’s time you found out why. Is your house too dark and cluttered? Maybe there are not enough motivational or inspiring colors.
However, with only a few changes, you can enjoy the beneficial effects of a space that is both clean and well-decorated.
