Top 7 Health Benefits Of Owning A Custom Aquarium
Installing a custom aquarium in your home or office is a great step for your health, as well as for the wellbeing of your family, friends, and clients.
“How can fish swimming around in a glass box improve my health?” you may wonder. You may be surprised to learn that there have been several studies on this very subject, with many of them coming to the conclusion that aquariums reduce stress and anxiety, help hyperactive kids calm down, and even improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
And that’s just the beginning! Here are the top 7 benefits of having a custom aquarium in your home or office.
1. Reduces Blood Pressure And Heart Rate
Do you have problems with high blood pressure or a fast-beating heart? Science says that if you do, getting an aquarium may help.
In a recent study by the National Marine Aquarium and two prestigious universities, the researchers found that watching aquarium displays decreased the blood pressure and heart rates in the study participants.
This explains why many doctors and dentists install aquariums in their offices. Looking at the displays before seeing the doctor or undergoing a procedure helps patients feel calmer.
2. Reduces Stress And Anxiety
When you are stressed out or anxious, your heart rate and blood pressure go up. Sometimes, the latter can actually cause the former.
Since watching aquariums lowers blood pressure and heart rate, it follows that it also reduces stress and anxiety.
From a scientific perspective, we see the stress and anxiety-reducing effects of aquariums start in the brain. Looking at aquariums can trigger a neurochemical in your brain called GABA, also known as the anti-anxiety neurochemical. When GABA is activated, it limits nerve transmissions in the brain, thereby reducing feelings of anxiousness.
Why watching fish swimming around in an aquarium produces this calming effect in your brain is not fully known. It may have something to do with the slow, peaceful movements of the fish and the aquarium’s soothing color palette.
3. Improves Mood
It’s fun to look at an aquarium. Fish provide humans with lots of entertainment as they swim around, eat, interact with one another, and show off their beautiful shapes and colors.
For this reason, perhaps, the researchers in the aforementioned study found that watching an aquarium improves people’s moods.
Another reason may be that observing fish allows you to focus on something besides your daily stressors. This is called escapism. Escapism can help you let go of negative emotions and concentrate on something positive, as well as totally unrelated to what’s currently happening in your life.
What better way to escape real life than by watching carefree fish live out theirs?
4. Improves Sleep
Having an aquarium in your room may help you sleep better. That’s because the watery sounds of the aquarium, plus the subdued lights and the hypnotic movement of the fish and marine plant life, can lull you into a peaceful state of mind.
In addition to these sensory benefits, aquariums help you sleep by lowering your blood pressure and heart rate, and therefore your stress levels. When you’re calm and no longer stressed, sleep becomes much easier.
5. Reduces Pain
Here’s another reason that dentists and doctors put aquariums in their offices. Research shows that people who watch aquariums increase their pain tolerance. This is especially helpful for children who go to the doctor and are worried about getting shots or other painful treatments.
6. Helps Calm Hyperactive Children
If you have a hyperactive child, letting them have or watch an aquarium may help them calm down. This logic goes back to what we learned earlier about how aquariums can cause the brain to release GABA, the anti-anxiety neurochemical. But it also stems from the distraction that fish swimming peacefully in their aquarium provide.
7. Improves Alzheimer’s Symptoms
If you have a family member who suffers from Alzheimer’s or dementia, you may consider installing a custom aquarium to improve their quality of life.
In astudy by Purdue University, researchers found that watching aquariums can improve disruptive behaviors as well as eating habits in Alzheimer’s patients. “Disruptive behaviors” include wandering away, yelling, and displaying aggression.
Conclusion: A Custom Aquarium Is A Great Choice For Your Physical, Mental, And Emotional Health
It’s clear that aquariums provide many amazing health benefits.
Not only can they help you physically by reducing your blood pressure, lowering your heart rate, and increasing your pain tolerance. But they can also boost your emotional health by decreasing your stress and anxiety and improving your mood.
Even those with mental health problems, such as Alzheimer’s patients and ADHD, will feel calmer and happier with an aquarium around.
But where can you get a custom aquarium in the Twin Cities Metro area that fits in your home or office?
We’re glad you asked.
Premier Aquarium Services provides the best luxury custom aquariums in Minnesota, particular in the Twin Cities Metro area. Our team of experts will install a beautiful fish tank full of fascinating, thriving marine life in your commercial or residential building, according to your specifications.
Call us today at (612) 243-1335 or send us a messagehere so we can get started planning your custom aquarium.