While we’re indoors in greater numbers and for longer periods than ever before due to lockdowns, making the best of the space you have is more important than ever. Being indoors relying on digital means to conduct pretty much every affair of the world is a drain on your health—not the best deal during a time when you want more, not less, resilient immunity.
Life can be hectic, and your interior space should be a sanctuary providing a calm environment so that you can rest, recharge and be ready to do what you need to do. Whether it is a work space, bedroom, or a play area for children, an indoor space should prioritise elements that can help one renew and recharge, instead of depleting or distracting you.
Building Biology principles guide how we can make healthy interior spaces. This article highlights principles from Building Biology that you can apply easily to help enliven a space. I also share examples from IKEA that show how this can be in very easy and practical ways.
Being a mother, I love my strolls with the children, and I also love my indoor strolls through IKEA (or any interior-ware store). Their many room ideas are great for inspiration.
Calm isn’t a trend or a style. Any design can be calming, and any design, done badly, can be chaotic instead.
Common factors of calm spaces may be material and visual. They share these common principles that are important for biological health:
(1) Balanced natural light and illumination
(2) Access to a view and/or perspective free of pollutants, with access to fresh natural elements
(3) Similarly, a connection to Nature, with access to fresh air, sunshine, and nature
(4) Natural and unadulterated furnishings and materials
Part of a calm environment is knowing your items and furniture are working to help you create, instead of taking up space. Another reason why IKEA is popular is how they try to have their products pull double-duty and be highly functional.
IKEA products are usually well-made, so you add a sense of proportion and order to your space, if placed well. Here are some options so easily found at the nearest IKEA for calm, enlivening space.
The easiest way to enliven a space to include Nature or parts of it directly, in appropriate areas.
We are a part of Nature, and proximity to friendly plants help improve concentration and creativity. Plants are a natural option to calm and enliven a space as they are living things that offer air exchange, trap dust and toxins, and release oxygen into the air. If you are unsure of a green thumb, try plants that are low maintenance such as snake plants or money plants that do not add too much to an already humid environment (like ours in the tropics). Or cut flowers, stems help add connection to Nature.
Natural materials can seem like a cliche or an obvious choice. But not considering its impact (whether it can be a focal point in a space) is a common mistake, as a lack of natural material, even if only perceived, can be uncomfortable to the body for extended periods.
Elements that are representative of Nature also help breathe a sense of fresh air into a space. Materials such as seagrass, wood, and ceramic add an organic feel. The natural roundness and soft textures in seagrass help balance the hard lines and flat surfaces that often make up indoor spaces.
Seagrass also evokes the senses of touch and smell, that is calming to our nervous system.
IKEA has had stunning ranges on seagrass the last few seasons. This is a plant growing naturally in South-East Asian coastal areas, so I’m always excited to see how IKEA re-imagines the simple material in various ways for different functions.
Calm lighting is also crucial for enjoying a calm space. Ideally, you have full-spectrum natural lightning from the Sun, rather than relying on artificial light even during daylight hours. This ensures basic health, and that your circadian rhythm can be in sync with natural day-night cycles, which is crucial for optimal performance and wellbeing.
Lighting affects our circadian rhythm, which governs every function in our body. LED lighting is probably the most problematic thing indoors in recent years. LEDs are extremely problematic sources of light indoors, as their light is distorted . You want your light indoors to work with your circadian rhythm, not against it.
You want to choose lighting very carefully. IKEA only sells LED lights, so if we do buy those, select its placement and daily use thoughtfully. It pays off in in alertness, jet lag, performance (especially if you are an athlete or a shift worker), twilight, seasonality, skin response, photoreception, and more.
At the least, I would not choose open-style bulbs. Lampshades help diffuse the glare and flicker. The Molnart bulb from IKEA tries to augment this in a warmer LED and double smoke-colored glass. From their website:
This LED light bulb spreads the same warm light as a traditional 14W light bulb – without flickering or emitting any sound. This particular light bulb emits the same warm glow as candlelight (1,800 Kelvin).
