Not everyone has outdoor living space, like a garden, front or back yard, or anything other than indoors at all, so if you are one of those who do, you should absolutely use your chance and utilize the space. When it comes to home design, most people just forget or plain ignore their outdoors, but this is not something you should emulate as they are a very important part of your property that might have great potential in increasing your home’s value if you ever plan to sell your property. There are a lot of reasons, obvious, and some not so immediately obvious, why you shouldn’t just waste your exterior. So, this guide is going to help you understand why. So with all that said, let’s get into it.Â
Health Benefits
Most of us probably spend the majority of our time indoors, and our home’s outdoor spaces might be the only place where we can breathe some fresh air, soak up the sunlight, get some Vitamin D, and feel nature’s wind on our faces. Now you can hardly relax and loosen up properly if the whole space looks like a small storm got loose inside it, so you should consider investing in some quality landscaping. From just cleaning up and decluttering the space to trimming the hedges or even installing something like a water feature, if you have some stylish front yard water fountain ideas, you can really make your space stand out, elegant, and impressive. Raising your vitamin D levels by getting some sunlight improves your health, helping to fight various conditions like depression, osteoporosis, and even heart attacks. Creating a comfortable, beautiful, and functional garden space means you will always have a place where you can just relax, de-stress, and wind down to the tune of the wind and the birds.
Therapy
Now this may sound like a reach, but millions and millions of people suffer from numerous mental disorders like anxiety, depression, and PTSD, issues that are much more common than most people may realize, and believe it or not, an outdoor living space can be an effective form of therapy for mental disorders, to some level at least. Of course, there are more than a few prescription medications on the market to fight against these mental issues, with therapy also being a solution for some, but not everyone wants to turn to pills or a shrink to deal with their issues and instead turn to a more natural alternative, with many experts even saying that nature itself may be the best medicine. So what easier and more convenient way to enjoy nature than in your own outdoor living space? An added benefit is that you can tailor it to your own preferences, which means you can spend time outdoors doing whatever you want. Whether you love cooking a whole meal in the backyard or listening to the soothing trickling of a water fountain, you have very few limits in designing the space that you want and making a type of therapy anyone can benefit from.Â
Better Sleep
Countless people have insomnia, being unable to sleep properly. For some, it is an intermittent issue that happens on specific occasions or the like, while for others, it is a chronic condition. Either way, not sleeping enough, especially for longer periods can lead to numerous health complications. Irritability, reduced immunity against diseases, and increased chances of depression and anxiety are only a few of the potential repercussions insomnia may have, with less productivity at work and worse performance in school also being able to stem from lack of sleep. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, insomnia also increases the chances of developing heart problems and high blood pressure. Luckily, it has been proven that spending more time outdoors helps improve sleep patterns for many, and when you get enough rest, the previously mentioned health risks are significantly reduced. Plus, you just feel better when you regularly get a good night’s sleep, and being outside helps you with that.
Eye Health
We all spend way, way too much time staring at screens, whether it is for work or for entertainment or whatever other reason, damaging our eyes, and all this is especially harmful to children. But spending time outdoors has been associated with lower risks of nearsightedness, especially for children, thought to be connected with higher levels of vitamin D and stronger muscles from the time spent playing outside. With us using screens all the time, getting time to view objects from a range of distances is one of the best methods to maintain and improve eye health. A beautiful garden that lets you focus on delicate flowers and greenery in your close range of vision before zooming out to focus on birds circling overhead and faraway views is one of the best natural ways you can lower eye strain and even help slow down the natural deterioration of your vision as you age.Â
Reduce Stress
We live in a world that is constantly in a race; it feels like every person is rushing from this task to that task, from this place to that place, and all this has a definite negative impact on our mental health, constantly raising our stress levels as we try to catch up and not get left behind. We need a break sometimes, and being in nature and breathing in fresh air is one of the best ways you can do that, helping your mental health and lowering your stress levels and high blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension. All of this affects not only your mental health but physical health too and if you spend some time in your garden, your yard, or patio, you will quickly see the benefits, especially if you try to be outside regularly.Â
If you are someone who has their own outdoor living space to do with and design and change as you please, that is an opportunity you shouldn’t just ignore, for numerous reasons, some of which were pointed out here.
