Studies have long proven the environment you’re in can directly affect how you think and feel. Designer Melanie Falvey explains how a beautiful home can increase happiness, creativity, and productivity, as certain layouts and colors have a powerful effect on our mood. Apart from that, a healthy and inviting home can also help us handle stress and fatigue more effectively.

These insights take on new meaning today, with new technologies making homes smarter and domestic comfort even more advanced. With smart home technology, tedious, everyday tasks are made simpler, but perhaps its most important contribution is how it helps boost the health and wellness of its users. A study conducted by The Design Journal reveals that a smart home’s overall design has everything to do with health. That's because effective smart home solutions take into consideration the homeowner’s everyday emotional needs, desires, and routines.

For one, if you want to keep up with your fitness routine, smart home fitness technology would be a great investment. Digital Trends reports that the market is already teeming with smart gadgets that can help you exercise more effectively, keep track of your weight, and even improve your form. If you have a home gym, you can add The Mirror, which is a smart device equipped with a camera and speakers. It comes with a library of workout classes, which include cardio and strength training, as well as yoga and boxing. No matter what workout you prefer, you can do it right in the comfort of your home anytime with professional assistance.

Individuals with disabilities and the elderly population also benefit from smart home innovations, especially in the case of smart speakers with voice assistants. Gear Brain notes how the increasingly intelligent personalities of virtual assistants are becoming indispensable tools today — most especially for the more vulnerable members of society. For instance, voice assistants can now effectively respond to calls for help and admissions of depression among the mentally ill. Moreover, they also allow the elderly and people with disabilities to control aspects of their home like lighting and heating through voice commands, making it easier for them to live independently. 

On Digitized House, writer Elaine Thompson points out how smart technology can now help support your child’s education, too. Kids can benefit from vocabulary lessons, spelling tests, and even exercises to learn a new language. And if you’re ever worried about turning your kids into demanding adults, Google and Amazon have added features that require children to ask for things politely. These new virtual assistants only respond to courteous questions, which can help you to teach your kids about good behavior in the process. In Maryville University’s analysis of how psychology and education overlap, they note how more and more professionals are establishing connections between mental health and learning success. As smart technology becomes even more integrated into our lives, the educational benefits of smart devices will only improve the performance and mental wellbeing of our children.

In a previous article listing the advantages of smart speakers here on iDevices, we explained how much smart technology has become a part of a typical homeowners life, with nearly one in five U.S. adults having access to smart speakers. Although reasons for installing these devices may vary, these homeowners can now also enjoy the smart home benefits that lead to a healthier mind and body. A sense of control, no matter how small, satisfies psychological instincts in humans, which include helping to reduce stress. After all, it always feels nice to be able to minimize noise with the touch of a button or dim the lights with a simple voice command.