The key to health and happiness in life is balance. We are all aware these days of the importance of following a healthy diet and exercising but what isn’t so common knowledge is the vital role that other factors like home environment have on our well-being. It is essential to make sure your home is supporting the health of your family and not compromising it. I always say to my client’s ‘ you can eat healthy vegetables and go to the gym all day long but if you are living in a toxic home environment you are never going to be healthy.’
Why detoxify
It is estimated that we are exposed to around 30 times more toxins within the home than outside. As we spend up to 90% of our time at home, if not addressed correctly, these high levels of toxicity can cause severe health problems from headaches and fatigue to autoimmune diseases and cancer.
It is imperative to evaluate the following when creating a healthy and healing indoor space: • Gases emitted from furniture, carpets and cleaning products (offgassing) • Wifi and technology ( radiation that our bodies consider toxic) • Water quality • Potential hazards like mould and dust etc
Even though our bodies are naturally equipped with the means to detox some environmental pollutants it is estimated that our bodies face up to 10 million times the radiation from technology and at least 80,000 more chemicals than our grand parents did. Our poor livers and bodies are struggling to deal with this ever increasing attack on our immune systems.
Children are especially vulnerable to these increased levels of toxicity as not only do they spend a lot of time crawling around the floor but their immune systems are still developing. In the past years , the prevalence of autism, ADHD and other autoimmune illnesses have grown exponentially and science is already showing direct links between the increase in these illnesses and the toxic overload that we are now confronted with in our lives.
How to detoxify
But it is not all doom and gloom! Advances in technology and an increase of awareness and products in the field of healthy and sustainable homes and interiors means that there are plenty of solutions. These solutions help us lower toxicity levels within our home and create interiors that not only look cool and bring us joy but also create an environment in which our bodies can truly relax, regenerate and heal; optimizing our health and energy and helping us get the most out of life.
On any new project, I usually like to focus first on the bedroom as its the most important space. It is where we come to rest and regenerate and where we should be spending a good 8 hours of our day asleep; so, maximizing the potential of this space to support our health can make the biggest difference to our overall well-being.
Here are my top tips on how to create a healthy bedroom that will optimize your health and hence increase your productivity, happiness and joy in life.
- 1. Ban Technology– Make sure all bedrooms ( and this is of utmost importance in children rooms and nursery’s) are technology free spaces. Technology emits a blue light that inhibits production of melatonin in our bodies. Melatonin is the sleep inducing hormone and by limiting its production, we obstruct the bodies natural circadian rhythm and fool it into thinking that it is still daytime when we want to go to sleep. So if you are someone that likes to watch TV in bed; this may be why you are not sleeping so well. I ban all technology including my mobile phone from my bedroom and the only mechanical device I allow is a battery operated alarm clock. Baby monitors emit some of the highest levels of radiation of any domestic device. I you want to use one , its imperative you use one of the safer brands and also place it a safe distance a way from your baby’s body. It is also key to avoid specific flows of electric currents and just the act of placing your bed against the correct wall can make a huge difference to your sleep and health.
- 2. Maximize Air Quality – It is essential to have the best possible air quality in your bedroom. You are breathing in the same air for hopefully a good 8 hours of the night so if you’re breathing in stale, polluted air you cant really expect your body to restore and regenerate itself effectively. I only use eco paints that have no VOCs ( Volatile Organic Compounds). These paints do not emit chemical gases into the atmosphere like commercial paints and are not only better for your health but better for the planet too. Carefully selected plants that emit oxygen instead of CO2 at night, hypoallergenic bedding and limited carpets (huge dust collectors) all help improve air quality so that you can gain the maximum benefit from your rest.
- 3. Eco-Clean. Always clean your bedroom and the rest of your house with chemical-free eco products. The toxins emitted by ordinary chemical detergents are incredibly dangerous and damaging to our health. They put a huge load on our livers which desperately try to expel these toxins from the body and really mess with our endocrine ( hormonal ) systems as well.
These are simple strategies that can make a huge difference to your sleep and health with barely any cost. We often use more complicated and expensive tools and products to create the optimum healthy environment but I believe even the simple tricks can have a fantastic result.