The view you have is another essential consideration for a calm space.
A view of the outdoors offer a perspective to Nature, or the world at large. The broader range and distance are very calming for the eyes, and help avoid myopia.
Window curtains in 100% natural materials allow this light to filter into a room while reducing harsh tropical heat. The all- linen or cotton options from IKEA are a beautiful way to frame your view of the outdoors.
Finally, good storage is an important component of any calm space.
This is probably what drives many to a store like IKEA in the first place—the relentless search to finally have an organised space. IKEA has chock loads of organisation options. And they don’t have to be plastic boxes! Their options in natural materials help add to a calm space, and dial down the internal clutter (pun intended) that can come through a space. Decluttering and organisation helps us remove items from a space that are past its use or not appropriate anymore. These include things that are degrading.
Decluttering helps clear out potential moldy items and dust collectors. Less discussed but perhaps even more important is that removing excess and worn-out items helps reduces stress and releases energy for other tasks instead.This is especially important for children and their developing brains. Your brain is continually filtering information from its environment. More about tidying in another post...
The water you drink and bathe in in your house affects your health.
The chlorine with which almost all municipal water is treated reacts with naturally occurring organic materials, creating harmful trihalomethanes.
This is in addition to the chlorine itself which is a microbial poison.
The paper review focuses on water management and usage practices in Malaysia. But it yields astonishing insights into the quality of water declining tremendously in the nation.
While the beautiful tropical country of Malaysia is blessed with the abundant resource, multiple municipal weakness mean the tap water can often be dangerously polluted.
A basic good practice is to install the best personal water filter you can at home to prevent heavy metal contamination.
Insights from the paper:
Aluminium contamination is higher recorded more than the standard limit set by the Ministry of Health guidelines for drinking water. Based on a 2011 study , from two housing areas with a total of 100 respondents, the mean value of daily chronic aluminum intake (CDI) in PR drinking water (0.00707 mg / kg / day) is much higher than MPL (0.00164 mg / kg / day)!
Half (49.5%) of all water supply problems in Malaysia were reported in — a densely populated state that houses the main city and urban areas. That increased in 2017 to 62.4% (Malay Mail, 2019).
Nowadays, water shortage is no longer considered a natural disaster that must be borne and accepted but instead is a human-made cause that can be dealt with and solved by humans.
mining, industrial, and agricultural activities also contribute to the contamination of heavy metals in the body of water due to improper management of wastewater and discharge from fertilisers (Karavoltsos, 2008). However, most heavy metals from surface water and groundwater are usually removing during the water treatment process (Kioko & Obiri, 2012). Furthermore, corrosion of water pipes, faucets, and water fixtures can cause contaminated water supply for daily use. Unclean practices at home, such as improper drinking water storage containers and unclean operators, also contribute to this. This exposes consumers to the dangers of excess copper ions in drinking water, which can lead to acute poisoning and lead to diseases and ailments, such as liver damage, heart and kidney failure, and brain disease.
the cost of treating polluted water is high and reduces the overall water availability. In the year 2019, toxic chemical pollution in the Kim River in Pasir Gudang (Johor), which disrupts the water supply to around 20,000 households, is an example. Furthermore, there were 160 cases of river pollution reported in which enforcement was taken during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period from March 18 to May 4, 2020 (Malay Mail, 2019).
How polluted are the rivers? The Malaysian Environmental Quality Report 2017 shows that the percentage of clean rivers has decreased since 2015, while the rate of polluted rivers has increased.
…(out of 89 river basins in Peninsular Malaysia) 25 ‘dead’ rivers in Malaysia. Sixteen rivers were found in Johor, five in Selangor, three in Penang, and one in Melaka. These rivers were categorised under Classes 4 and 5, which are reserved for highly polluted rivers and where aquatic life cannot survive (The Sunday Daily, 2019).
Many factories operate illegally along the banks of the Semenyih River. This adds to pollution to a source that serves several areas around the country’s capital such as Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Sepang and Petaling.
