You spend a lot of time in your home. Since the pandemic, even more people work from home, which means we spend even more time at home than we used to. How you set up your home can affect your happiness and well-being. So, what changes can you make in your home that will increase your happiness and well-being?
From the vast amount of research done around happiness, concentrating on 5 key areas have the greatest effect on a person’s happiness and have a huge impact on the quality of our lives.
- Learning and growth
- Mindfulness
- Physical well-being
- Quality Relationships
- Helping others
You can set up your home to positively affect each of these areas that have been known to increase your happiness.
Here are 12 ways I would set up a home to increase happiness.
Learning and Growth and Mindfulness:
1. Home Library
or den, you can call it whatever you want. Picture a calm, clutter free room, which has a space for you to relax and read, journal, and learn. You can listen to music or podcasts or TedTalks or books but leave the TV in another room. Ideally this room would have a cozy chair and blanket for you to curl up on. Have a
view of nature from the window, be quiet and closed off from the rest of the house so you can escape, learn, and grow.
2. Meditation Space
This space can be within your bedroom or perhaps the library that is noted above, your home gym. This is a specific small space for you to sit and meditate. It should be a place that is quiet and comfortable.
There is so much research on the benefits of meditation, which having a small space that is designed specifically to help encourage you to include mediation in your daily life. Take 10 mins, use an app that helps you meditate, like Headspace.
I find listening to nature sounds helps me. If you find that calming as well, perhaps have a small tabletop fountain nearby. Like this one on Amazon.
Physical Well Being:
3. In Home Sauna
I love saunas and having an infrared sauna in my house that I could use everyday, would make me very happy. There is a lot of research available on the health benefits of saunas. Having a sauna in your own home would make it much easier to include this in your daily life.
In this article from USA Today, it summarizes findings from a key study on sauna usage. Sauna usage can lead to lower blood pressure, improved function of blood vessels in the heart, and a reduction in stress and inflammation. So, by taking 20 mins to relax in a nice warm sauna, which sounds heavenly on its own, there are multiple health benefits that can be achieved. This is a win, win, win.
Picture before you go to bed, getting into the sauna for 20 mins and either relaxing on your own, or chatting calmly with your significant other while enjoying warmth, relaxation, and peacefulness. Then get ready for bed very relaxed and set yourself up for a great sleep.
4. Cozy Bedroom
Sleep is extremely important to your health. Setting your bedroom up for the best sleep possible, is key. A calm, clutter free, bedroom is a good place to start. This just requires some work to clean and declutter.
A comfortable bed with cozy sheets and comforter is an important starting point. Having blackout blinds is not necessary but. having a dark room promotes good sleep. Blackout drapes/ blinds are key in summer months when its much lighter in the morning. The darkness can increase the length of your sleep.
Having fresh clean air is also important. If you can’t have an air purifier for your whole home, at least have one in your bedroom.
Check this article out by Sleep Design for other ideas on ‘How to Design the Ideal Bedroom for Sleep’.
5. Small Home Gym
A small, designated space for a gym that is big enough to do yoga, stretching, band work, small weights, and key functional exercises is ideal. Although you don’t need a designated gym area, I believe that having a space that is already set up, clean and organized, makes it easier to incorporate regular fitness into your daily life. One idea could be to use the same space for meditation.
Relationships:
Spending time with friends and family is so important for your overall health and wellbeing. Setting up your home in a way that promotes positive interactions for your family and friends and make it easy and fun for conversations and games, is key.
6. Round Dining Room Table
I love a round table. I think that having conversations at a round table is easier. It’s more inclusive because you can see and hear everyone. Ideally, I would want a round table for eight. Comfy chairs to go with this table is also a must. Who wants to sit around a table chatting if your butt is going numb – lol.
7. Ping Pong Table
Having a ping pong double has double positive impact. Playing games with your family or friends is fun, but on top of that, ping pong has been proven improve cognitive functions. It helps prevent dementia. This would be the number one game I would have in my house. Depending on how you play, it also gives you a bit of a physical workout too!
8. Card Table
I love playing card games with friends and families. Have a table that you can play cards isn’t necessary, you could use the round dining room table above, but ideally, I would love a separate space for games.
9. Firepit
Enjoying a firepit with friends through covid, really solidified the importance of having a fire pit. A place to enjoy with family and friends on spring, summer, and warm fall evenings. Sitting around, talking, and listening to music, while enjoying the warmth of the fire is truly enjoyable.
Giving:
Setting up a house, or building your house, isn’t ‘giving’ in the normal sense. However, think of it as ‘giving’ back to the planet. I think it is everyone’s responsibility to do what is possible to protect our environment. When building or renovating a home, strongly consider using environmentally friendly products.
Environmentally Friendly Products for Homes
10. Tankless Water Heater
Please consider choosing a tankless water heater which reduces the amount of energy used to heat your water. It only heats on demand.
11. Sustainable Flooring
Use sustainably sourced flooring. A couple of ideas include using bamboo flooring or reclaimed wood.
12. Solar Panels
There are so many solar companies offering great deals. Please research companies near you and what they are offering. Most companies have deals that require no money down. Use the sun to heat and cool your house. Think of how much opportunity there is in areas where its hot and sunny most of the year.
These are just a few ideas, new products are coming out constantly, please research new eco-friendly products for your next home project.
Check this article out by Elemental Green for more eco-friendly building products.
Hopefully, some of these ideas inspired you on ways to set up your home to promote happiness and well-being.
You can find 5 Ways to Help Lower the Risk of Alzhiemer’s Disease here.
What changes would you make to your home to promote happiness and well-being? I’d love to hear your ideas.
