What if your friends or your relatives tell you, a water feature in your house of surroundings could result in reducing your stress and well-being? If you are in the process of reinventing your outdoor space, you might be considering some additions of a water features-true! There is no denying that fountains, ponds, pools, and waterfalls make your spaces more beautiful, serene, but what benefits do they provide? So, here we are, in this article you will get to know about the benefits as well as the values water provides to space.
A water feature provides soothing and serene sights with sounds that tend to improve your physical and mental well-being. In addition, heart rate, blood pressure, and other measures return to normal levels more quickly when people look into nature rather than urban landscapes.
The Historical role of Water in our lives:
As far as one might imagine, we have evolved around water and it has been our central requirement for the existence of humanity. Humans are not only familiar with water, but also understand their relationship to water in the sense that they are dependent on it. As humanity progressed and developed through technology, humans afforded the opportunity to live away from natural sources.
The Healing Power of Water:
So, did you know there’s a scientific reason why a shower or running water feels refreshing? It’s the same reason why people flock to lakes, oceans, and waterfalls for vacations. Falling water releases negative ions into the surrounding atmosphere and has a profound effect on our physical well-being.
There is no secret that water feature provides soothing sights and sounds helping you relax and de-stress in today’s busy world. The therapeutic effects of water in the landscape help to lower your blood pressure and improve physical and mental health. Whether you’re dealing with stress or wish to improve your overall health, consider adding a pond, waterfall, or fountain to your outdoor living space.
Scientists refer to the sounds of water as ‘white noise’, that can be heard in numerous ways to let go of our thoughts and let the noise wash over us. While listening to these therapeutic sounds during meditation, we get to learn about the present moment and directly experience things. One of the psychological effects we experience the most is, we’re by the sea, lakes, or waterfalls in awe.
Water Features Improving Physical & Mental Health:
The vibrations and sound frequency of running water subsequently affects us on a higher level instantly calms and soothes the mind to improve your mood.
- Increase your energy level: Air consists of positive and negative ions and the body is better when the air has a slightly negative charge, something water features assist with. Flowing water releases negative ions into the air to increase your energy level and calm the feelings and depressions. They also refresh and purify the air so you feel energized and ready to tackle new projects.
- Lower your Blood Pressure: The soothing, calming benefits of water features contribute to lowering blood pressure and the body relaxes, blood pressure lowers to decrease your risks of various physical health problems like stroke, angina, anxiety and coronary artery disease among other heart issues.
Different ways to Introduce Water features in your surroundings:
- A natural habitat for fish: You can bring some more life into your ponds and fountains in the backyard, like fish. Koi fishes need a fairly large amount of space for them to swim around, while goldfish are affordable for smaller ponds. You will also have to take into consideration that these fishes need clean waters, algae and pond plants too. Small fishes feed on specific fish food, that is readily available.
- Pond plants: Larger water features and fountains can be enhanced by pond plants that serve as natural elements and decorations. Water lettuce, water lilies are the most preferred plants having the benefit of low cost and maintenance. Weeds like seaweeds, brown and green seaweeds- algae. Remember to add salt, sugar, and vitamins in water, from time to time. These pond plants need a lot of sunlight, so make sure they get plenty of it.
- Water features are easy to maintain: Cleaning a fountain or a pond is easy, but make sure you do it regularly to minimize the risk of algae building up. Cleaning is necessary to prevent blockages and clogging. Natural elements like gravel, stones or rocks, also need to be taken out regularly and cleaned. These features are very enjoyable, refreshing and do not imply high costs.
- Make abundant use of natural sunlight: Water features are even more beautiful when they have sunlight shining through their water streams, gives off the impression of bonding with nature. Being caressed by light, this thought was once linked with the spiritual world, while for other water, one of the sacred four elements.
- Water cools your gardens: Having running water cools the garden down and makes it a pleasant place to enjoy. It also enables you to have aquatic and semi-aquatic plants growing in the garden. Having a running or still water in the garden gives a cooling and blissful effect. The water generally used in fountains and ponds needs to be crystal clear, hence increases the maintenance process.
- Water introduces serenity in your garden: A fountain creates a tranquil sound, that is ideal for you to live in a noisy neighborhood or in the city. You might be knowing about many therapies in the mountainside or seaside, oceans, and rivers all related to water therapy.
‘Blue Space’- Urban benefits:
You probably now know that being close to water can induce feelings of calm and the artists, poets have always associated it with the sense of awe and tranquillity. But think about water delivering the same wide-ranging benefits that urban green infrastructure brings!
A temporary pop-up in urban squares increases participants’ engagement with shore and decrease their stress levels and increased their subjective well-being. People tend to be more physically active in environments where there is access to water, and you’re more likely to meet new people there. A soft and visual stimulus of water, patterns of light falling on it as it flows, holds abundant attention without any conscious effect. Human curiosity to experience a water feature or water park is an environmental benefit in the process of psychological restorations.
Understanding the impacts of both green and blue spaces encourage our cities to approach blue design in an innovative way. A wide range of interactive and passive water features that serve as stormwater management, sedimentation filters within our cities increase opportunities to play, curiosity and stress alleviation. Water in a public space is not only a decorative element but performs other important functions too that go beyond social aspects.
Sustainable solutions for urban design include water elements at different scales with respect to affecting the urban microclimates. Water management and spatial planning integration have become a major concern for urban planners in recent decades. Innovative practices and technologies like pavements, continuous root zones, cisterns, green roofs, underground road facilities, conservation landscapes, and stormwater management ponds.
Furthermore, beyond the well-being, the water provides in public spaces, it actually does connect people to each other and can be the champion to cross-sectional, urban planning to achieve resilient cities. It’s really amazing and rejuvenating to which the extent of water is in our day-to-day lives.
Don’t have ready access to a vast body of water? Here’s what you can do:
- Fill a tub, throw some bath salts, light candles, plant small water plants and attach a running water pipe flowing through the stones, there you are, your at-home water tranquility.
- Buy a fish pond with fishes and aquatic plants to make your living spaces look different and soothing.
- Be mindful of small bodies of water your encounter: fountains, ponds, pools, and streams.
- Pay close attention to how different you feel when you are near shore or beach.
- Capture the picturesque images in your cameras and phone.
- Invest in water features for your home or office, a water feature can rejuvenating addition to a hectic space. The sounds can also help in blocking out chaos like traffic and provides a visual treat to your eyes.
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