How Your Environment Affects Your Mood

How Your Environment Affects Your Mood

Human beings are creatures that are keenly in-touch with our environment, and you can often tell a lot about a person based on how their office or bedroom looks. People with spartan accoutrements, well-organized shelves, and spotless surfaces would be assumed to be organized and strict. It’s well-known that humans imprint themselves on the places where they live, work, and play but those places also imprint on their users. Workplace environments, in particular, can be a significant source of unnoticed stress and anxiety for those who use them, but there are some ways to improve your workspace so that you feel at ease while using it. Many workplaces favour a dull, beige and brown color scheme so that workers aren’t distracted by their environment, but these colors can lead to feelings of depression and low-energy. The bland tones of the average workplace do their job too well, and instead of keeping a person focused on their work they draw all their focus away instead and promote lethargy. Be sure to spruce up your workspace with some splashes of color with things like pictures, calendars, or potted plants.

Another thing you can do is bring some vegetation to your office with small potted plants, such as succulents, bonsai plants, or flowers. Having these in your office serves a dual purpose: they bring some much-needed color into your place of work and they also provide the satisfaction of taking care of something. You get to watch the fruit of your labors grow right before your eyes and succeeding in office gardening can be a deeply rewarding feeling. The feeling of doing something constructive, like keeping a plant alive, or accomplishing your assigned tasks efficiently is important to a positive mental image. Additionally, if your office or cubicle doesn’t have an outside window be sure to place your plant somewhere with the sun it needs. This placement will ensure that you get the sun that you need, and studies have shown that prolonged periods without sunlight caused depression and feelings of unease in people. The same goes for areas without vegetation, especially trees. By taking care of your office plant you’ll be taking care of yourself, and by adding some customization to your workplace you’ll feel like you own the space. Feeling like space is yours instead of just somewhere where you clock-in and clock-out will lead to a healthier mindset as your work to improve where you work. Finally, while it’s good to get invested in your workplace, remember to maintain a good work-life balance. Leave your work at the front door when you get home, you can’t be on the clock all the time and without a break, your mental wellbeing will quickly deteriorate. Learning how to spruce up your desk and how to keep a healthy balance can be hard, so be sure to ask your friendly mental health practitioner for suggestions or to speak about anything that may be troubling you at work!