This fact tells us about the possible integrity of pipes channelling water produced by treatment plants to consumer homes. Water wastage could be due to pipe leaks, inaccuracies of customer meters, and unauthorised use. The amount of water wasted in Malaysia is too high, with a national average of 35%. This rate is equivalent to losing 35 liters from every 100 liters of treated water (The Star, 2020).
You can take steps to ensure that your own water system is carefully and periodically maintained.
Typically, purification systems for large municipal water systems can be standard off the shelf systems.
In building biology, the focus is to create a space to help the body grow and function optimally—as Nature’s laws dictate, not just function. As a building biologist and mother, I have become increasingly impressed and fascinated by the role of vitamin D in creating optimal health.
I decided to write this article to share how we can increase your Vitamin D levels despite many of us living indoor lifestyles, essentially having to be indoors much of the time. You will see how your home or work environment can be changed to naturally raise Vitamin D levels.
Most of the questions are about how and why EMFs (electro-magnetic fields) occur, what their dangers may be, and how a Building Biology assessment can reduce your exposure to man-made EMFs.
Here are some of the more common questions asked about EMFs. Four man-made ones, in particular.
Many of the world’s top functional doctors recognise that “EMF removal is essential for proper healing”, including Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, Dr. Zach Bush, Dr. Dan Pompa, Dr. Ben Lynch, and Dr. Tom O’Bryan.
As a certified Building Biologist, I help you plan and create better spaces that support your biological health.
I also draw on over 15 years’ experience in research and publishing to provide you with scientific knowledge, support, and the necessary tools for you to make informed-based decisions for your own home or work space.
An assessment for a space can identify EMF sources and your EMF sensitivity. It provide solutions to reduce exposure.
In my consultations with you, I add a strong base of EMF knowledge as an essential toolkit that you can take with you in terms of healing recommendations, programs or protocols.
An assessment is based on your priorities and needs, and a comprehensive EMF assessment paints a picture of the invisible electro-pollution in your space.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum is broad, and in a Building Biology assessment for a space, we are concerned with at least 4 types of EMFs and the health effects.
These are AC magnetic fields (cable lines, currents drawn by device, appliance, or motor, electrical wiring errors, stray electrical current on water pipes, cable tv lines, phone lines and other utility installations);
Radio frequency fields (wireless radiation from mobile / Bluetooth devices, wifi, cell phone towers, smart devices, 5G);
AC electric fields (circuits, power lines);
Dirty electricity (any manipulation of the electrical current by devices, appliances and lighting in your home, incl dimmer switches, televisions, laptops…)
As you can see, that is a lot to assess in any modern space!
The 1996 EMF safety standards that are supposed to protect people are based on the false premise that the only way that EMFs can hurt our biology is by causing overheating.
This myth is unscientific, considering the fact that publicly-available research published by the NASA in 1970,[1]the US Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) in 1971,[2]the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 1976[3] and countless others show that EMFs can and do cause damage through non-thermal mechanisms.
In other words, our current safety standards are based on a false premise, and therefore do not protect anyone against the harm caused by microwave radiation.
Thousands of studies in just the last decade is proving this. This includes the $25 US NTP study has published their conclusions after running one of the most important and costly studies around cell phones and cancer ever conceived. Their initial goal: proving without the shadow of a doubt that cell phones are safe.
What they found: the opposite; rats and mice exposed to cellphone radiation have shown “Clear Evidence” of an increase in multiple tumor types— read this blog for more detail.
It is up to you to measure for and reduce the man-made EMFs in your life.
Children are being conceived and born exposed to artificial EMFs. Children are at greater risk from exposure to carcinogens than adults, and this risk remains well into adolescence as they develop.
One effect is on their emotional processing, executive attention, decision making, and cognitive control—these are fundamental skills required for success and emotional well-being.
There are many things we can do as parents to mitigate any harm and plan a path forward for children to learn how to live well in a digitised society.
Not least, creating a good space can help unplug our children, limit their screen time, and give them some digital detox.
Interior design support and sourcing; Birth space / Postpartum recovery planning; Childrens’ space planning.
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