7 WAYS TO FEEL HEALTHIER AT HOME

7 WAYS TO FEEL HEALTHIER AT HOME

 

The healthy home blog made specifically for this week, is an Apartment Therapy package dedicated to wellness where you live. We spoke with therapists, medical doctors, fitness experts, and more to put together a slew of health-focused tips and resources.

Home is where you sleep, eat, bathe yourself, and, potentially, where you work, all things that can impact your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. So while the home is definitely where the heart is, it’s also a fundamental contributor to your overall health.

Thankfully, you can leverage your living space and what you do in it to feel healthier and happier on a daily, with no expensive rents required. Of course, “healthy” means something different to every person, and it can also mean many things to each person. We aimed to find ideas that cover a wide variety of situations, from keeping germs out to avoiding physical injuries to doing things that make you smile. You know your body and what it needs best, so pick your favorites (even one, if that’s all you can manage!) and stick with the practices that resonate. 

 

 Here they are

 

1. Tidy up your entrance:

The interior designer Anita Yokota, says to tackle your entryway. When it’s unorganized, it can be a stressful distraction every time you pass through it; when it’s clutter-free, she says it can instantly reset your entire home’s mood, and your own.

We all like to live in a clean place, which is why tidying up the house and keeping it clean helps our mood. 

Certainly when the decor is made by us we look at it differently and it sends us a feeling of well-being, because it is our energy there.

 

2. Take the stairs, again and again:

             Got stairs in your house or building? Take time every day to do some reps going up and down if you’re physically able to. Your heart rate will be going in no time. 

Try to use even your own home for sports, exercise, stress relief, to save both time and money, and to help you enjoy your home as much as possible. 

 

3. Wipe down your kitchen counters:

          “Keeping a clean and well-organized kitchen space does wonders for a person’s outlook, especially when they are gearing up to cook,” says Feller. Want an easy place to start tidying?

Clear and wipe down your counters to combat disease-causing germs and make the room feel instantly tamer.  

And not just the kitchen but the whole house, a clean house, properly ventilated and regularly oxygenated, by opening the windows for ventilation it will always be a burst of energy of energy, and health protection. 

 

4. Set your phone’s nighttime settings to earlier:

           Dr. Roizen says that he uses his phone’s built-in settings to ensure that it stops emitting blue light (which can affect your sleep cycle in the evening) and switches to warmer light after 7 p.m. Sound early?

He says that you should have yours turned on at least three hours before your bedtime — which might be earlier than many phones’ automatic sunset-to-sunrise settings. Disconnecting your eyes from devices at least one hour before bedtime is extremely healthy and recommended.

It is not advisable at all to get up from your laptop or phone and go to bed to sleep, because our eyes are still covered by the blue light of the screen and we will not be able to rest or fall asleep very hard. 

5. Take a night soak:

          Yes, it may seem like a self-care cliché, but baths come with a variety of mind-body benefits.

Hot baths can relax muscles and joints, contribute to mental relaxation, and can help you sleep better, especially when paired with de-stressing bath salts and scents, and give yourself a massage, while you’re in the shower or bath, work on any tight neck and shoulder knots with a DIY rubdown.

Long soaking evenings are a real relaxation and a real need that is right at home and does not require expenses, but a joy and a healthy way to relax at home.

 

6. Listen to music you don’t normally listen to:

         You might be tempted to put on the same playlist you always play, but Dr. Rosmarin says you can get an instant refresh by switching on a different beat. “If you’re feeling stressed at home, change your environmental context,” he says.

Changing your music is one example of that it can help shake things up and put your problems or worries in a different context, he says and dance while you do it. Because: Who doesn’t love a dance party? And also: another great way to get in some movement. 

 

To overcome anxiety or not to become boring, you can introduce it into your daily routine.

This is just another way of home therapy that anyone can do. 

 

7. Eat outside:

         Brown loves to do this on days when she needs a lift. Even if it’s just sitting on your front steps with a sandwich, you’ll nab the perks of fresh air and invite your friends, after months of huge societal changes due to the pandemic, “we’re seeing so much social isolation,” says Dr. Rosmarin, and loneliness can take a toll on mental health.

So invite a few friends over to hang out in your outside space, if you have one, to reap the benefits of both the outdoors and in-person social connection.

That is it for this week's simple surprise. We would love to hear if this has helped you, so please feel free to always engage with us on any social media platform or email.

Until next week, have a productive week!

Ciao,
Alexi!