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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best creativity magazine in the UK”, interior design experts at Hovia share their tips for changes you can make to achieve a stress-free home.
April is Stress Awarness month, and it is essential to highlight the significance of good mental health, and caring for your wellbeing while at home. Hovia‘s experts in interior design have looked into the best ways to update your home to make it less stressful.
Reducing stress before bedtime
Whether you’re too stressed to sleep or haven’t gotten enough sleep, it’s best to sleep in complete darkness to get a better sleep patterns and to relax. According to UDesign, 70% of people in the UK sleep less than seven hours per night. This is a significant statistic because even a half-hour less sleep than is necessary can have a negative impact on health over time.
Research conducted by the Sleep Foundation found that sleeping in darkness can assist in stimulating the production of melatonin, a hormone that aids in faster sleep. A good night’s sleep not only reduces stress but also boosts motivation, alertness, and immunity.
Investing in blackout blinds, shutters, or curtains to create the darkest bedroom possible is one of the best ways to get a good night’s sleep. Your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate can all be slowed down by selecting a cool or neutral wallpaper or paint color like blue, green, or grey. Make your bedroom smell like lavender by using essential oils or diffusers to create a more tranquil setting that will help you fall asleep faster. In the late spring months add a calm fan or wool duvet to avoid overheating around evening time.
Calm zone
Refreshing an unused corner, to make another calm space for yourself is a simple and fulfilling way update to your room, and it will give you an assigned space to loosen up. For instance, turning this space into an area for a yoga or reflection can help you manage your stress, decrease negative emotions, and stimulate your imagination.
You can design a quiet space through accessories, and can separate that space in the room with a calming wallpaper or new paint tone. An alternative is to purchase a room separator to truly transform your corner into a relaxing space. You’ll also feel less stressed and be more productive if you keep the space clean and clutter-free. Incorporate mood lighting to create a relaxing atmosphere.
Relax in nature
Nature or accessories that remind you of nature, for example plant wallpaper, can truly add a few extraordinary advantages to your indoor space. According to research conducted at the University of Exeter, including plant components in your daily life has been shown to significantly improve your well-being by 47%, creativity by 45%, and productivity by 38%. Reduced cortisol levels and a lower risk of psychiatric disorders also have positive effects, making it easier to recover from stress.
The best ways to bring more nature into your home or office are to decorate with plants or build a plant shelf. You can also directly involve plants by putting fresh flowers in a vase. You can incorporate elements of nature by purchasing natural furniture or putting wallpaper of nature on a feature wall.
Light therapy
In your home or workplace, whenever possible, turn off the fluorescent lights and open the windows to let in the sun’s natural rays. According to Dako Windows’ research, exposure to natural light not only aids in the production of vitamin D in the body but also has positive effects on circadian rhythms, sleeping patterns, motivation, and has been shown to boost happiness and mood.
Draping a mirror on a wall inverse a window delivers all the more light inside the room or painting/decorating your walls and roofs in white to light up the room. Keep your windows clean to allow all the more light in and arrange your furnishings so they don’t block the windows. Another tip is to utilize reflexive or metallic surfaces that will bounce the light around the room.
Good mood, good view
Try to get a good, unobstructed view of some kind of nature experience or view in your office or home. According to Chromogenics, it has demonstrated to have positive mental health effects, for example, being more creative and invigorated, less stressed and more productive. You are also less likely to take sick days from work, according to research.
By creating a view with photographic or nature-inspired art prints or selecting a picturesque landscape wallpaper, you can design your space with a view. Hanging plants around your window frame are a great way to bring nature inside if your view isn’t the best. This also gives you the benefits of nature.
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