Natural design elements are emerging in buildings worldwide. Some people have grown used to a blank, sterile environment, but biophilic design offers many benefits to inhabitants. They realize there are better alternatives to empty walls and minimal interior decorating.
Biophilic design can introduce better healing with natural elements and an improved look. Incorporating it in hospitals and doctors' offices could give patients more benefits than you would expect.
How can biophilic design help a patient’s healing process? Here’s a look at some of the benefits and how to start introducing them into your facility.
The Stress of Health Care
Many people report feeling nosocomephobia — otherwise known as a fear of hospitals. Other phobias can influence this, such as an aversion to needles, disease or pain. Patients may find any number of things to be afraid of in a hospital, which can increase anxiety and make their stay unpleasant. Health care facilities are meant to be beacons of healing but can often be sources of immense stress.
Hospital staff also report high rates of negative feelings in the workplace. Nearly half of frontline workers say they have felt stressed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost one-quarter also express feelings of anxiety and depression. It would be difficult not to feel this way when working in such heartbreaking conditions. Staff may feel confined by the clinical environments they work in.
Patients may also experience iatrophobia. This is the fear of doctors and medical care. Going to the doctor’s office may be routine for some, but it can be dreadful for others. In fact, one study shows that this phobia can affect a person’s decision to seek treatment. Doctors are there to help their patients be healthy, so not seeing one could lead to many adverse effects.
Stress saturates the medical field. The environment is high stakes in nature, but biophilic design can help mitigate some of that anxiety. Nature is a wonderful force for good, and bringing it into health care spaces could assist patients and staff alike.
The Benefits of Biophilic Design on Healing
Many studies have proven the positive effects of nature on the human mind. However, with modern interior design and increased times in the workplace, getting time outdoors can be challenging. Biophilic design can do a lot to increase patient and physician health.
1. Improved Stress Reaction
Many people are using natural environments to de-stress from work and city environments. Calming down during anxious moments is vital when reducing these negative feelings. Research has shown that biophilic design has had a positive effect on people in stressful situations.
Researchers analyzed people's anxiety levels in different virtual reality office spaces. On average, those in biophilic environments had improved recovery times compared to those in other areas. Exposure to nature significantly affected the first four minutes of this time. The study introduced the idea of using VR to improve stress reactions for patients with limited mobility.
2. Faster Healing Times
Higher stress levels can affect how a patient heals. People with increased anxiety or depression had more extended hospital stays, according to one study. In comparison, those who stayed positive experienced less chance of rehospitalization. Stress affected wound healing more than medical status and demographics. This study shows significant relations between healing and negative moods.
Research proves biophilic design can reduce stress, and it could also improve healing times. Patients who feel more relaxed and optimistic may heal faster and avoid infection. They might even have better outcomes from surgery. Placing more nature in medical spaces could help people recover from operations and wounds quicker.
3. More Pain Relief
Biophilic design could also lead to less pain. People experiencing chronic pain and chemotherapy said natural environments lowered their pain levels. Patients with views of trees also required fewer pain-relief drugs. Even art can make people feel better while in a health care facility. Those who saw brick walls or interpretive art often had more negative reactions and less agreeable notes on their charts.
Exposure to nature affords many benefits to patients, including less stress, quicker healing and pain reduction. All could contribute to a more positive mood, allowing them to return home faster than before. Hospitals and doctors’ offices could become gentler environments for patients if they use biophilic design. This will improve people’s experiences and outcomes.
How to get started in bringing Biophilic Design into Health Care
Natural design can be more than placing plants around a waiting room. You find many more curved lines and soft edges outside rather than harsh angles. Using more delicate lines can give off a more relaxed feeling, whether you’re getting new decor or remodelling.
Additionally, constructing with more natural materials can help bring the outdoors in. Hardwood or wood-replicating floors create a gentler environment. A few plants — real or fake — can add some green that helps patients feel more at peace.
Consider purchasing or building a plant wall if you're looking for a design element incorporating decor and greenery. This style takes foliage out of their pots and displays them beautifully as living wall decorations. They are a great way to include nature in waiting and care rooms.
Make sure there are also plenty of windows. They’re helpful for any plants you choose and are an essential part of biophilic design. Windows provide views of the outdoors and allow natural light in. You could use a combination of thin and thick curtains to adjust the light to patient comfort levels.
You could include even more natural environments by creating marine-themed designs. Fish tanks and water-inspired art can draw interest from patients of any age. The soft blues and purples could also help patients relax before, during or after receiving care.
Use Biophilic Design to Heal Patients
Research has proven natural elements in decoration have many benefits. They improve healing and relieve stress and pain. This is extremely valuable for the experiences of everyone in doctors’ offices and hospitals. Use biophilic design to create a better atmosphere for workers and patients that spend time in these facilities.
Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated.com and has over 5 years of writing experience. Her work has been featured on The National Association of Realtors, the American Society of Home Inspectors, and other reputable publications. For more from Rose, you can follow her on Twitter.