Health at home: 3 ways to create mindful space for work, rest, and play

ARTICLE

1 September 2024

4 min read

Home is where the heart is. It’s also where many of us work, entertain, and unwind. Here’s how you can boost your mental wellbeing at home – no matter what you use your home for.

We spend so much of our lives at home, which makes it the perfect place to nurture your mental wellbeing. Mental health goes beyond conditions like anxiety or depression¹: it’s about building resilience to better cope with life’s stressors and nurturing clarity so you can be present with your loved ones.

Mindfulness, in particular, is a simple way you can start taking care of your brain no matter what time of day. A regular mindfulness practice can reduce stress and help you to feel calmer and more clear-headed². But you don’t need to dedicate an entire room at your home to mindfulness. Rather, it’s about making small changes in the spaces you already have.

Here are three ways you can bring more mindfulness into your home.

Space to be productive and work

Working from home has become the norm for many people. While it comes with benefits (like no need to commute), it can make boundary-setting and productivity tricky³, particularly if you aren’t able to set up a dedicated home office. Calm, clutter-free environments have a positive effect on our ability to focus, in turn reducing a sense of overwhelm. If you’d like to boost your at-home productivity, you could:

Create separate spaces for different purposes. This will help delineate areas that are mostly for work rather than exercise, eating, or sleeping. This way, the lines won’t blur and you’ll have fewer chances to get distracted (even if working from bed is a tempting option – you might just end up tricking your circadian rhythm that it’s time for sleep).
Engage your senses to flip your mentality from relaxed to engaged. Try burning a specific candle only when you work. If you work from your dining table, try swapping out the tablecloth when you switch between modes. It might seem simple, but our brains are hard-wired to notice and adapt when our environments change⁴.

Space to rest and sleep

Rest is so much more than getting our recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night⁵. In fact, preparing for a good night’s sleep begins the moment you wake up. Getting enough rest is key to our mental and emotional wellbeing. Naturally, our bedrooms play a big part in its quality. If you want to set up your space for good sleep hygiene, you could:

Swap overhead lighting for lamps and remove any technology from your bedroom an hour before bed. You could even make a rule to stay off social media after 9pm, for example, to avoid doomscrolling. These simple actions will support your body’s circadian rhythm and help you to get some shut-eye⁶.
Make time – and a bit of room – for a bedtime wind-down routine. Meditation , yoga, and pre-bed light stretches are all great ways to get settled in for the night. If you’re an AIA Vitality member and you use a mindfulness app like Headspace, Calm, or Buddhify, you can earn 15 AIA Vitality Points per day, capped at 75 Points per week and up to 3,000 Points per membership year.

Space to relax and play

Have you ever spent a weekend relaxing around the house or doing an activity “just for fun”? These are the perfect times to bring in more mindfulness. Consciously making space for relaxation and play in your everyday is key to reducing stress⁷. If you’re ready to bring more peace and joy into your home, you could:

Declutter and organise your home. A clear space makes for a clear, calm mind. If you’re not sure where to start, try taking a leaf out of Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: touch an item, ask if it brings you joy, and discard (or recycle, or resell!) if it doesn’t. It’s all about reminding yourself to be thankful for what you have.
Flex your green thumb and invest in a few indoor plants. Not only do they look great, they also have amazing benefits for your mental (and physical) health, as they’re linked to reducing anxiety, anger, depression, and tension⁸.
Place photos of your loved ones around your home. Finding ways to connect with those you love is key to maintaining good mental health. It’s actually one of the strongest factors in preventing depression⁹.
Carve out a specific area for your hobbies, whether you sew, scrapbook, or spin cycle. What might feel like something you do in your spare time can have a big effect on your mental health and sense of purpose¹⁰ when you include it in your home with intention.

Footnotes

¹ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response

² https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner#:~:text=Among%20its%20theorized%20benefits%20are,with%20kindness%2C%20acceptance%20and%20compassion

³ https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/the-benefits-and-challenges-of-remote-working

⁴https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01657/full

⁵ https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/how-much-sleep

⁶ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9005730/

⁷ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3574776/

⁸ https://connect2care.com.au/explore-learn/the-mental-heath-benefits-of-houseplants/

⁹ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200814131007.htm

¹⁰ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/

Staff Writer

Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.

Disclaimer:
Copyright © 2024 AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861 AFSL 230043). This is general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situation, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, medical, nutritional, health, fitness or other advice. The source information of the articles is current as of the date of publication and may be subject to change. While the information contained herein is believed to be accurate, AIA Australia expressly disclaims any and all liability for representations or warranties, expressed or implied, contained in, or for omissions from, the information.

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