Can the Interior design of our homes help us live longer???

Can the Interior design of our homes help us live longer???

Given that we spend an estimated 90% of our time indoors, and post pandemic much of this time is now in our homes, the key challenge designers face today is how to not only deliver built environments that are inclusive, multi-functional, adaptive and sustainable but that can also enhance the well being of those who occupy them.

Lifestyle factors such as inactivity, poor diet, chronic sleep deprivation and stress are heavily implicated in the onset of heart and lung diseases, cancers and diabetes considered to be the leading causes of death today according to the World Health Organisation. Lifestyle medicine, which is a growing holistic healthcare approach, focuses on managing the 6 pillars of exercise, sleep, food, stress management, smoking cessation and alcohol moderation to mitigate the risk of suffering these serious diseases.

Given that we spend an estimated 90% of our time indoors, and post pandemic much of this time is now in our homes, the key challenge designers face today is how to not only deliver built environments that are inclusive, multi-functional, adaptive and sustainable but that can also enhance the well being of those who occupy them. Designers now have access to academic research over the last 20 years that have demonstrated the real benefits of a human centric approach to design resulting in the emerging disciplines of Biophilic Interior Design and Neuro-Architecture.

Biophilic Design connects us to nature and natural light which have been shown to help reduce stress, improve cognitive performance and enhance creativity. “Nudge “or neuro design encourages better lifestyle habits (exercise, food choices) by reducing the effort to make the right choice.

At what stage in our lives would adapting these principles to our homes have an impact on our long-term physical and brain health and to what extent would this be? Could we develop a blueprint for homes that deliver long term health benefits which could be adopted by housing authorities around the world?

Any thoughts???