Environmental Wellness

What is Environmental Wellness?

Environmental wellness is defined as maintaining a safe, healthy, clean and comfortable environment for the well-being of all. It involves being environmentally conscious and doing our bit for the health of the planet. We must also be mindful of our actions that can harm the environment and make necessary changes to minimise the impact. Respecting nature, following eco-friendly habits, reducing wastage and limiting the usage of harmful substances can go a long way in promoting environmental wellness as well as our overall wellbeing.

Importance of Environmental Wellness

A healthy environment offers a sense of comfort, safety and connection with the surroundings and helps us live a happy and fulfilling life. However, to live in a healthy environment, we must make necessary changes to our lifestyle and mindfully minimise our contribution to environmental destruction.

Here’s why environmental wellness is important:

• To live a healthy and environment-friendly life.
• To feel calm and relaxed.
• To conserve natural resources.
• To live in harmony with nature and respect all life.
• To find peace and tranquillity in the environment.
• To take pride in clean and healthy surroundings.
• To follow a more balanced lifestyle.

Signs Indicating Good Environmental Wellness

Signs of good environmental wellness are:

• You are aware that your lifestyle and decisions have an impact on the environment.
• You conserve energy by switching off lights, fans, and electrical devices when not in use.
• You are aware that the earth’s natural resources are limited.
• You find time to explore nature and be in natural settings.
• You prefer using locally available products.
• You are mindful of air, water and noise pollution.
• You mindfully choose toxic-free personal care and cleaning products.
• Your home and work environments are healthy and nurturing.
• You reuse and recycle products.
• You encourage your loved ones to follow environment-friendly habits.

Tips to Improve Environmental Wellness

Some simple ways to improve environmental wellness are:

• Use electrical and electronic devices wisely: These devices consume a lot of electricity and can harm the environment. Also, when these devices are disposed of in landfills, they release chemicals that can harm human health and the environment. Hence, limiting the use of electrical and electronic products can make a huge difference.
• Keep your living space clean, healthy and happy: Make a conscious effort to improve the surroundings for better environmental wellness. This can be done by getting rid of waste wisely, clearing up clutter from time to time, growing plants around your house, and limiting the use of harmful substances.
• Check the usage of motor vehicles: Motor vehicles release harmful pollutants into the environment which can cause long-term harm to human health and the ecosystem. They also lead to global warming, poor air quality, smog and acid rain. Many health conditions, such as cough, nausea, headache, irritation of the eyes and bronchial conditions happen due to vehicular pollution. Hence, try and limit the usage of motor vehicles by covering short distances on foot and taking the bus for long distances.
• Recycle waste products: Try to recycle and reuse products and also reduce waste by buying reusable grocery bags, cups and bottles, donating certain products to the needy, limiting the use of paper, and avoiding disposable food and drink containers.
• Use energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances: These use less electricity and help reduce carbon footprint at home.
• Consume locally grown food: Locally grown fruits and vegetables need to travel a short distance to reach you and they do not require any expensive storage facilities either. These also can help reduce greenhouse emissions and carbon footprint.
• Save water: Saving water is very important as it can help save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So do not leave the water tap on when doing daily household chores.

Conclusion

Environmental wellness means respecting the environment and living a lifestyle that can help reduce carbon footprint. This does not necessarily mean joining a movement or organisation supporting the cause. As an individual, one can contribute by making certain lifestyle changes like protecting natural resources, reducing wastage and pollution, and buying reusable products. Though these are simple changes, they are significant enough to do well for the environment and promote your overall wellbeing.

Source: introwellness, northwestern.edu, uwo.ca, unh.edu, stride, arizona.edu