Spending more time at home can lead to increased feelings of isolation. However, making a few changes can add joy to your life and turn your home into a restful sanctuary. If you’re like many of us, you may be looking for simple ways to find joy at home and add wellness to your life.
Think happiness is an impossible quest? We’re here to tell you otherwise. Below, we share our best ideas to help you enjoy your time at home. The important thing to remember is that these changes can be tailored according to your needs. So, choose the ones that resonate with you!
1. Declutter Your Space
Not only does clutter make it difficult to get things done, but it can also increase stress levels, as well. With a prolonged stay at home, it’s easy to ignore a haphazard collection of items cluttering up the corners of your home. But, clutter can exacerbate negative feelings. A study shows that women living in cluttered homes have higher cortisol levels. They also experience higher levels of anxiety and fatigue. Meanwhile, another study shows that people living in cluttered homes experience more sleep disturbances at night.
Of course, if you want true serenity, a one-time declutter won’t be sufficient. Without a system to keep things organized, the changes will be temporary at best. Fortunately, there are many podcasts, Netflix shows, and Youtube videos to help you implement tried-and-true approaches to decluttering.
Once you have a plan in place, decide how you want to attack the clutter. Some people do best by scheduling a daily 20-minute decluttering session, while others prefer to set aside a weekend to do a thorough cleaning. Either way, a beautiful home awaits you at the end!
2. Start a Journaling Habit
In journaling, refrain from focusing on your struggles alone. Each night, try to list three to five things you’re grateful for. Many people find this practice fulfilling and notice that it puts them in the habit of seeing the good in life.
However, journaling has another surprising purpose. We live in unusual times, so documenting your life is a great way to record your role in history. It may help future historians understand what 2020 was really like, and it will make fascinating reading for your grandchildren someday. In all, journaling is an effective way to find joy at home when the news seems the bleakest.
3. Prioritize Sleep
From a stronger immune function to better emotional regulation, good sleep habits improve your life in amazing ways. When your schedule changes, it can be easy to slide into the habit of staying up late. The first step is to set yourself an earlier bedtime and stick to it. That said, that extra time in bed won’t help if you’re not sleeping well.
To improve the quality of your rest, make your room a welcoming place to sleep. Take a look around and see how you can add comfort to your night-time routine. Do you need a new mattress? How about light-blocking curtains? People tend to sleep better in a cool room, so try to keep the temperature between 60 and 67 degrees at night. Studies show that sleeping in cooler temperatures can reduce signs of premature aging, promote weight loss, and reduce the risk of metabolic diseases like diabetes.
An important way to help yourself settle into a restful state is to put away the electronics. In its place, enjoy a good book or crossword puzzle.
4. Limit Your On-Screen Time
We rely on technology more than ever to keep us connected to family, friends, and work colleagues. And, that contact can be a lifesaver at times. However, getting a real-time window on the world has a dark side, as well.
The more time you spend scrolling through social media posts and news feeds, the more sedentary your life will be. Too much time sitting can impact sleep quality and leave you feeling sluggish. In addition, keeping up with every news story can increase your stress levels. In fact, headline stress disorder is real, and indulging in a never-ending 24-hour news cycle can fuel feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and sadness.
So, be sure to give yourself periodic breaks from the constant digital input. This doesn’t mean you have to lock your phone in a drawer for a month. Just make it a point to step away from the screens regularly for a few minutes every day. The break will give your eyes some much-needed rest and remind you that life goes on, despite pandemics, earthquakes, and forest fires.
At the very least, set a nightly screen curfew at least an hour before bed to help you let go of the day’s worries. And, do your best to refrain from checking your email one last time before you doze off. Your emails will still be in your inbox the next morning.
5. Up Your Food Game
Many people describe cooking as a form of meditation. They appreciate the therapeutic effect of rolling out dough or stirring a pot of aromatic stew. If you’d like to find joy at home, try your hand in the kitchen. Have your eye on making puff pastry from scratch or creating the perfect enchilada? How about making knock-offs of favorite restaurant meals? With the pandemic fueling the eat-at-home trend, many are relying on home-cooking to titillate their taste buds.
Cooking is also an ideal activity to boost mindfulness. All that chopping, measuring, and slicing requires focused attention.
And, if you’d like to add more natural foods to your diet, consider Medjool dates. Joolies, a California-based family farm, produces delectable, USDA-certified organic dates. These perfect little treats are rich in iron, have more potassium than bananas, and boast a low glycemic index. This means that they won’t drastically increase your blood sugar levels. Medjool dates are also high in antioxidants. They support healthy digestion and can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
6. Experience the Glories of Nature
Research has shown that people who spend time in natural settings feel calmer and happier. If you have a park to visit or space to plant a garden, then it’s worth your time to experience these benefits for yourself. Even a few pots of flowers on the front porch or some houseplants can boost your mood.
However, not everyone has space for a home garden, and not everyone has a green thumb. And let’s face it, there’s nothing soothing about a desiccated plant that has seen better days.
Fortunately, you don’t have to grow anything to tap into the restorative effects of nature. Pictures of beautiful landscapes or flower bouquets can trigger the same emotions and sensory effects. Studies show that women who live with flowers report a 5.5% reduction in stress. So, set aside a small area to indulge in the gifts of nature, even if it’s just a single flower in a vase on your kitchen table.
7. Immerse Yourself in Well-Written Prose
There’s nothing like a great story to make your world a better place. Whether you enjoy reading biographies, poetry, history, or stories about making your own Hemp Oil, a good book is an excellent way to relax. If you’re feeling particularly tense, this may be a good time to skip the grim, dystopian stories.
But, what if you don’t have time to sit down and read a book? We recommend listening to an audiobook as you work. This isn’t only a great time-saver but it can also help you stick with boring tasks like washing the dishes and folding the laundry. An audiobook also comes in handy when you’re decluttering.
8. Give Yourself the Gift of Altruism
Doing a good turn for another should be primarily about what they need. But, it’s also a powerful way to renew a sense of hope for the future. World events like pandemics and presidential elections can leave people feeling overwhelmed and helpless. But, you can overcome negative energy and increase your lifespan by engaging in acts of random kindness.
Find some organizations that are working hard to bring about changes that matter to you, and donate to them online. You can also share some home-cooked meals with a neighbor. Even just making a few encouraging comments on social media can make you feel a little more hopeful. You may not be able to save the world today, but you can certainly make a difference. To find joy at home and make life a little better in your corner of the world, this list of feel-good suggestions should do the trick.
9. Get in a Good Workout
You knew this one was coming, didn’t you? If you aren’t already a fan of working out, it can be a challenge to add exercise to your daily routine. You may not know where to start, and you may feel a little sore the first time you do. However, there’s simply nothing like exercise for reducing stress, boosting energy levels, improving sleep, and giving you something to brag about on Facebook.
You don’t have to run a marathon to benefit from working out, either. The important thing is to find movements you enjoy and then keeping at them until you break into a good sweat. Try an online yoga class or an early morning walk. There are many home exercise videos online, or you can just turn on some music and dance until you’re out of breath. A great way to find joy at home is to dance with your loved ones.
And speaking of music, listening to great tunes or creating your own can give a needed boost to your endorphin levels.
10. Add Music To Your Day
Music is an excellent way to find joy at home. And, you don’t have to listen to an exquisite concerto to impact your mood, either. Any tune that lifts your spirits is a good choice. So, turn up that polka, rap, or vintage Justin Bieber. A recent UK study on mental health showed that 74.3% of respondents found comfort in music, while 64.7% maintained that their favorite music boosted their mood when they were sad.
Even more powerful than listening to music is making music yourself. This can be as simple as singing along to your favorite song or as complex as learning to play the guitar. You won’t regret the time you invest in making music!
11. Add Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil To Your Diet
The biologically active components of hemp, including CBD, are being studied for how they impact a number of conditions, including mood tension and chronic physical discomfort. Many people have found Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil to be an important means of supporting good health.
Also, we fully believe in what our Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil can do for people. Some companies will try to convince you that their CBD products are miracle cures for any problem you may have, but we’re not interested in making unrealistic claims. Instead, we’ve been working with hemp for decades, and we know that it offers solid, science-backed benefits that can help you achieve optimal wellness.
Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil can help support your body in a number of ways. Here’s some information on what it feels like to use it. The way hemp’s many components work in the body has been documented by scientific research, and we are committed to staying up-to-date on the latest findings. You’ll find a wealth of information on our blog about how Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil can benefit you and the science behind it.
To ensure that you get everything the hemp plant has to offer, we created our remarkable LipidTrans™ Infusion Process. With this method, we gently hand-press the hemp plant to release the full range of cannabinoids, phytochemicals, terpenes, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals it contains. We developed this meticulous process to protect these important compounds from damage. Thus, our Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil is exceptionally bioavailable. If you ever have any questions or concerns about our products or manufacturing process, contact us. We’re happy to have a conversation about hemp.
