The biophilic design benefits hiding in your home might be the nervous system reset you've been chasing through therapy, supplements, and . If you still feel chronically stressed despite doing everything "right," the missing piece may not be another habit. It could be the space you live in. A simple fix like indoor plants can help. This episode is for anyone ready to stop managing symptoms and start designing a home that heals. One thing worth noting is that biophilic design benefits often include improved wellbeing and lower stress levels.
Sick Building Syndrome: When Your Home Works Against You
Host Antoinette Berrafato unpacks how sick building syndrome and everyday indoor toxins quietly raise your stress load. The signs are easy to dismiss, and harder to ignore once you know what to look for, just as understanding biophilic design benefits can change your perspective on home environments.
How To Reduce Cortisol Naturally With Light And Order
There's research-backed evidence on what natural light, decluttering, and a simple view of nature do to your cortisol levels, and what happens to your healing when those things go missing. Healey Ikerd, LPC, LMFT, breaks down the principles that show how to reduce cortisol naturally, no renovation budget required. Additionally, biophilic design benefits can be achieved through small, practical steps.
“There's a lot of research that backs up … not just being in nature but even seeing nature. If you can't go outside, people who have a window to look outside do better in their healing than those (who) don't. And then when you go outside, there's research that shows that even just standing in the grass in your bare feet for 30 minutes a day can significantly improve your mood.”
Healey Ikerd, LPC, LMFT
Indoor Plants Benefits: Bringing Nature Inside On Purpose
The indoor plants benefits go far deeper than decor. Antoinette and her husband put it to the test inside their own Northwoods cabin, not with a remodel, but with intention and early family buy-in. For example, biophilic design benefits were apparent in their improved mood and focus.
Antoinette Berrafato shows examples of how she used biophilic design principles in her home with low cost and no cost examples from foraging and wildcrafting projects you can use today. In a previous episode, Antoinette teaches you how to get started foraging and wildcrafting. Be sure to watch these episodes to see for yourself.
The Creative Use of Indoor Plants
This episode of New Normal Big Life is worth catching in video on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts to see the creative use of indoor plants, light, and order.
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New Normal Big Life host Antoinette Berrafato used nature therapy, archery and kayaking, to recover from physical limitations, finding passion, purpose, and people as her recipe for mental health. The research is clear. The real question is whether your home is working for you or against you.
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