Happy house

Diet and fitness are important, says Luke RixStanding, but the road to wellness starts at home

In the great pantheon of wellness trends, the home is strangely neglected. There are diet crazes and fitness hacks aplenty but outside the occasional tidying fad, the home is merely a vessel, a framework in which other lifestyle regimes take centre stage. Given that we often spend more time at home than anywhere else, this might be a little unfair.

Wellness, like most things, begins at home, after all. Here’s how to make sure that’s a good thing...

1. HOUSE PLANTS

Study after study has shown that exposure to greenery reduces stress, helps lower blood pressure and stimulates the senses. So shrub up to calm down – from a simple cactus on the window sill, to a miniature jungle of domestic palms and pines.

2. MAXIMISE NATURAL LIGHT

Natural light is inherently invigorating and reinforces the circadian rhythms that impact our mood and sleep cycles. Make sure there’s no furniture blocking your windows’ line of sight, using off-white or cream colour schemes to cultivate a lighter feel, and putting up strategically placed mirrors to send light bouncing round the room.

3. DECLUTTER

Your home is supposed to be where you recharge, and if you’re never able to find things, pressured by a pile of unopened mail, or in fear of accidentally standing on your laptop, it may be a source of stress in itself.

4. ADDRESS YOUR SLEEP

Poor sleep has been linked with everything from low mood and fatigue to shortened life expectancy in the longer term, so creating a conducive sleep environment is an essential step for a healthy home.

Make sure summer nights aren’t cut short by leaky curtains, use ear plugs to cut out street noise, and dust the area around your bed. If you always sleep better in hotels, there may be a problem with your bedding, and low-quality mattresses can cause stiffness and back pain as well as disturbed sleep.

5. INVEST IN AN AIR PURIFIER

Exhaust fumes, chimney smoke and particulate emissions are just another part of urban life, and purifiers are here to help.

6. CREATE A DESIGNATED WORK SPACE

Some 1.54 million Brits now work from home in their primary occupation (millions more do so intermittently), and it’s wise to resist the temptation to work at the kitchen table in your pyjamas.

Dedicate a work area that allows you to “go to work” in the morning and leave at the end of the day. Posture is paramount, so invest in an ergonomic chair as a minimum. You might even consider the benefits of a standing desk.

7. DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

It’s easy to obsess over the “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” of your home, and end up neglecting what you actually want. Adding value to your home, tapping into fashionable aesthetics – it’s all well and good if it aligns with your tastes, but most homes must be residences first and investments second.

Home is where the heart is, and there’s no point crafting a masterpiece of modern minimalism if what you’d really like is a large, squashy sofa.

Natural light is invigorating and an aid to health so ensure your home is flooded with as much of it as possible.