With so many threats to our health and wellbeing posed by the changing environment and pollution, consumers are looking for new ways to ensure the air they breathe and the food they consume is pure, while simultaneously trying to reduce their impact on the environment.
This, in turn, leads to changing trends in homes, which has given rise to a new type of dwelling – the wellness home.
In a report titled “Build Well to Live Well: Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate and Communities,” Global Wellness Institute senior researcher Katherine Johnston says, “We’re at the beginning of a new movement in home and community design that tackles our uniquely modern problems: sedentary lives, unhealthy diets, stress, social isolation and loneliness, pollution, nature-deprivation.”
To solve these problems, real-estate developers are creating and expanding “wellness homes and communities”, which the report defines as structures that aim to support the holistic health of its residents.
What are wellness homes?
Stress, food habits and environment all have an impact on our health. A wellness home is a space that is created keeping in mind the environment that a person needs for healthier living.
Wellness homes offer home buyers a healthier and sustainable living space. Most of these wellness homes concentrate on a few basic factors like air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, mind and comfort.
What do wellness homes offer?
Different real estate suppliers and developers are coming up with different ideas and concepts for wellness homes.
For example, Simonds homes says it is taking up the next great challenge to design homes that actively fuse health, nature and science to promote home wellness in a simple, yet revolutionary way.
Wellness home features may include:
- Pure “hospital-grade” air and clean water using advanced purification systems or by using indoor self-irrigating vertical gardens
- Vitamin C packed shower filters that remove any traces of chlorine in the water
- Pathways based on reflexology
- Aromatherapy dispensers fitted at many locations
- Homes designed for ‘wellness’ also pay a lot of attention to the lighting inside the house, so that it energises you during the day and induces better sleep at night by regulating your melatonin levels.
- Groups of homes, or wellness communities, may have fitness and meditation centres and in-house nutritionists available on the premises.
- Some communities even have organic farms that provide unadulterated and chemical-free produce to the occupants
Most of these features are aimed at attracting health-conscious consumers who would be willing to pay what is needed to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Who does this new trend cater to?
Some of us can thank bio-hackers like Dave Asprey who’s declared he’ll live to 180 years old.
This means we are not targeting any particular age-group – this trend crosses all generations as we become more educated about lifestyle and environmental factors that impact our wellbeing.
What does the future hold?
At present, the idea of homes designed for wellness are not just about personal wellness, but also environmental footprint. These homes of the future combine greenery, clean energy sources and minimise carbon footprint.
With advancements in technology and collaboration with other wellness service providers, wellness homes are bound to become better equipped and low cost.
