4 Ways to Transform Your Environment and Happiness
As you transition between different environments in your life, such as work, home, or social settings, have you noticed any changes in your mood? Do you find yourself experiencing feelings of frustration or stress? If so, it might be beneficial to seek support from a Psychologue Aix-en-Provence who can assist you in understanding and managing these emotions effectively.
What if you could shift the vibe of your environment into a more positive and nurturing space? Whether at home or the office, transform your environment into a happy one where you thrive and are your best self.
Mood Boost With Colour
According to experts like Mary Sorobey from Sorobey Psychology, color affects your mood, and color psychology is the study of how hues influence human behavior. The effects of particular colors may vary across cultures and backgrounds, but cool and warm hues consistently have soothing or exciting effects on the human mind. Utilizing color psychology can help lower your stress or boost your mood.
Salons and hospitals have designed their rooms with soothing and healing colours in mind. Blues, greens and earth tones are healing, relaxing and grounding. To calm the vibe in a space, introduce these cool colours.
Reds, oranges and other warm or bright hues are invigorating and energizing. To boost your creativity and get going, include these exciting colours in your environment. Introducing pops of reds and oranges are wonderful ways to catch the eye’s attention during the day and feel the energetic positivity of colour.
Remember, a particular shade will have more than one effect on you, and the colour may inspire and soothe you at the same time. Pause and see how you react to a colour before you add to your walls or as an accent colour in other decorative touches.
Revisit Your Office Setup
Do you work in a home office or have a desk space at work that needs revamping with positive energy? Between loud noises of copiers, printers and other technology, anxiety and frustration levels rise when you’re trying to concentrate on an important task. Your office setup could also be hindering, rather than helping, your productivity. Here are a few tips to change things up in a positive way:
1. Keep the temperature somewhere between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Comfortably warm offices evoke feelings of warmth among people, like wrapping your hands around a nice, warm cup of coffee. On the cooler end of the spectrum, a lower temperature makes it easier to process difficult decisions and sleep better at night. If your space is freezing, you’ll view it as inhospitable, too, and carry that vibe into your environment.
2. Cut out the noise with thick curtains on the windows, sound-cancelling headphones and white-noise machines that balance out construction or highway noise.
3. Organise your space in a way that works the best for you. It doesn’t have to make Martha Stewart proud, but reducing chaos could have hidden benefits on your mood and productivity.
4. Is the lighting too bright? Bring decorative tabletop and floor lamps into the office to adjust the lighting to your preference, especially when staring at a computer screen all day. As the evening comes, the ambient lighting from a tabletop lamp can help your eyes adjust, limiting the blue screen headaches workers often get from putting in long hours.
5. Make your work area comfy, adding pillows, blankets and personality. Including personal touches to your workspace will make you feel more relaxed and grounded.
Go Energy-Efficient
Too bright lighting gives you a headache and too low lighting makes you feel less than energetic. Do you sit in front of a bright screen, only to mess up your sleep schedule? Save on your power bill, sleep quality and everyday sanity by going energy-efficient. Not only is this good for you, it’s also good for the environment.
A transition to energy-efficient lighting will give you an added energy boost and save you cold hard cash. Energy-efficient upgrades and installations with LED lighting may qualify homes for government incentives to claim more on taxes and get rebates. Many energy companies offer incentive programs and may provide a few energy-saving lightbulbs or energy rebates for changes they’ve outlined. Be sure to contact your energy provider to discuss the possibilities.
Nature Lets You Breathe
Four walls crowding you in? If you feel trapped inside your home or office, invite nature into your environment.
The natural environment is balanced to support life and its needs, and your personal environment and need for balance is no different. Even looking at nature will infuse your brain will feel-good vibes. In a study where students were exposed to images of nature during task breaks, they felt restored and performed more effectively on the tasks. Science says: Take time for green micro-breaks.
Your brain needs variation, fresh air and inspiring scents, especially in urban areas where nature is limited to solitary evergreen shrubbery, myrtle trees and pansies. If you can’t get out to a green area, hang a landscape painting or photograph in your space. Plant herbs in the kitchen windowsill and bring shade-friendly plants indoors, such as calla lilies. The green of nature will help you breathe more easily in the face of stress.
No matter what you’re going through or feeling, happiness may be cultivated by changing your environment. Surround yourself with what brings you joy and light.
Let yourself laugh, and give yourself permission to change what needs to be changed. Transforming your environment will remind you to see the bigger picture and treasure the small stuff in life.