Turning Your Home Into A Health Oasis: Some Do’s And Don’ts

Turning your home into a health oasis is something that everyone could benefit from. But only a tiny fraction of people ever get around to it. It always seems like there’s something more important to do.  But no more. In this article, we’ll look at what you can do to transform your home into something that supports your health and wellbeing (not take away from it).

 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here.

 

 

What Is A Home Health Oasis?

 

According to dharte, a home health oasis is a sanctuary we create at home for the purpose of relaxation and revitalisation. A little slice of peace and calm in our hectic world, an escape from the hustle and bustle of life. A space where we can recharge and recover from our stress.

 

 

The Do’s And Don’ts Of Creating A Health Oasis

 

Do clear away the mess

A cluttered environment can feel overwhelming and contribute to stress. Regularly declutter and clean your space. This doesn’t mean achieving magazine-worthy perfection but creating a calming and organised atmosphere.

 

Messy rooms can adversely affect our health and make us feel miserable. By contrast, clean and tidy rooms do the opposite. These make us feel like we’re at our very best and can do anything. 

 

Therefore, if you want to turn your home into a health oasis, focus on cleaning and tidying. Keeping everything looking its best, but remembering that good enough is also acceptable, is an excellent way to protect your wellbeing.

 

To aid with creating a health oasis via cleaning, it’s important to factor in the boredom that comes with cleaning. Removing distractions is a good way to get started with cleaning, and finding ways to make it more fun can also help (Chen and Oishi, 2017).

 

Another good way to manage cleaning chores is to break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks and add them to a to-do list. That way you get a sense of achievement as you work through your to-do list, and why not set up a reward for crossing several items off your to-do list or for completing it?

 

Remember, it’s not motivation that will see you through your to-do list, but self-discipline. Motivation is too fickle to get you through tasks you may see as boring.

 

 

Don’t forget to transform your bedroom

If you’re lucky enough to have a separate bedroom, then, when trying to turn your home into a health oasis, make sure you also transform your bedroom. Turning it into a place where you can get plenty of sleep is essential for looking and feeling your best. 

 

Transform your bedroom by focusing on things like blocking out light and making your bedding comfortable. You can also improve your health by disallowing any electronics into the bedroom (these can cause problems when trying to fall asleep). Furthermore, ensure your bedroom is optimised for sleep, invest in a comfortable mattress, put up blackout curtains, and maintain a cool temperature.

 

Do create a wellness zone

Another thing you’ll want to do when creating your health oasis, if you have space, is to create a wellness zone. This space is one you can use for anything that promotes your wellbeing. For example, you could use it for the gym, yoga, reading, crafting, etc.

 

Building a wellness zone is actually much easier than you might think. All you need is a yoga mat area, a comfortable reading chair, and some weights. With that equipment in tow, you can do pretty much everything you want to – reading, stretching, and lifting weights. 

 

Just make sure the space is large enough for you to do all your movements. You don’t want stray flailing hands and feet smashing into furniture. Alternatively, a dedicated reading nook might be more your speed or a hobby space.

 

 

Don’t neglect mobility

When turning your house into a health oasis, don’t forget about prioritising your mobility. There’s little point in creating a wellness zone if it doesn’t accommodate your mobility requirements. So if you have mobility needs, then as part of creating your health oasis, adapt your home to accommodate your needs and reduce the trouble you may have with getting around. If you live in the UK, you may also be entitled to grants that can help cover the costs of such improvements to your home (as mentioned in my prior article).

 

For example, installing a quality stairlift might be a good idea if you need help to get upstairs or downstairs. You might also want to add rails to the bathroom and front door so you can more easily get around and maintain more of your independence.

 

Do bring nature indoors

Another great idea if you want to turn your home into an oasis is to bring nature indoors. Adding plants and water features to your interior can have a profound and positive effect on your wellbeing over time. As I talked about in my article, ‘The Link Between Nature And Better Mental Health‘, being around nature and green spaces can be beneficial to our mental wellbeing (Bratman et al., 2019).

 

For example, you could add some indoor houseplants to your living room to change how it feels when you’re relaxing in front of the TV. Or you could add a water feature or aquarium to your hallway and see how it makes you feel. That’s because our wellbeing benefits from blue spaces (aquatic) as well (American Psychological Association).

 

Don’t overdo it

Aim for a comfortable and functional space, not a showroom. Good enough is always good enough. Pretty much nothing in life requires perfection. So don’t feel pressured to follow every design trend or try to make the picture-perfect health oasis, as you might do more harm to your mental wellbeing than good.

 

 

Summary

 

The world can be a stressful place, but there are things we can do to help manage that stress and heal our mental wellbeing in the process. One of those steps is creating your own health oasis at home. With the do’s and don’ts in this article, you’ll be able to create your own health oasis. Just remember that you don’t have to rush the creation of your health oasis, and it doesn’t have to be perfect.

 

As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with creating your own health oasis in the comments section below as well. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.

 

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References

 

Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., Folke, C., Frumkin, H., Gross, J. J., Hartig, T., Kahn Jr., P. H., Kuo, M., Lawler, J. J., Levin, P. S., Lindahl, T., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Mitchell, R., Ouyang, Z.,  Roe, J., Scarlett, L., Smith, J. R., van den Bosch, M., Wheeler, B. W., White, M. P., Zheng, H., & Daily, G. C. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5(7). Retrieved from https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaax0903 and https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/5/7/eaax0903.full.pdf.

Chen, S., & Oishi, S. (2017). Meaningful Mess: Making Tidying Less Boring Through Meaning and Motivation. Retrieved from https://www.erinwestgate.com/uploads/7/6/4/1/7641726/shannon_chen_dmp.pdf.