How Biophilia Can Enhance Your Wellbeing

If you’re at all familiar with home automation, you know how these systems can make your life easier and simpler. What you may not know is how automation technology can actually help you live a healthier life. The growing field of biophilia shows that people have an innate desire to be in nature and interact with the natural world.

And now, smart home technology has advanced to the point that devices from your lights to your thermostat can automatically adjust themselves to keep you comfortable and healthy at home with this philosophy in mind. Want to know more? Here’s how biophilia benefits residents in Portland and other areas of Oregon.

SEE ALSO: 4 Smart Features to Make Everyday Life at Home More Convenient

LIGHTING CONTROL

Where to start with all the ways smart lighting can improve your lifestyle? Smart lighting adds convenience and style, and lighting plays a major role in biophilia systems, as well.

The main way this works is by having LEDs mimic the conditions of natural light. Instead of being blasted with intense, blue-tinged lighting from traditional fixtures, you’re enveloped in the warm, natural glows of the sun. Believe it or not, this type of lighting can help you feel better by helping you better sync with your body’s circadian rhythm. Lighting control designed for biophilia uses special software to have your fixtures recreate the changing conditions of the sun outside as it makes its daily cycle. You’ll enjoy better sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Our bodies work best within a narrow range of temperatures. Having a body temperature that’s too high or too low, especially if it changes quickly, can have major impacts on your health, including hypothermia and heat stroke. Having a static temperature affects us as well. In nature, temperature naturally progresses, and our bodies are attuned to that. These small changes help us recharge and stay active.

You keep yourself comfortable and maintain a more stable body temperature using automated temperature control. Depending on how much customization you want, you can program temperature settings and schedules for your entire home or for individual rooms. Having centralized control through one system makes adjusting the temperature easy, and you can add voice control for even greater convenience. Voice control is also ideal for seniors, who may have trouble with a traditional thermostat.

AIR QUALITY

With almost 90 percent of our time spent indoors, indoor air quality is a huge thing to watch for.

The range of negative health consequences from poor air quality is wide and severe. Carbon monoxide, allergens, pollutants, dust and other particles in the air can make you very ill. Carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. On the less severe end of the spectrum, allergies can make even mundane chores and actions intolerable. You also don’t want to take the chance of getting sick from inhaling something floating around in the air.

Automated air quality monitoring systems protect you from health hazards like these. Specially designed sensors will monitor your air and inform you if anything is amiss. Air quality monitoring devices are especially helpful if your home is susceptible to carbon monoxide, as the gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless.

If you think your home and health could benefit from biophilic design, contact us today. To learn more, call us at (503) 713-6897 or visit our contact page.