Go to your happy place

Go to your happy place
Can spending time in the right space make you happier?

Not only is exceptional architecture pleasing to the eye – it can also have the ability to transform our sense of wellbeing.

Whether you live, work, or are just visiting a beautiful and uplifting building, the power of space can have a tremendous effect on our mental health.

In 2007, research by Professor Joan Meyers-Levy from the University of Minnesota, found that the contents of one’s room had the ability to soothe and subdue unwanted negative activity. Similarly, she found that ceiling heights could determine how freely people thought.

Further research has found that occupied space, as opposed to temporary space, can also affect mental health and wellbeing.

A study by John Zeisel found that patients with Alzheimer’s had reduced levels of anxiety, stress, depression and social withdrawal, when they were situated in private rooms surrounded by their own personal objects

Related: How to declutter yourself happy 

Similarly positioning of buildings and their proximity to greenery has a huge affect on everything from concentration to treating insomnia.

If you live or work in the city, surrounded by grey concrete, make ‘green time’. Whether that’s by allocating time each day to spend a minute in the park or just having a plant on your desk, it is important to incorporate a bit of greenery into your everyday life.

So go and explore the world, visit buildings created by amazing architects that are full of light, love and history – after all it is for your health.

Related: Professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Sam Gosling is a snoop: his research is dedicated to interpreting how we exist in our spaces, and what those spaces ultimately say about

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