What if Your House Supported Your Wellness Goals?
According to the American Lung Association, I live near the unhealthiest city in the country when it comes to air quality. Los Angeles tops the list of cities where the ozone is the thinnest and as far as particle pollution, it ranks number four. What’s my solution?
Houseplants are how I filter the air in my home. I take care of them and they take care of me, giving off fresh oxygen and filtering the air that I breathe. I consider this a foundation for good health.
Now, there’s a growing movement that takes the idea of healthy buildings to a whole new level. It’s called “wellness real estate” and it’s making me wonder if my houseplant solution isn’t a little bit inadequate.
Health Versus Wellness
Unfortunately, we can’t always control the quality of air that we breathe. Nor can we stay hydrated throughout the day without exposing ourselves to varying degrees of unknown water quality. Health dangers are everywhere. We can, however, try to make our homes as pollution-free as possible. That’s why we have HEPA filters. It’s why we leave new carpets outside before bringing them inside — so they can off-gas. It’s why the BRITA water filter system is such a huge seller. Optimal health is a lifestyle. And we can make our homes support wellness, not just good health.
Why not aim higher than ‘pollution-free homes’ and create home environments that support all forms of wellness, instead of just freedom from air and water-borne toxins? There’s certainly enough technology out there to make this possible — like circadian lighting systems that help regulate internal systems in the body, for example. They’re already being used in senior living homes, high-end office buildings, and hospitals.
As it turns out, a lot of people agree with me — including Deepak Chopra and a group of developers who themselves have posture-supporting flooring. They’ve even coined the term “wellness real estate”.
Health-Centric Homes
The concept of a health-centric home goes like this: office buildings have come a long way over the years in combating “sick building syndrome”. Most people strive for actual wellness, not just freedom from illness or disease. Isn’t it time for higher expectations from our dwellings? Shouldn’t they also support our wellness goals? This is the idea behind the ‘healthy home’ movement, which incorporates all kinds of wellness features into the home itself during construction (or during serious renovation).
We’ve seen this idea before. It’s what drives the LEED certification system (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
LEED-Certification, Only It’s For the Body
“Wellness Real Estate” takes sustainability to a new level, literally turning it inward — to the home. These homes are designed to improve the environment and human health. In comparison to “modern” inventions like Chinese drywall, lead paint, and other threats, only safe building materials are used in the process.
We can only do our best until we know better. Now that we understand how LEED-certified homes promote health and well-being, it’s time to set our sights higher. Everything we consume, from the food we eat to social media content, influences our quality of life, so why not make buildings good for our bodies too?
