Environmental Pleasures That Reduce Stress w/ @BrettCalloway

brettcalloway(57)

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Stress Kills

I don't have to tell you about all the societal ills now a days. Just look anywhere and you'll find plenty of reasons to be stressed out. It's almost impossible to not have someone try to rain on your parade everyday. There is a tremendous downward pressure out there. It's the crabs in a bucket syndrome. When one crab tries to escape the other crabs pull him back down. So to are human beings. Bad things can happen without tremendous focus on relieving stress.

With all that being said, there are some basic things you can do to improve your work and living space to help reduce stress on a daily basis. With stress piling up so easily, things that even reduce stress a little can have a huge impact!

Here is a list of 10 things I call "environmental pleasures" that can help reduce stress on a daily basis.

Clean - A clean space allows energy to flow. The presence of flowing energy can spill over into every aspect of your life. A clean space can help foster healthy living.
Organize - Having a designated place for every item will save you years of life by not having to search for items. A sense of security is derived from knowing where things are and where they should be. Cluttered space = cluttered brain space.
Plants - Plants are great to look at and have inside or out. Even fake plants can be acceptable if they set the right vibe. Live plants are harder to care for but provide added benefits by increasing air quality.
Pets - Pets can greatly reduce stress in personal and work environments. This makes pets a go to for many people. The drawback is the have to be well planed for. If pets take over the environment or consume too much time and attention from living a balanced life, then the opposite effects can happen.
Paint / Art - There's nothing more depressing than looking at a blank wall. Unless the wall is some sort of artistic statement, but most walls beg for something. It doesn't take much to help bring up the energy level to a room than a great piece of art. Art makes a statement and says 1000 words in 1 second. Surround yourself with art work you enjoy. Great art doesn't have to cost a fortune, but it can pay for itself in appreciation.
Lighting - I cannot understate the importance of great lighting in a work or living space. Eye strain and shadows can cause you to go insane. Have ample lighting for work environments. Natural light is the absolute best. Also, lighting can be used to set the mode for special occasions. Artistically lit rooms with artificial LED colored lights can look amazing and provide an awesome contrast between natural day time light and night time mood setting light.
Circulation - There is nothing worse than working in hot or humid environments without plenty of air circulation. It's also terrible working when you're freezing because the air is blowing right on your face all day long. Getting the air temp along with proper circulations right is crucial to achieving a comfortable space that facilitates quality living.
Scent - I take it back...there is nothing worse than working somewhere that smells like shit. It's one thing to not smell great, but it's something completely different to be in an environment that stinks! Take proper measures to remove trash and waste on a daily basis from your area. Don't let cloths pile up. Have some scented candles or spray that helps to neutralize the competing orders. Working in an environment that smells warm and welcoming can have tremendous impact to lowering stress levels and optimizing attitude.
Comfort - Don't use office equipment that hurts you in any way. Make sure to carefully select the chairs you will be sitting in and the bed you will be sleeping on. Be conscious about the shoes and the cloths you wear. Be sure to have designated eating times and know what you're going to eat ahead of time. This lowers stress significantly. Feeling uncomfortable at work and at home will go a long way to combating the constant pressure to be stressed out.
Sound - Working in a noisy environment can be so distracting that it's hard to get anything accomplished. Whether you like music playing and can't stand working when it's quite or you need perfect silence to concentrate, either way make sure you know how you work and live best and make sure to dial in your sound preferences to achieve peak performance.

Bonus: One of my favorite methods of reducing stress is by keeping saltwater fish tanks. Saltwater tanks, when well maintained, meet some aspect of each of the 10 above noted items.

They appear clean and organized, and host corals and fish. The coral reefs in the ocean produce the majority of the fresh oxygen on the planet, more so than trees.

So, you can almost count it as a plant as well. For sure it's art! It's art at it's finest! It provides lighting and light circulation through the water motion.

It provides a natural scent to the room that is not easily noticed but there none the less. The swimming fish provide comfort in many ways when you get back to simplicity and oneness. Lastly, the tanks have a slight humming sound with light water trickles.

It's very relaxing and not noticed unless you listen for it. This also serves as a noise canceler. The low hum will cancel out soft unimportant sounds to help keep you focused. I didn't plan on talking about the tanks, but by the end of this article it was too tempting not to draw these conclusions. Here is a pic of my 50 gallon tank: