Your environment has a huge impact on you from health to success at school! When planning out a comfortable, useful work or study space, don’t neglect the basics! Colour, music and ancient practices can all affect the way you feel, your ability to concentrate and your health. More of us should think about our design choices a little more carefully.

How can we do that? Well one simple way is with colour. Wall colour has been shown to impact mood. Spice up dining areas and room accents with red, a colour which stimulates the appetite and raises energy levels. If you want to reduce stress, calm the body and inhibit the appetite, bathe your room in blue. Blue has also been shown to increase productivity - making it perfect for work or study areas. Other colours also can have an impact: green improves vision, yellow, although unpleasant to the eye when used on a large scale, speeds metabolism. Remember this is science, grocery stores use colour to get you to buy more and some sports teams use pink, an energy depleting shade to bamboozle opposing teams’ locker rooms.

On being interviewed, a group of New Zealand teens voiced that music, among other benefits, allows them to experience strong emotions, diverts their attention from unpleasant thoughts, and is great for relaxing with friends. Another study revealed that any genre of music can promote a positive mood in listeners, and enhances student productivity, cooperation. Music causes the body to release mood-enhancing chemicals (eg. serotonin) and can brainwave functioning. Certain music has also been linked to improving study outcomes and memory!

How our space is organized also has an impact. Studies have shown that clearing out clutter in a room reduces stress. While Feng Shui is the art of arranging furniture so that the maximum positive energy is achieved, a simple task such as moving furniture closer to the wall, makes a given space appear roomier, or just tidying up can have a huge impact. Don’t forget about some other areas like lighting, temperature, and how you set up your work space (ergonomics). These can help make you get the most out of your room!  So before you call in any professionals, remember these simple elements to creating a space that works for you!   

For more information visit:

http://musicalinspirations.com/data/html/music-for-health-services/85.cgi
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html 
http://freshome.com/2007/04/17/room-color-and-how-it-affects-your-mood/
http://www.apartment-ideas.com/tricks-with-colour.html
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/03/seven-ways-music-influences-mood.php
http://www.rentaldecorating.com/color_psychology.htm
http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/time-manage.htm
http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/clutter.htm

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