Your home should be a haven for you. It’s a place to relax after a long day of work, watch TV, prepare your favourite dishes, and enjoy time with your loved ones.

As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, however, many people’s conceptions of the term “home” have been drastically altered. Adapting to all of these shifts can be draining on the mind and body. Many homeowners are putting their hammers to work to make their homes more suited to their requirements in order to combat this.

For a positive and healthy home, we’ve included eight simple changes you can make in your own house to reduce stress, soothe anxiety, or tackle depression.

To help you relax, paint the walls in soothing hues.

Painting the walls is a simple technique to radically transform the look of a place. So, if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, this simple update is a great choice. Colour psychology can help you find the best colour for each room. For example colours like blue, green, lavender, and tan are known to have a calming effect on the human mind.

Teal coloured paint with plant and picture

However, any colour that resonates with you might help create a more peaceful environment in your house. Decor experts, on the other hand, advise against using red or any other neon colour in your home if you’re trying to reduce your stress levels.

Decorate with live plants

Mental health advantages can be gained by spending time in nature. Natural environments have been shown to lower stress levels, improve moods, alleviate anxiety, and boost creativity, among other benefits. You may not be able to go hiking every day, depending on where you live and how active you are. So to get the most out of these benefits, you’ll need to bring nature inside.

White painted lounge with grey sofa, table and chairs and decorated with plants

There are a variety of houseplants to choose from, including ferns, succulents, pothos, ivy, and spider plants, that are both gorgeous and easy to maintain. Plants are know to improve the air quality within a home, as long as you keep them healthy and flourishing. Many young men and boys have taken on the hobbie of keeping plants since covid, this has had a positive effect, as it gives people a new focus and a sense of pride.

Each room in your home should have a few plants to ensure that you receive the full benefits of houseplants, especially in areas where stress is prevalent, like your home office. To aid relaxing in the bedroom, you could also bring a few in to decorate your room. Visit this page to read about the correlations between plants and mental health.

Make use of soft geometry

You should opt for furniture with gentle geometric shapes if you’re planning to redecorate any room in your house. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, rounded corners and curved lines have a relaxing impact on the mind.

Stlish curved sofa

As we browse for new furniture, it’s easy to detect soft geometric patterns that offer us a sense of security. To create a more peaceful environment, look for sofas with curved armrests and chairs with rounded backs. Adding oval picture frames, round wall hangings, and round pillows to your design is a great way to this asthetic easily and cheaply within a room.

You may want to give aromatherapy a try

There are several benefits to aromatherapy, or the use of smells for therapeutic purposes. Perhaps the smell of your granny’s perfume or the aroma of freshly baked cookies at Christmas brings back memories for you that make you feel happy and relaxed. With the use of essential oil, candles, or body products scented with comparable aromas, you can bring back these memories whenever you’re feeling down.

Lavender, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, and patchouli are some of the most commonly used aromatherapy scents for relaxing, attention, invigorating, and combating depression.

Although it’s best not to use essential oils if you live with animals, as essential oils can be toxic to pets. you should also make sure others in the house are happy with you using the oils around the house, as some people can have adverse reactions.

To make cleaning a snap, organise your space

Stress, anxiety, and depression can be helped by having a daily cleaning routine and orgainsing your home in a way that means items are easier to put away and find. This reduces stressful situations where you don’t know where items are, for example your phone and keys go missing just before you leave the house for an important meeting.

Wooden key holder shaped to look like two trianglular mountain peaks.

Storage containers, stacked pantry shelves, key hooks and other organisational solutions are great at helping you find a home for everything.

If you’re struggling with your mental health please contact your doctor. And in an emergency call the Samaritans on the following number: 116 123.

This article was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.