When Winter Gets Your Down, Change Your Home Decoration
The summer time is usually a period of happiness and enjoyment. You have a skip in your step, the birds are singing and you have the warm sun on your face. Come winter however and for a lot of people the mood changes. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a recognized condition that affects around 2% of the population and around 10% of people report symptoms. These include depression, sleeping problems and lethargy to name a few.What causes this is not known exactly, but we do know that one of the major influences is lower light levels in winter causing brain and body chemical communication errors. At night the receptors in the eyes report to the pineal gland that there is less light, which in turn releases a chemical called melatonin into the body, which causes us to feel sleepy and slow down.
Amazingly by carefully selecting the interior design items of our homes, we can have a real impact on the negative effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder and feel much better for it. Living room and bedroom furniture are often the most important to get right as these are the rooms that we spend most of our time in. Buying white furniture such as white wardrobes, tables and chairs will increase the amount of light that is reflected around the room and will have a large impact on mood.
A minimal approach to furniture is also a good idea as this helps open up rooms and reduces the feeling of being cluttered.Not only does less furniture been you wont bump into stuff as much when you move around, but additionally the light that enters the room bumps into less things and this makes the room brighter. It also helps painting your walls a light and airy colour to improve light reflection as well.
Some ideas for reducing the amount of furniture you have include only having your table large enough for everyday use and taking away or adding chairs if and when you need them, only have one bedside table instead of one each side, and getting rid of small pieces that only have aesthetic value.