If you’ve suffered from a personal injury and have to spend a prolonged amount of time at home, it’s important that your home design helps you to complete day-to-day tasks without the risk of aggravating your injuries. Being able to still do your daily routine everyday can be great for your wellbeing, as it makes you feel as if you’re still able to do the things you need to do despite your injuries. That’s why making the appropriate home design adjustments is necessary to allow your health recovery to go as smoothly as possible.
In this guide, we will advise on the home improvements that you can have made if you’ve recently suffered from a personal injury and need to support your own wellbeing. Continue reading to learn more.
Home Improvements for Better Recovery
Natural Daylight
Natural light helps personal injury recovery by regulating circadian rhythms for better sleep, reducing stress hormones like cortisol and boosting vitamin D for bone and immune health. Getting more natural light in your home is proven to be one of the best things for your health, especially if you aren’t able to get outside much during your recovery process.
You can get more natural light into your home in a variety of ways. Getting larger or more windows installed into your home is a good starting point, or you can install a conservatory which lets in an ample amount of light. Hanging up mirrors around the home also lets the light bounce around.
Clean Ventilation
Having clean air circulating throughout your home is good for your health, especially when recovering from an injury. Open windows daily for fresh air circulation and use air purifiers to reduce dust and allergens. This will improve air quality, so your breathing will be much better. This will be ideal if you’ve suffered from a lung related injury.
Get your HVAC or whole-house ventilation filters swapped out straight away. Note the dimensions printed on the edge of the old filter and observe the airflow direction arrow.
Soothing Colours
Soothing colours at home help your injury recovery by reducing stress hormones, lowering your heart rate and easing muscle tension. Key healing hues include soft blue, sage green and gentle lavender, which are all proven to improve your mood and give you a better outlook on life. Muted cool tones signal safety to the brain, which can drop stress hormone levels like cortisol.
Hire a painter to give your interior a new lease of life with a fresh coat of paint. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time indoors, having a newly painted space can give you a mood boost.
Biophilic Design
Getting more plants incorporated into your home design is always a good idea and it can be great for your health recovery. It helps injury recovery by reducing stress, lowering pain perception and improving sleep, so you can feel well-rested and ready to tackle each day as it comes. Positioning plants on your bedside table, next to the sofa and by the dinner table can also purify the air so you can breathe better.
If your injury prevents you from properly taking care of plants, you can purchase faux plants that can give you a placebo effect to boost your mood without the burden of having to carry out plant maintenance.
Reduced Clutter
Clutter can get in the way and increase the chances of you falling over and worsening your injuries, so it’s important that you can get help with removing the clutter around your home. This can be as simple as hiding away any loose wires that are a trip hazard or properly storing away any children’s toys that are lay around the home.
Your family and friends should be more than willing to help you declutter if you’re unable to do it yourself. They’re always just a phone call away and I’m sure they won’t mind helping you after you’ve been injured.
Adjustable Furniture
Your existing furniture might not be the best to help you post-injury, as it won’t have been designed for that. For example, if you require a wheelchair after your injury, you might not be able to work properly on the kitchen cabinet so you’ll find it more difficult to cook. To help with this, you can get adjustable furniture that helps you carry out your daily tasks.
Use supportive chairs with lumbar alignment and adjustable heights to reduce physical strain. This reduces the chances of your injury worsening, so you can recover properly.
Gain Negligence Support
While your home design needs improving after an injury, it can be very expensive. This is when personal injury solicitors can help you to get compensation for your injuries if they were caused by someone else’s negligence. From this, you can get the funding required to help you make all the home improvements you need for your recovery.
