BIOPHILIC ENVIRONMENT FOR MENTAL WELL-BEING

 

Do you remember playing in the ground, getting your clothes dirty, planting saplings and just rolling around in childhood?

 

 

Yes, we humans are naturally inclined towards nature. In fact, the term biophilia literally means “Love for Life”; it’s a human tendency to form close associations with nature. It is evident from the pre historic times as man was rooted in the midst of the natural system, and anything that he needed for survival, was available to him.

Ever since the dawn of civilisation, man has always used his creative minds to turn natural spaces into liveable forms. We see today how tribes in the Amazons or in any other remote area live; they live with the nature!

 

Humans have an affinity for natural landscapes. We must have noticed that whenever we’re surrounded by the natural surroundings, we feel euphoric and escalated. Fresh supply of oxygen, morning dew over flowers, and  leaves, and grass to walk barefoot on, chilling breeze of the morning, yellow sunshine of the Sun, chirping of birds, and rustling of leaves, all that reminds us of the beauty of nature, the mother Earth. All our physical tiredness, mental exhaustion, goes away. Our brain release “happy hormones and neurotransmitters”: dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin.

 

So why not bring that beauty in to our lives too! Biophilic environment or biophilic designs can be incorporated into living spaces through nature- like patterns and colours (cool colours: blue, green, etc.; nature-like patterns: wood, leaves, natural landscape and scenery, etc.), natural elements like indoor plants and presence of water, wooden furnishings and flooring, etc. Even using natural olfactory elements to stimulate our olfactory receptors through fragrances or certain aromatic smells of herbs and essential oils, works a better way.

 

So let’s just look into our own living spaces, whether they’re too dull or whether they might be lacking natural elements or the natural touch. If so, let’s just go back to our roots, where we’ve originated, and bring that beauty, that element, back to our lives.