Everything feels so stressful now. Anxiety creeps into the mundane parts of our lives. Why don’t I feel good?
As a society, we’re so quick to look at anything else around us before we look at the thing right in front of us. We check our workload, our eating habits and question if we are exercising enough. Though these are reasonable questions to be asking, I want to challenge us to start questioning where you are right now. The very building you’re sitting in right now reading this.
Ask yourself, how long do you spend in a classroom building, a work office or even your own home?
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), humans spend approximately 90% of their lives within interior spaces and never think to evaluate such spaces regarding our health.
Buildings are our most known habitat. Not the grass, trees or mountains, but the walls that we attach to ceilings and floors. So, you would think that we would put more thought into how health is affected when interacting with such spaces. Unfortunately though, that’s not always the case.
Interior design is such an underlooked notion by those all around, including designers themselves. We don’t understand or promote the level of impact that rooms create for us. Whether they make us feel secure and comfortable or sad and uneasy. Shockingly enough, the way a building is created can affect your emotions and perception of the atmosphere around you.
As a third-year student studying interior design, it has come to my attention that the problem has been in front of us the whole time. Or, I guess you could say around us. It’s not always the external factors within our lives but the very materials and rooms we are surrounding ourselves in.
In “The Interiors Theory Primer,” author William Mangold states that poorly designed rooms have triggered certain feelings within the human body; sadness, anxiety, anger and even laziness. This can be based on types of lighting, coloring within a space and even access to natural light. Mangold writes, “Well-designed interiors that prioritize natural light, open spaces, biophilic elements and places to gather comfortably can positively influence mental health by creating a sense of calm and connection.”
Yet, the opposite can produce a negative influence. Mangold also writes, “…spaces that are poorly maintained, badly lit or inadequately ventilated can exacerbate stress and anxiety.”
It’s up to designers to create spaces that promote mindfulness and relaxation and up to us users to fight for spaces that are equipped with such design strategies. This is where the problem begins: Not understanding, as users, what the problem is within interior spaces, which then leads us to be okay with poor design.
We live, work and stay in places for hours on end, so we have to start questioning what materials are used, what facilities are offered, the colors surrounding us and how much natural light we’re receiving.
We should be making the effort to strive for long-term wellbeing within our environments. When we don’t put in such effort, it could lead to long term deterioration of our health, both mental and physical.
The way an interior space is created can shape health and wellness through aesthetics, as well as comfort. If a place is designed to be lively and engaging, then you will feel so.
In addition, if the stairs are comfortable to use and the ventilation makes breathing easier, then our mental and physical health are maintained, if not improved. In contrast to dim lighting that may make us tired all the time or poor accessibility making mobility harder.
As silly as it might sound, even the smallest details such as poorly chosen furniture can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, as mentioned in “The Interiors Theory Primer.” Whereas granting other activity-based spaces in a workspace can enhance employee productivity.
When you go to class, how does the room make you feel? Are there windows near you, because natural sunlight produces a psychological restoration within us, the reduction of stress and better mood as explained in an article under “Buildings,” an open-access journal on building science, building engineering and architecture. When you go to work, is there a breakroom, because, if not, you can easily trap yourself in walls of stress. This is why the concept of interior design is so important, because it does impact our health and wellbeing so much more than we acknowledge.
Unfortunately, there are no laws to help this cause. There are standards one can follow, suggestions people can make but nothing that makes it mandatory for companies or institutions to be thoughtful with their design strategies. Instead, people only want to pay for whatever is most efficient, no matter the level of health or sustainability efforts that are lacking within the process.
Instead of setting your mind on the idea that you’re “just falling apart” as a human being, look at the places you’re forced to be in and realize that they are most likely the reason you may feel like you’re dragged down.