Summer / Winter / Seasonal Stressors!

At this time of year you’re likely to be experiencing particular environmental stressors.

Humans are most comfortable, our moods are good, and our brains work most effectively, when temperatures are around 70 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit (21 to 22 degrees centigrade) and humidity is between 40% and 70%. Try to manage your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system to keep ambient conditions in this range. Be particularly careful not to create indoor temperatures with air conditioning that would cause you to turn on your heat if they were present during the winter.

Beware of glare! Sunshine is great, but glare makes us tense, and there’s even some evidence linking the way we squint our eyes when we’re looking at glare to acting more aggressively—reposition seats and shear curtains/blinds to keep glare in check.

If you’re lucky enough to even be thinking about window glare you probably don’t need to consider circadian lighting, but if the natural light situation at your home office would, most optimistically, be categorized as “bleak,” you should consider adding circadian lighting to your home. Circadian lighting helps your body understand where you are on the planet, which is great for boosting sleep and busting stress. For more information on circadian lighting have a look round the Lighting Research Center website.

When the house is closed up, when windows can’t be opened without heating or air conditioning the neighbourhood. Things can start to smell musty. Use the information in this article on scentscaping to freshen the air in your home or office.

Now is the time to buy stock in companies that manufacture storage containers. If your kids are apt to be scattering their toys about, having plentiful storage containers can help keep the clutter-monster at bay. Make sure to bring home boxes, totes, etc., that have solid walls and tops that no one, even someone fervently playing at having-ray vision, can see into.

When it starts to get dark earlier your mood may flag also. You’ll want to follow the lighting advice in this article or this to keep buoy your spirits (also search “lighting” or “circadian” in our search box top right). In brief: make sure the light you experience around mid day is bright and cool and at the beginning and end of your day, make sure it’s warmer and dimmer. For best effect, make sure the bulbs producing that cool bright light are overhead and the ones with the dimmer, warmer light are in table top or floor lamps.

When others are away and you’re at home, make sure that the things you see around you remind you of all the positive things that you’ll be accomplishing in the near future—from finishing a course to fixing up your home or office to reading great books.

Try, at least, to encourage your kids to pick up the stuff that they leave all around when they’re spending extra time at home because mess=stress, both for you and for them (although they’ll stubbornly resist admitting this). If storage bins are readily available, kids are more likely to use them and since having the place picked up really will make everyone feel better, it’s at least possible that they may start to pick up at least periodically without too much nagging.

The Hygge “Wood Cabin& ...