The summer is in full swing and spending time outside has never been so popular. Residents at care homes love to enjoy the sunshine, it always puts a smile on their faces, so Protect Canopies looks at some benefits that a canopy can bring to any care setting whether it’s for therapy or nature.
Getting the residents socialising outside
Since the pandemic in 2020, socialising outside has always been safer and care homes will continue to do this to keep the residents, staff and visitors safe and feel at ease. Care homes will look at ways how to bring their residents out into the sunshine after we’ve been in a few lockdowns over the last couple of years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “Indoor spaces are riskier than outdoor spaces where it might be harder to keep people apart and there’s less ventilation”.
Time spent outside when the sun is shining makes everything more enjoyable.
Nature heals
We all know that nature heals and spending time in the outdoors can help patients feel better about themselves. When researching we have come across many articles that something as simple as windows that look out onto a garden filled with trees, foliage and flowers, can actually improve attention space, reduce stress and even help patients heal after surgery.
Protecting mental health
We have talked about how nature heals but it is also beneficial to our mental health. Spending time in green spaces or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical well-being. The mental health charity Mind explains “doing things like growing food or flowers, exercising outdoor or being around animals can have lots of positive effects”. Mind also says “researching ecotherapy (a type of formal treatment which involves doing activities outside in nature) has shown it can help with mild to moderate depression.
Being outside in natural light can also be helpful for people who experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that affects people during particular seasons or times of the year. The feedback given from people who suffer from this is that – getting into nature has helped them with many other types of mental health problems.
How canopies can encourage residents to sit outside
If a care setting provides a canopy that residents can sit underneath, without the need to rush indoors if it rains, they may be more inclined to venture outside and enjoy the great outdoors. This investment will get people who have limited mobility to keep more physically active instead of staying seated indoors.
Canopies protect all year round
Canopies are great for use all year round, they protect us from both the sun and rain and give the residents a chance to enjoy the healing benefits of nature throughout every month of the year.
- keeping you cooler in the warm summer months, providing shade.
- providing a sheltered area where residents and staff can take time out, recharge and listen to the calming sounds of the rain whilst keeping dry.
At Protect Canopies, we offer a bespoke canopy design service. Our team of designers, with over 25 years of design experience, can design canopies to specific sizes, shapes and configurations to suit your exact requirements, in any colour to suit any situation. All of our canopies are on fixed-price contracts, with no surprise extra costs giving you complete peace of mind. Our knowledgeable team will work with you to create the perfect structure. As part of our service, we offer a free site visit and free CAD so you’ll be able to see exactly what you are buying before committing. Our customer service is often referred to in our 5-star Google ratings as it’s an integral part of who we are and what we offer.
