Merriam Webster Dictionary defines stimulus as an agent (such as an environmental change) that directly influences a living organism or organ’s activity. Think when you look at Thanksgiving dinner recipes (agent) and salivate (influenced activity). So what we’re saying is, creating a healthy home environment and healthy living habits can help you achieve all #healthgoals you’ve always wanted to achieve.

Speaking of salivation caused by simply looking at recipes, let’s talk about Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov. In his experiments, he ‘conditioned’ dogs to salivate. And then expect food on hearing a ringing bell, whether or not the food was present in the room.

Why are we talking about this, you wonder? This experiment and its learnings prove we can ‘condition’ our brains into doing what we desire when we desire it. Just like the dogs were conditioned to expect food at hearing the bell (stimulus.)

So if you want to stop snacking on junk food and start exercising, YOU CAN! It’s all about creating a healthy home environment and cultivating healthy living habits for your desired results.

Here’s how creating a healthy home environment can train you to cultivate healthy living habits.

1. Creating a healthy home environment by making junk food disappear

One of the most important healthy living habits is to ditch the packets of Nachos and Oreos for good. The two things that play a major role in making you eat junk food are salt and sugar. They’re extremely beneficial and necessary for the body in the right amounts. But addictive and detrimental to your health if you consume too much.

The taste you can’t resist is due to the sugar or salt that’s often present in fatty foods.

So it’s time to bid farewell to those packaged goodies for creating a healthy home environment. To further support your goal of eliminating junk food and making healthier choices, consider incorporating low-carb food delivery into your routine. This convenient option can help maintain a balanced diet without the need to stock sugary or salty processed foods at home, aligning perfectly with a healthy living environment. Keep them out of sight, out of mind… and out of your tummy!

2. Dedicate a space in your home for working out

You need to separate work from home by creating a designated space to work from. Similarly, you need to pick a space to work out in too! Choose a time of the day. Then choose a space that you religiously devote to moving your body for creating a healthy home environment.

It could be your balcony, porch, or even your living area if you plan to get your roomis on board as your fitness squad! Whichever space you pick, blast some music and make exercising fun to make this healthy living habit stick.

And don’t forget Pavlov’s dog training. Condition your mind to keep at it by giving yourself a reward when you exercise. And alternatively, setting up punishment for when you don’t. Make the punishment hard enough for you to stick to this healthy living habit and the reward good enough to reinforce it!

3. Observe associations and triggers to overcome them

Just like the dogs in Pavlov’s experiment started to think of food when they heard a ringing bell, we’ve come to associate munching on snacks with a lot of conditioned stimuli around the house.

An example? When you feel like something’s missing when you don’t have snacks while watching a good movie!

“As long as we believe it is food that causes us to overeat, we are lost. Television, friends, and weather seem pretty unrelated to what we eat. That’s why they have such a powerful effect on us.”

Brian Wansink, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think

Although that’s fine once in a while, the habit of constant munching can really affect our health (especially with our limitless Netflix bingeing!). So how can you mend this for creating a healthy home environment?

Use one of the simpler healthy living habits. Bring fruits and yummy veggies. Pair them with a delicious dip for whenever you sit in front of the TV and munch away!

4. Creating a healthy home environment for healthy sleep

One essential but one of the more overlooked healthy living habits is to make sure that you get a substantial amount of sleep every night. The last thing our brain needs is more entertainment before bed. So it’s time to ditch the smart phone when you’re trying to get to sleep.

We have some suggestions for creating a healthy home environment for good sleep. Turn off notifications from apps, leaving just phone calls and alarms on. And try keeping your phone away from you or even in a different room (if you can bear it!). Stop saying, ‘I can’t sleep‘ and start cultivating good sleeping habits to live a healthier life.

D’you know what else Roomi does outside of helping its readers help create a healthy home environment? With our ever-increasing lists of rooms and roommates across the world, we help you find your perfect match! Download the app here and hop on the easiest ride home, ever!