Your environment has a direct impact on your physical and mental health. If healthy living is important to you, you should make sure your home is optimized for your well-being. Fortunately, there are almost endless options for healthy home improvement projects. Whether you plan to completely remodel the house or simply make a few small adjustments, you can always work toward a healthier home.
Here are some of the best ways to upgrade your home to promote your health:
Improve The Air Quality
Your home’s air quality is one of the most important factors in your health and wellness. If you’re constantly inhaling dust, pet dander, pollen, or smoke, you may struggle with chronic allergies or cold-like symptoms. Improving the air quality will boost your respiratory health, which will help you feel more energized and clear-headed.
You can test your home’s air quality with at-home test kits, or you could hire a professional for more thorough testing. An air filtration system is one of the best ways to improve indoor air quality. Air purifiers with HEPA filters are especially effective at removing pollutants and allergens from the air. You should also clean or replace the filters in your HVAC unit regularly to ensure the system is working as efficiently as possible.
House plants are another good way to improve your home’s air quality. Although they aren’t as effective as high-quality air purifiers, plants naturally filter out certain allergens and irritants and can help control odors. Increasing the greenery in your home can boost your mental health, too.
Increase Natural Light
Natural light offers several key benefits for your health. Regular exposure to sunlight allows your body to establish a healthy sleep cycle, which benefits virtually every aspect of your health and wellness. Natural light can also help alleviate the symptoms of depression and seasonal affective disorder.
You may be able to increase your home’s natural light with some simple changes, such as replacing dark and heavy drapes with blinds or sheer curtains. In other cases, increasing access to sunlight may be a bigger project. Adding windows is a permanent, but expensive solution. Alternatively, you could invest in natural daylight lamps, which mimic the effects of sunlight.
Focus On The Kitchen
Your diet plays a vital role in your wellness. If you want to make your home healthier, look to the kitchen. There are a wide variety of kitchen gadgets and appliances that make consuming a healthy diet far easier. For example, an air fryer allows you to cook a number of delicious recipes while reducing the amount of oil you consume. A blender, instant pot, and slow cooker all may encourage you to cook more healthy meals at home, too.
Consider improving your food storage to promote healthy eating. For instance, you could purchase special storage bins for the refrigerator that will keep your produce fresh for longer. Similarly, airtight storage bins in your pantry can help dry goods stay fresh, which will reduce your food waste and make it easier to cook healthy meals.
Install a Water Filtration System
Depending on where you live, your drinking water may or may not come out of the tap in great condition. Well water often contains minerals that are important for your health, but it may also have contaminants. Municipal water, while generally safe, also varies in quality from location to location. Installing a high-quality water filtration system ensures that you’re not ingesting harmful compounds. Filtered water tastes better, too, which will help you drink more water throughout the day.
You could install a whole-house water filter on your main water line, or you could attach a filter to your kitchen faucet. No matter which system you choose, it’s critical that you change the filter as recommended by the manufacturer. Failing to replace the filter regularly will greatly reduce the filter’s effectiveness. It may lead to mineral buildup, too, which can be harmful for your plumbing system.
Invest In Ergonomic Furniture
Your posture can have long-term impacts on your neck, back, and overall mobility. However, improving your posture can be incredibly difficult. Ergonomic furniture promotes good posture, reduces aches and pains, and helps you stay mobile and active.
An ergonomic chair can be particularly valuable if you work from home. Sitting hunched over a desk all day is terrible for your back, but an ergonomic office chair will reduce the strain on your spine. Even if you don’t work from home, you can benefit from armchairs, dining chairs, couches, or a mattress that promotes proper alignment.
Keep The Floors Clean
Your shoes can bring so much dirt, bacteria, and pollutants into your home. Keeping your shoe on indoors also increases the wear and tear on your floors and requires you to put more effort into cleaning. To promote health and wellness, consider enforcing a “shoes off” rule in your home, and design your entryway to make it easy to remove your shoes upon entry.
Place a bench or stool near the entryway so your household and guests have somewhere to sit while they remove their shoes. Additionally, you should keep a shelf or tray near the door for shoe storage. To further reduce the amount of dirt being brought into your home, place mats on both the inside and outside of your front door to encourage your household and guests to wipe the dirt off their shoes.
Check Your Smoke Detectors
Working smoke detectors are a key safety feature in any home. You should check the batteries in your smoke alarms at least twice per year and replace them immediately when they die. If your smoke alarm doesn’t include a carbon monoxide sensor, you should strongly consider upgrading. Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, but it can cause serious health complications and even be fatal.
Installing a radon detector is a wise choice, too. Any house can have a radon issue, and testing or installing a detector is the only way to determine if your home has dangerously high levels of the gas. Like carbon monoxide, radon is colorless and odorless. If you have prolonged exposure to radon, you may have a much higher risk of developing lung cancer.
Making healthy upgrades to your home is a great way to promote your and your household’s overall wellness. You can enhance your health by improving your home’s air and water quality, investing in the right furniture and appliances, and keeping the house free of dirt, pollutants, and allergens.