When it comes to bathrooms, many people prioritize aesthetics, luxury, modernity, and so on.

And indeed, the end result is often beautiful, especially when done by highly-trained professionals like Denver Bathroom Pros.

While you’re at it though, why not add in one more aspect to focus on?

Wellness is a concept often overlooked by homeowners when planning and designing their bathroom.

This isn’t exactly a surprise, considering that most people actually rarely consider their wellness.

How many people will make it a point to ensure they get enough sleep? How many will take the time to meditate to calm their mind? How many people make sure that they’re getting enough exercise on a weekly basis? How many even ensure they’re mentally well at work?

If you’re part of the majority who neglect their personal wellness, you’re in the right place. Your wellness matters, and we’re here to help you start with one of the most frequented places in your home–your bathroom.

1. Natural Lighting

It’s not uncommon to see bathrooms with just a single small window or even none, because most people think that their light bulbs will suffice.

To be fair, yes, artificial lights do a great job of keeping your bathroom brightly lit.

However, there’s undoubtedly a stark difference between natural light and artificial light, and it’s something that most people can feel, but can’t quite explain.

Daylight is extremely important to your well-being for a variety of reasons.

The main reason is that sunlight triggers the release of serotonin, the feel-good hormone that makes you happy.

For most people, the bathroom is the first place they go to after they wake up to prepare for the day, so having this boost of serotonin gives you a strong start to your day and puts you in a better mood immediately.

In fact, sunlight is so important that low sunlight exposure is linked to conditions like seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, and fatigue.

It’s not just that though.

Sunlight also simulates vitamin D production, which again, boosts your overall health.

Lastly, sunlight is crucial to synchronizing your internal body clock, as it sends a signal to let your body know it’s time to wake up and be active, and regulates your circadian rhythm.

Without this signal, it throws off your schedule, and your body may not fully wake up till much later, which then pushes back your rest time and sleeping time subconsciously. This, in turn, negatively affects your sleep quality.

To get sunlight into your bathroom, if your bathroom is on the outer edge of your home, all you have to do is add windows, or if your current one is too small, consider expanding it to let more sunlight in.

If your bathroom is at the top floor, instead of regular windows, you can do a skylight instead to let even more sunlight in while not sacrificing any privacy.

Alternatively, if there’s some distance between the top and your bathroom such that you can’t do a skylight, you can use a sun tunnel.

For those whose bathrooms are further away from the outer edge, you likely wouldn’t get much sunlight even if you installed windows.

Instead, what you need to do is install borrowed-light panels in the wall separating your bathroom from the sunlight.

Then, either make your bathroom wall translucent so that the borrowed sunlight can come in, or install windows at the top.

If you’re installing windows at the top, given that borrowed sunlight is already diminished, you need to use features that reflect light well to amplify whatever little sunlight you get. This means mirrors, high-gloss tiles, and light-colored elements.

2. Strategic Copper Use

Did you know that copper actually kills bacteria and mold? And very effectively at that.

Not many people know this, but many metals have antibacterial properties.

This is thanks to the oligodynamic effect, where metal ions are absorbed by bacteria, which then damages their cell membranes.

As a result, these metals either kill microorganisms like bacteria and mold or stop them from growing any further.

Copper is one of these metals, and one of the most effective ones at killing microorganisms. This includes its alloys too.

As a matter of fact, lab tests have shown that copper kills 99% of bacteria and viruses on contact within two hours!

The good news is, copper and its alloys are beautiful materials that fit naturally in bathrooms.

Copper, along with its alloys like brass and bronze, bring a classy vibe to your space. They fit right at home in various styles, from rustic and vintage to modern luxe.

Needless to say, don’t just start using copper for everything.

Copper and its alloys are usually louder, more bold materials, so too much can overwhelm the eyes.

Plus, there’s no point in doing so. All you need is to strategically incorporate them in key high-touch surfaces.

Here are the best areas to use these bacteria-killing beasts in:

1. Faucets
2. Toilet flush levers/buttons
3. Cabinet pulls/Drawer handles
4. Door knobs/Shower handles

3. Circadian-tuned LEDs

Ever woke up to use the toilet and turned on the lights, only for it to hit your eyes like a truck? Did you have an easy time sleeping after that? Probably not, right?

That’s because most regular bathroom lights are at a brightness and wavelength that not only hurt your eyes when suddenly turned on in the dark, but also send a signal to your brain that it’s daytime and suppresses melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep.

Needless to say, this is extremely disruptive to your sleep cycle and makes it harder to fall asleep as well as negatively effects sleep quality.

The solution to this is circadian-tuned LEDs.

These LEDs adjust their brightness and wavelengths to support your body and give it what it needs at each time of the day.

In the morning, it mimics daylight to help wake you up. As the day goes on, it gradually adjusts automatically to become dimmer and less harsh.

In the afternoon, it emits a more balanced, softer white that keeps you focused with oversimulating you too much.

Finally, in the evening, it emits a warm, amber light to simulate the production of melatonin, slowly guiding your body and brain towards sleep.

With circadian-tuned LEDs, when you visit the toilet at night, you’re greeted with a soft, warm, amber light that doesn’t wake you up and even supports the production of melatonin.

Subsequently, you’ll find getting back to sleep much easier and you’ll sleep better too.

Conclusion

In conclusion, your wellness shouldn’t be an afterthought, but a priority, and these three strategies will be crucial in your journey to improved well-being.

Here’s to a healthier, more mindful you.