These 7 Home Improvements Can Reduce Stress
Looking to reduce stress around the house? Stress and anxiety are running high, especially considering not everyone is taking the prevention of COVID-19 seriously. There are many different changes that can be made to your home in order to help you reduce your stress. Some of them you may have never even thought of. Here are seven stress reducing home improvements you can make around your house to help you feel calmer.
Read moreFree Home Insurance Comparison
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Jeff Root
Licensed Insurance Agent
Jeff is a well-known speaker and expert in life insurance and financial planning. He has spoken at top insurance conferences around the U.S., including the InsuranceNewsNet Super Conference, the 8% Nation Insurance Wealth Conference, and the Digital Life Insurance Agent Mastermind. He has been featured and quoted in Nerdwallet, Bloomberg, Forbes, U.S. News & Money, USA Today, and other leading...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Dec 16, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider. Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about life insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything life insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by life insurance experts.
UPDATED: Dec 16, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider. Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
Stress is a common problem for many Americans; at any given point in time our mental health is being taxed for numerous reasons. Stress management can be hard to tout, especially now, when we’re facing a health pandemic. With the current coronavirus outbreak, society’s stress level is at an all-time high, especially considering not everyone is taking the prevention of COVID-19 seriously.
There are many other factors in everyday life that can induce stress; it’s one of the reasons why there are so many books on the subject. Just thinking about the time and money required, plus the mess home improvement projects can cause is enough to cause most people’s blood pressure to spike, which could quickly lead to an anxiety attack. Take a deep breath – there are a few simple fixes that will prevent a stress response from you.
While home renovations can cause stress, there are actually several reasonably easy and affordable things you can do around your home that can reduce stress levels for all those who live there.
There are many different changes that can be made to your home in order to help you reduce your stress. Some of them you may have never even thought of. So practice a few deep breathing routines, and continue reading.
Here are seven stress reducing home improvements you can make around your house to help you feel less stressed and a little calmer.
#1 – Paint your walls a stress-free color
If you’re tired of your current wall color (or colors) and you’ve been extra stressed recently, you may want to think about changing up the paint choices in your home. This way, you’ll get the change you’re striving for, and have the opportunity to lessen the extra tension you’ve been carrying around with you. This can especially help in a home office.
Believe it or not, the colors of your wall really do have the potential to affect your mood. You want to choose a soothing color that will mitigate the effects of stress, rather than colors that would exacerbate it.
Are you getting stressed while trying to find a new insurance policy? We get it, insurance is complicated. Have no fear, you can get free quotes for auto, home, and life insurance on our site. No strings attached.
The stressors in our lives often seem endless. Maybe you’re frequently working from home and battling daily distractions. Relaxation techniques may not be enough in a stressful situation like that, where you’re unable to distance yourself from what’s making you anxious. Whatever your situation is, buying a new color of paint from your local hardware store and breaking out your paintbrushes may be just what you need.
The following colors are all great for reducing stress:
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Purple
- White
Be careful though. Some colors (such as black) should be used carefully. They have the potential to invoke extremes moods rather than helping to achieve happy energy in your home.
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
#2 – Adjust your lighting
Are the lights in your bathroom and bedroom super bright? Try dimming them!
Baths, showers, and naps tend to be a way for people to get rid of chronic stress. But it’s hard to get rid of stress when you have lights as bright as your doctor’s exam room shining in your face!
Of course, getting dimmer bulbs may not be a possible solution for you, especially if you have your clothes in your bedroom. It’s difficult to get dressed when you can hardly see your clothes! Luckily, technology is advancing, and light bulbs are as well.
You can purchase smart light bulbs that you can control with your phone, or even have a light dimmer installed that you can control from a switch in the wall.
Get smart! Getting smart bulbs that you are able to control through your phone can also save you money through energy conservation. Having a less expensive electricity bill might also save you a bit of stress. We all need good lighting, and it’s a stress-reducing home improvement project that’s fairly easy to tackle.
#3 – Separate your home and work-life
Whether you work from home completely or only have a little bit of paperwork you bring back home, the thought of work so close can be somewhat stress-inducing. Sometimes I find myself waking up and remembering that I have work that needs to be done. And then I stress about it so much that I inevitably begin to work on it. Then I look at the clock ten minutes later and see that it’s three o’clock in the morning.
How can you reduce this stress that keeps you from sleeping, or relaxing, efficiently?
The best way is to put a physical separation between you and your stress-inducing work.
If you have money and space to invest, you can always add an extra wall or build an addition to your home. If you’re like me, and you’d like to limit your spending, simply putting some curtains up in a room to designate an office space will do.
DIY tip! Another alternative could be to put your projects in a container, bag, or cabinet in order to keep it out of sight. This physical separation can really give you peace of mind. Doing this home improvement could be something that greatly reduces the stress you feel while you’re at home.
#4 – Declutter and make space for you
If you don’t have the money or space to build new rooms, an alternative can be to make space and declutter. Cutting down on clutter around your home can greatly relieve stress.
Several ways to make space include:
- Getting cheap containers to put away things you aren’t currently using
- Putting up shelving units
- Ridding yourself of items that no longer ‘spark joy’ (very Marie Kondo)
Giving yourself a clean, serene space is a surprisingly fun and easy stress-reducing home improvement project. Using such organization can ease any feelings of stress you may have about a cluttered space.
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
#5 – Get an aquarium
Stress can be incredibly unhealthy. Even though you need health insurance, it’s always a plus if you don’t have to visit the doctor more than you need to. Yes, stress can end up affecting your physical health, when you’re unable to do the things that keep you in great shape because you’re anxious all the time. Getting a small aquarium can be extremely beneficial to you in regard to stress relief.
Sitting down and watching fish swim can be very relaxing. If you let yourself get lost in the movement with the fish, your heart rate and muscle tension will likely lessen. This can create a general calm and a stress-relieving effect overall.
#6 – Create a nice outdoor space
Whether it’s actually outdoors or just a simulation of being outdoors, having a place that has some extra plants and natural lighting can extremely relieve stress.
Just sitting in nature and being able to take a few deep breaths can be enough to rid yourself of some of the tension you’re constantly carrying around with you.
Having a natural area that you don’t use technology can enable you to take a break from worrying about things like if you’re covered by auto insurance and the stresses of work.
#7 – Have a room specifically designated for relaxing
Just like separating your work and home life, sometimes you need to separate your home life and relaxation time. If you have the extra room or the money to build an extra room, you can always dedicate a whole room to relaxing. Whether this room has lots of natural lighting and succulents, or has dim lights and calming wall colors, you need to make this room just for you to get away from life for a bit.
Of course, most people don’t have the money or the space to create a whole room for relaxing. If this is the case, you can always dedicate a closet, nook, couch, or a small area of your home just for calming down a bit. Having somewhere that feels like a safe space can be extremely healthy, especially in these stressful times. This space can have a nice side table decorated with things you like along with a comfortable sitting area–even a bean bag chair will do!
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Living Stress-Free: It’s Worth the Investment!
Life can be stressful. Your home life shouldn’t be. Making these seven home improvements can be the difference between being happy that you get to go home, and being even tenser in your home than you are at work.
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Jeff Root
Licensed Insurance Agent
Jeff is a well-known speaker and expert in life insurance and financial planning. He has spoken at top insurance conferences around the U.S., including the InsuranceNewsNet Super Conference, the 8% Nation Insurance Wealth Conference, and the Digital Life Insurance Agent Mastermind. He has been featured and quoted in Nerdwallet, Bloomberg, Forbes, U.S. News & Money, USA Today, and other leading...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about life insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything life insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by life insurance experts.