With May featuring Mental Health Week, Focus Construction wanted to know if renovating your home could actually improve your mental health.
Looking deeper, we learned that it certainly could.
How? By following the tips below to create a functional home, making it easier to live in.
Sunlight
Renovating your home to increase the amount of sunlight raises your serotonin levels, assisting in staving off Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and reducing anxiety and depression. This should also improve your sleep and thus, your daily mood.
Increasing the sunlight in your home will also decrease your need for artificial light, and lower your energy bills (another possible stressor).
Air Quality
Giving your home a thorough cleaning, and ensuring that it is toxin and mould-free by inspecting damp areas will give you and your family peace of mind that you’re not breathing in toxic air.
Renovating to improve fresh air flow and circulation through windows, vents, and between rooms can also positively impact mental health.
Design
You can also design your home to be better in touch with nature, which is important to your mental wellbeing according to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Add some indoor plants or have some landscaping done to increase your green space. Planting a garden or some trees is also beneficial.
Create a safe space
One possible improvement to your home can be a soundproof room or an area that is a safe and quiet space for those that need it. This could also be your office, which should be free from distractions that prevent you from getting your work done.
If you’re not building a new quiet space, choose a place in your home where you are free from interruptions and can concentrate, even if it’s just for ten minutes.
Kitchen or Bathroom
Certain projects such as a kitchen or bathroom remodelling can easily reduce your stress through improved quality of life. Walking into a new bathroom or cooking a meal in a brand-new kitchen can be uniquely satisfying.
Architecture or Appearance
Streamlining or changing the sightlines of your property either through architecture, fresh paint, or a new driveway can be inspiring both for you and for others. Who doesn’t like pulling into their new driveway and/or seeing a freshly painted home?
Do-it-Yourself
According to this survey, 34% of respondents said that tackling home improvement projects on their own had improved their mental health, with 49% saying they enjoyed fixing up their homes on their own.
So, whether it is a large renovation, or something that you can do on your own, the end result will likely improve your mental health.
If you have any questions about renovating your home, we’d love to help you out! Contact Focus Construction for a free consultation.
