Wood and Wellbeing: The Biophilic Benefits of Solid Wood Furniture
Few would dispute the pleasure a beautifully-made piece of solid wood furniture brings to a room – and even, dare we say, a life.
But how many people know that surrounding yourself with exquisitely crafted oak or walnut furniture can also boost your physical and mental wellbeing?
In this article we explore these ‘biophilic’ benefits and outline why the right furniture in the right environment can mean so much more to our everyday lives.
What is biophilia?
Biophilia literally means ‘love of life’. It describes an affinity for living things and the natural world.
At its heart, it speaks to our innate human need to connect with nature.
‘Biophilic design’, it follows, utilises materials, shapes, patterns and textures found in nature with the aim of creating healthier and more enjoyable spaces in which to live and work.
In the twenty-first century it is becoming an increasingly important movement among forward-thinking architects, town planners, designers and furniture makers.
Why is biophilic design so important?
The majority of people in the developed world spend more than 80% of their lives inside.
But traditional office and retail environments can cut off occupants from nature, while homes and recreational spaces are increasingly urbanised with limited contact with the outdoors.
With this can come a host of damaging physical and psychological issues, such as stress, anxiety, depression and lethargy.
How can biophilic design be implemented?
Biophilia’s answer is straightforward: bring more nature into our homes and workplaces. This can be done in several ways:
Natural light – more and/or larger windows to strengthen our connection to the outdoors
Movement – creating a layout which encourages explicit physical activity, or curved walls or furniture which infers movement
Airflow – whenever the weather allows, open doors and windows to encourage the replacement of stagnant air with fresh
Water features and ponds – when viewed from a window or glass door water can create both visual and sonic stimulation
Plants – an obvious but very effective means to bring the outside in
Animals – the health benefits of cats and dogs are well established, but even a fish tank can bring calm and serenity to a room
What has all this to do with wood and furniture?
Wood can play an important part in making our environment healthier and more appealing. It can create a direct link to nature.
Academic studies across the world have identified a number of benefits wood can bring to our wellbeing. These include:
Increased comfort
Lower stress levels
Faster healing
Delays to negative effects of ageing
We’ll look briefly at each one in turn.
1. Improved comfort
Wood is naturally hypoallergenic and promotes good air quality. Furniture and other home furnishings made from solid wood is analogous with nature – especially when furniture echoes biomorphic forms, e.g. curved tabletops and asymmetric designs.
Anyone who has spent time dining on a solid oak table or working from a solid cherry desk will be familiar with the natural warmth and comfort these timbers exude.
Not only is it the appearance of a wooden table which evokes nature but also in our response to how it physically feels to touch it.
These innate responses are supported by a 2006 Canadian study by Rice et al (Note 1) which demonstrated that the colours and texture of wood generate “warmth”, “comfort”, and “relaxation” in people - three feelings that were harder to attain in a less-natural furnished room.
2. Lower stress levels
One of the most well-established benefits of solid wood within our living spaces is the reduction of stress.
At an intuitive level, seeing grain patterns in wood reminds us of nature and generates the feeling of being in a forest.
Similarly, wood is a great absorber of sound. These pleasing acoustic properties helps create a peaceful environment.
But the calming nature of solid wood goes much further than this.
In 2005 an influential Japanese study by Sakuragawa et al (Note 2) compared the physiological benefits of wood versus steel in panelled rooms.
Those occupying the steel-clad room showed symptoms of low, or even depressed moods, while participants surrounded by wood panelling exhibited no such signs.
Differences in blood pressure was even more marked, with increases in the steel room and decreases in the wooden room.
A later Austrian study in 2011 by Kelz et al (Note 3) recorded similar results.
Over the period of 12 months, nearly 40 high school students were taught in either classrooms with real wood floors, ceilings and walls and one lacking any kind of wood ornamentation.
Pupils in the wooden classroom reported significantly lower levels of stress and recorded reduced blood pressure.
Countless other studies return similar results.
Indeed, solid wood furniture, home decoration and other wood-related products have been shown to aid rest.
For example, sleeping each night in a solid wood bed not only reduces anxiety and blood pressure but also improves your emotional state and levels of relaxation.
3. Faster healing
A study in 1984 by Ulrich (Note 4) unearthed evidence to suggest that surgical patients with exposure to nature and the outdoors recovered more quickly from operations.
Post-operative patients with a hospital room looking out to trees and greenery were discharged sooner than their counterparts whose room windows faced a brick wall.
Its conclusions add further physiological benefits to wood.
4. Maintains physical and mental capacities in the elderly
Another Japanese study, this time by Anme et al (Note 5), examined the effect of wooden furniture and other objects on the social interactions of 44 elderly residents at a care home.
Activity was monitored and compared across two groups: one with use of wooden tables, chairs and tableware; the other with plastic replacements.
Results showed that social interactions and physical activity were significantly higher in the group with exposure to wooden furniture.
In short, the use of wooden products improved the possibility of preventing mental and physical decline in the elderly.
Further research
In 2017 Planet Ark, an Australian environmental organisation, published a major study (Note 6) pulling together existing and new research on the health benefits of wood in our homes, offices and public buildings.
It conclusions reinforced findings from the studies we’ve discussed above - that exposure to wood products and interiors led to health benefits in common with spending time in nature. These include:
Improved emotional state, and self-expression
Improved air quality by moderating humidity, encouraging easier breathing
Feelings of warmth and comfort
Lower blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels
Wood is good
Stress-related illnesses, in particular heart disease and mental health issues, are set to remain one of the biggest contributors of disease and death in the twenty-first century.
Add to this increasing urbanisation, our growing dislocation with nature, and greater use of and dependency on technology, and opportunities to access the physical and mental benefits of nature are decreasing dramatically.
But if contemporary life is making it hard for us to venture out into nature, we can actually derive some of its benefits by doing the opposite — bringing a piece of the forest into our homes and workplaces through wooden furniture and furnishings.
In this article we have outlined the growing wall of evidence highlighting the positive effects on our health of incorporating wood in our homes, workplaces and schools - reduced stress, lower blood pressure levels and heart rates, and increases in productivity, creativity and rates of wellbeing.
So next time you are considering a table for your dining room, a bed for your bedroom or a desk for your home office, remember that wood is good in more ways than we previously thought.
It could improve your comfort, relaxation and productivity – as well as offering countless other physical and mental benefits.
Richard England, Founder, Glencairn Furniture
Notes
1. “Appearance of Wood Products and Psychological Well-Being”
2. “Influence of wood wall panels on physiological and psychological responses”
3. “Interior wood use in classrooms reduces pupils’ stress levels”
4. “Health benefits of gardens in hospitals”
5. “Wood products improve the quality of life of elderly people in assisted living”