Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Indoor Water Fountains – Psychological Benefits

An indoor water fountain is the source of many benefits, physical, environmental, psychological and aesthetic, to anyone in its immediate environment. I’ve discussed the physical and environmental advantages elsewhere; this article will address the psychological perks.

The amazing water fountain, with its many benefits, represents a wise and solid investment for one’s home, especially in light of today’s difficult economy. These benefits are all intertwined to some degree and in this blog, I’ll focus on the psychological side.

In today’s hectic world, just about anything we can do to ‘decompress’ from a day’s activities will aid in our mini-recovery. There are many ways to relax, regroup, and revitalize. Some people choose vigorous exercise; others meditate; still others have a cocktail with friends, or just hang out and socialize. Studies show that just about anything you believe to be relaxing is likely to have that effect on you to some degree – for a while, at least.

There are hundreds of Self-Help books available, any one of which could point you toward numerous ways to unwind after a full day. And then, of course, there is your indoor water fountain.

Solid research in this area has validated what people have known for thousands of years. The proximity of running, falling, rippling water, all by itself, produces a relaxation response in human beings. That relaxation response manifests as reduced muscle tension, lower breathing rate, and a slower heartbeat.

This response is so built into our nervous systems that if we simply engage in full visualization of the experience of being around a fountain or a natural source of flowing water (such as a mountain stream or bubbling brook), our bodies respond as though we were actually there!
Now, this takes some disciplined practice to perfect and until one becomes experienced, real world distractions will tend to lessen the effects that could otherwise be experienced.

This is much the same as the process of learning to master a meditation technique. The good news is that you don’t have to become a Zen master, because your indoor water fountain is a real-life source of the experiences that facilitate stress reduction.

Your indoor water fountain is there for you whenever you want or need to relax, and via that relaxation, it will generate the stress-reduction processes. Even when relaxation is not your intended goal, having an indoor water fountain in your environment will generate relaxation and stress reduction 24/7-- all you have to do is to get within earshot of the fountain.

The closer you are to your indoor water fountain, the louder the water sounds and the more it will mask other environmental sounds, assisting you to focus on the restorative water sound and make you less vulnerable to potentially distracting 'other' sounds and thoughts.

So, your indoor water fountain is a multi-tasking unit, providing you with a range of benefits which will not only enhance your environment in nmany ways, but will directly benefit your emotional and physical state as well.
I have several water fountains in my environment and have had for many years. The thought of my not having immediate access to the stress reducing benefits is one I would rather not entertain.

This is all the more true for me beacuse I know that the very reasonable monetary cost of an indoor water fountain far outweighs the physical and emotional cost of not having this resource close at hand.

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