If you take home décor seriously, there’s a chance you have heard of biophilic design. But for those who don’t know, here’s a quick rundown of what this interior design is all about.
At its core, biophilic design is all about incorporating natural elements into interior spaces. These include plants, water features like reflection pools or fountains, water walls, and fish ponds.
Other features like floor-to-ceiling windows, oversized nature pictures, wood, stones, and magnificent skylights are among other designs that fall under this category.
The idea is to include as much view of the outdoors as possible but still striking a perfect balance between light and shadow. However, the emphasis is more on ensuring there’s sufficient ambient light with a natural touch.
This means bringing nature into your living space but doing it in sustainable, creative ways.
So, what are the benefits of biophilic design?
That is what this post is all about (especially the benefits of this design on mental health.)
Read on.
Stress Reduction
One thing about biophilic design (more so the plants) that makes it stand out is that it has been shown to help reduce stress and lower anxiety levels.
Generally, being exposed to nature has been largely associated with lowering cortisol hormone levels. This is the hormone released as the body responds to stress.
By being surrounded by calming greenery, and other natural elements incorporated in this interior design, you can experience a high level of tranquillity and relaxation.
Reduced Aggression, Sadness and Fatigue
Being in touch with nature can also help reduce feelings of aggression, sadness, and fatigue, which can affect your mental health. Aggression could easily be detrimental to not only you but also to those close to you.
Living for a long time with relentless sadness also poses the risk of compounding your stress levels. This could expose you to a higher risk of developing mental health issues such as depression.
With long periods of sustained fatigue, you are more likely to slip into procrastination tendencies and reduced productivity.
This will most likely lead to falling back on achieving goals or beating deadlines, potentially sending you on a downward spiral into even more mental health struggles.
So, by following this approach, you can create a more pleasant atmosphere that leads to productivity and overall wellbeing.
Improved Cognitive Function
Another area where biophilic design shines is in the improvement of cognitive function, according to a study conducted at Harvard University.
It was established that individuals living in green-certified buildings achieved higher scores on cognitive function tests compared to those living in non-certified buildings.
The cognitive performance of individuals living in areas with biophilic design can be significantly boosted by the introduction of different design elements.
These can be anything from sufficient greenery to other natural textures, or sounds – all of which fall under biophilic design. This, combined with sufficient ventilation, can lead to better air quality as well as a healthier indoor environment overall.
Therefore, individuals living in such spaces can experience reduced absenteeism and achieve better well-being overall.
Heightened Energy Levels and Better Mood
Nature is a mood booster in general. But when one can’t go out and enjoy interaction with the outdoors often enough, bringing the outdoors closer to them can still have the same effect.
That is why indoor plants and other nature-inspired elements can be crucial to your mental health. You can stand a better chance of feeling more content and experiencing happiness at a higher scale than you would when surrounded by barren concrete walls.
According to research, spending sufficient time in nature can induce a stress-reducing effect on individuals.
The same goes for viewing pictures of pristine natural scenes.
With biophilic design, this connection is not just a one-off thing, but a constant connection to a natural setting with the following;
- Water features – with a relaxing white noise
- Enough ambient sunlight
- Greenery… etc
All these can expose you to a relaxed, productive, calming, and tranquil atmosphere, which can often make you feel at peace and elevate your overall mood over time.
Higher Productivity
Another important benefit that biophilic design comes with is creating an enjoyable environment where one doesn’t feel confined. This alone can create an enjoyable environment, especially in an office setting.
Workers can feel more at ease, and relaxed, and enjoy spending time at their workplace.
This could easily translate into more work hours.
If employees are having fun being at the office, with a conducive atmosphere that helps boost their cognitive function, there’s a high chance they are going to be more productive.
This will most likely lead to better performance and more job satisfaction, culminating in a perpetual loop of achievement and pursuit of excellence.
Increased Creativity
Not just productivity, the use of biophilic design has also proven beneficial for mental health, more so in boosting creativity.
Research has shown that introducing greenery into a barren office has the potential to increase employee productivity by a whopping 15%. This is according to a study by the University of Melbourne.
And it’s all thanks to natural elements like greenery and natural light, which can stimulate the brain and help individuals achieve higher creativity levels.
Besides, this design helps with fostering better problem-solving capability as well as increased concentration, which is crucial for maintaining creativity.
Improved Sleep Quality
This design is also particularly crucial in promoting sleep.
Natural lighting in an office (either in a corporate setting or a home office) plays an important role in helping regulate circadian rhythms. This helps achieve better sleep patterns, which is important for mental health.
During your waking hours, you are more likely to experience better alertness, creativity, productivity, and better mood.
Improved Recovery
Another perk that you get with this style of interior design is that it helps with speeding up the recovery process. This can be from surgery or illness.
According to studies, access to green spaces and nature in general can help people achieve faster recovery. This goes for indoor settings with greenery and other nature-inspired elements.
People recovering from mental health problems have a lot to benefit from being in a room with greenery and other natural aspects.
Better Sense of Connection
Feeling disconnected or isolated can be draining and thus detrimental to one’s mental health. Unfortunately, that has become a sad reality for many city dwellers.
And in today’s busy world, getting the time to take the unbeaten path and truly get in touch with nature can be a long shot. With biophilic design, you can achieve an important connection with nature right in your home.
This means you not only get to negate feelings of disconnection and isolation but also enjoy all of these other benefits.
Overall, biophilic home décor, particularly through indoor greenery integration, offers significant benefits for mental health.
By bringing these elements into your home, you can experience reduced stress levels, induced calmness and improved mood. Therefore, we recommend to explore the transformative power of indoor greenery, which leads to happier and healthier life.
