Week 8: Make the Most of Your Space

Your Environment Is Always Influencing You

Power into Week 8 of our 15 Weeks to "Make the Most of Your Year".

Last week, we talked about habits. This week, we expand that conversation — because habits don’t form in isolation, they form in environments.

Your surroundings quietly shape your posture, stress levels, focus, energy, and daily decisions. Most of the time, you don’t even notice it. But your body does.

This week we take a look at all the things that surround and influence you: Your Environment

Environment Drives Behavior

Look at your workspace.
 Look at your living room.
 Look at where you spend most of your day. Ask yourself:

• Is your screen at eye level?

• Is your chair supporting your spine?

• Do you have space to move?

• Is clutter creating mental noise?

>>> When your environment encourages slouching, prolonged sitting, or constant distraction, your body adapts accordingly.

Structure influences function — and so does space

Physical Stress Adds Up

Poor ergonomics create repetitive stress on the spine and nervous system. Over time, this contributes to fatigue, tension, and decreased efficiency. How much you want to change your environment is dependent on how you feel about it. If you are already very efficient and you have a very streamlined environment, congratulations! If you think you could benefit from a little "revamping" of your environment to better support your physical and mental health, then this blog may be of use to you.

Your body adapts to the space you place it in. If your space encourages compression and stillness, that becomes your baseline. If your space encourages movement and alignment, resilience improves.

Week 8 Focus: Upgrade One Environment

You don’t need to redesign your home. You need to improve one area intentionally. Or one area at a time, if you would like to bring more efficiency into your work or home environment.

Your 7-Day Space Upgrade:

1. Reset your workspace.
 Raise your screen. Adjust your chair. Keep feet flat. Support your lower back.

2. Create a movement cue.
 Place a resistance band near your desk. Set a timer to stand every hour.

3. Clear one small area. 


Clutter increases stress signals. Simplicity promotes clarity and calmness. Whether you need to make small adjustments to your work or living space, such as move your screen to eye level, or get a supportive back rest, or you need to "de-clutter" your space so you can think and work better, both are ways to improve your space.

Your environment should support your health — not compete with it.

Make the most of your space, and your habits become easier to maintain.

Use Your Outside Environment

Whether you work from home or go to an office, or you are retired, having a nice place to relax for 10-15 minutes can help release tension. Using your front porch or back porch to sit and soak up the fresh air, sounds, sunshine/sunset, watch people walk by, watch the birds, etc., can be a time just for you, or for you and your significant other - you choose.

If your front/back porch can be easily "spruced up" to be more relaxing or aesthetic, that's another space you can use. Clean it up, add some plants, a rug - whatever works for your space to make the time spent more enjoyable.

Take a Walk - Two Birds with One Stone

If you don't have a space of your own to relax, you can take a walk after work to clear your mind and look at the environment around you - this is a fantastic way to "de-stress". You may do this already by walking your dog, or maybe you have built this into your routine already. That is great, keep it up! Look at it newly, and use the outdoors as your pseudo sanctuary. The important thing to notice while you take a walk, is to actually look at the environment around you. Get out of your head. Look at the trees, the clouds, the grass, the houses, whatever is around you. Don't think about your day so much. Look out - look at the birds, the telephone lines, the planes going by. Do this while you walk around your neighborhood, or even sitting on your porch.

You can also break up the walks to make them more interesting by going to a nearby park or a town near you to walk around the shops. Taking a different walking route around your neighborhood is a good way to give your walks a boost by viewing a new environment.

There are many ways to relax for 15 minutes, but I encourage you NOT to do it in front of the TV, or any monitor or screens. While it may feel good to be online or to be a couch-potato, that is one habit we don't need to reinforce.

As we get older we tend to slow down and move less. You want to find a way to keep your body moving so it works for you when you need it most - your golden years. Taking a walk kills two birds with one stone - it gets your body moving more and your mental noise being less.

This week is about using the space in your environment to help you be more efficient, relaxed, and productive to promote your overall mental and physical health.

There is always room for improvement to help your body move better. If you are having trouble moving, or sleeping so you have energy to move, come see me right away. One habit you should have and reinforce is chiropractic care and your general health. We have patients who see us weekly, bi-weekly and monthly depending on what their needs are. We help our patients get back to doing the things they love…
without relying on endless medications or temporary solutions. Feel better, move better, live better—call today to get started. (408) 984-7444.

Our services include:

Chiropractic corrective care

Nutrition and Digestion support

Type 2 diabetes support

Stroke patient support

Let us move you into the future,

Richard F. Gringeri, DC