The Real Comforts of Home
You wake up every morning to that same annoying ‘Radar' sound blasting from your iPhone, climb from your sheets to make yourself breakfast and sit in misery before your day starts. No longer living with your parents brings on a whole new set of challenges: living on your own, perhaps with roommates, in an apartment that is all yours. These little psychological tricks will make your living situation a lot happier and brighten your mornings.
First and foremost is getting to know your new living situation. In your apartment, small or large, try and dedicate certain spaces to certain things. Watching Netflix or working in bed will cause a disruption in your ability to sleep. Only using your bed for relaxing naps and sleep-related activities will make it much easier to fall asleep at night. This sectarian attitude also works in reverse: your workspaces will dedicate you to productivity.
And while your bed may be a place only for sleep, it’s still important to keep it neat and tidy. The United States Military, for instance, strictly enforces that every member of their force must make their bed perfectly every morning. This boosts productivity and brings a sense of accomplishment: no matter what goes wrong, you still accomplished something today. It’s the best way to get a productive day started.
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Even though productivity is all well and good, you should also feel comfortable, relaxed and cozy in your living space. Keeping flowers either by your bedside or within eyesight when you wake up has been proven to start your day off brighter. This happier note can be compounded by buying flowers in the color Orange.
Orange has been said to be the happiest color in the rainbow and by keeping subtle hints of orange about, you will psychologically increase your mood. A Brazilian psychology group conducted a study based off of the color orange’s effect. The study examined what positive aspects the very scent of sweet orange has on the human body. They found that test takers who smelled sweet orange had reduced levels of anxiety and stress, hours beyond when they actively smelled it.
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Natural essences like the orange are what is primarily effective. The sound of running water, rain, and the ocean have also reduced stress levels when studied. To take the most advantage of this, psychologists have recommended to invest in an aquarium. It doesn’t need to be large, a small one will do, according to Allan Schwartz, a psychologist who writes for mentalhelp.net. It’s even why doctor’s offices and other medical facilities often keep a tropical fish aquarium: it helps reduce the stress of their clients.
Making your apartment an overall brighter, more productive, happier space is also entirely subjective. What works for others may not work for you, so be sure to invest time and effort into bringing positive elements into your apartment and pretty soon you’ll be calling it home.
