4 Home Improvements For a Healthier Life

Health comes in all shapes and sizes. There is physical health, mental health, and emotional health. All of which are important to keep in mind when considering overall wellbeing. There are plenty of things we can do to our homes that can help promote a healthier lifestyle. Some less permanent options are decoration-based, like using calming colors for walls and furniture. But if you’re serious about upgrading your space, and your life, consider these 4 home improvements that promote overall wellbeing. 

Home Gym

This first home improvement that can improve your overall health is a bit of a given, but it is building a home gym. At-home workouts are an excellent way of maintaining your health without sacrificing time going to and from the gym. Additionally, home gyms are perfect for tailoring your equipment to your specific needs. If you have little to no interest in lifting weights, you can have a home gym made up of exclusively cardio equipment. Or alternatively, if you like weight training and hate cardio, you can equip your area to have all the lifting machines you’d need. There are plenty of at-home workouts that you can do in the comfort of your home gym. 

Reading/Meditation Nook

Mental wellbeing is equally as important if not more important than physical wellbeing. Though despite its importance, it is often overlooked. Carving out an area of your home for meditation, reading, or relaxation could be an opportunity for you to practice mindfulness which has been shown to greatly improve mental and emotional well-being. Reading/meditation nooks don’t have to be an extravagant renovation project. They can be as big or as little of a project as you feel like doing. The beauty is that a reading nook could be something like tearing down a wall to make some extra space or something as simple as moving a couch into a corner and doing some decoration work to make it feel cozy. 

More Windows

Natural light is one of the most powerful energy sources for our bodies. Exposure to sunlight gives us vitamin D which is a critical nutrient for our health. It helps reduce our risk of disease and can improve our mood. In fact, being in the sun or in direct sunlight helps ward off feelings of depression, often associated with symptoms of seasonal depression. A home renovation well worth the price is installing more windows in your home. Whether it’s in your family room, kitchen, or bedrooms, more access to light to come into your home can benefit your overall health. Additionally, to multiply the amount of light coming into your home, consider adding mirrors in rooms with windows. The reflection provided by the mirror helps distribute the light amongst the room giving you more light for less. 

Sauna/Steam Bath 

If you’re interested in a bigger renovation project consider a sauna or steam bath build. Saunas and steam baths have proven health benefits including, reducing stress, easing pain, improving blood circulation, asthma relief, among others. Saunas can be built outside of the house in their own small building or can be implemented into a bathroom or home gym area. Steam baths are generally a smaller project as they can be integrated into your current shower/bathtub area if you already have some of the structure in place. However, if you’re starting from scratch, they are both pretty large projects, but definitely worth the price tag. 

The Bottom Line

Our overall health and wellbeing is important for us to live long and happy lives. And because we spend a lot of time in our homes, it is important that those spaces reflect our health goals. Home renovations that implement features that promote wellness are promising methods of helping us live healthier lives. Whether it’s something as small as setting up a reading nook in the corner of our room, to something as big as building a home gym or sauna, there are options for every budget and every homeowner.

About The Author: Emma is passionate about all things health and sustainability. She tries to optimize her life and environment to help her reach her health goals. When she is not writing she is probably practicing yoga, traveling, or curled up in her reading nook with a good book. 

Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash