Giving Thanks Can Make You Healthier & Happier

By Denise Turner, ASID, CID, CMG

It's that time of year again where many of us being to think about everything we have to be thankful for. While Thanksgiving is a great time to count our blessings, being thankful throughout the year can have huge benefits on our quality of life. 

In fact, gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools we have access to every day. Cultivating gratitude doesn't take much time, it's FREE and the benefits are huge. 

5 Benefits of Gratitude:

1. Greatful People Sleep Better
According to a 2011 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. Spend just 15 minutes jotting down a few grateful thoughts before bed, and you may sleep better and longer.

2. Gratitude Improves Physical Health

According to a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences, grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and report feeling healthier than other people.

3. Gratitude Improves Emotional Health

Gratitude reduces a various negative emotions, from resentment to envy and to frustration and regret. Research has shown that gratitude increases happiness and reduces depression.

4. Gratitude Creates New Relationships 

Saying “thank you” not only shows that you have good manners, but showing appreciation can help you win new friends, according to a 2014 study published in Emotion. The study discovered that thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek an ongoing relationship. 

So whether you acknowledging other people’s contributions, thank a stranger for holding the door, can lead to new opportunities.

5. Gratitude Enhances Empathy 

According to a 2012 study by the University of Kentucky, grateful people are more likely to behave in a prosocial manner, even when others behave less kindly. The participants who ranked higher on gratitude scales were less likely to retaliate against others, even when given negative feedback. 

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Denise 

Color’s Effects on Perception of Space

By Denise Turner

Color has the power to inspire, excite, heal, soothe, and even agitate. This is especially true in spaces where we live, work, learn and explore. 

So the importance of selecting the right color for your personal environment cannot be underestimated. 

Here are some important color perception facts to consider when selecting interior colors for every room in your house.

• Bright colors appear lighter in weight. In order from heavy to light, they are: red, blue, purple, orange, green, and yellow.

• Light objects appear larger against a dark background. Dark objects appear smaller against a light background. 

• A window frame and wall should be light so that it doesn’t contrast too much with the daylight. 

• Bright colors are overestimated in size. In descending order: yellow appears the largest, followed by white, red, green, blue, and black. 

• The wall opposite a window is typically preferably light. Otherwise it will absorb too much daylight. However, light windows may cause glare, if the appropriate window treatments are not installed. 

• If a red wall is placed next to a yellow wall, the yellow wall will appear greener than it actually is, due to the afterimage of the red: cyan. The blue afterimage of the yellow will cause the red to appear more purple. 

• Light colors and small patterns visually enlarge a space, whereas dark colors and large patterns make the space appear smaller. 

Source: Role of Color in Healthcare Environments, The Center for Health Care Design

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash