How Our Surroundings Shape Us

Author:  Kari Tulasi

When we hear the word “environment,” we often imagine forests, oceans, or polluted cities. But our environment begins with the room we wake up in. From that small space, it expands to our home, school or workplace, neighbourhood, city, country, and finally the entire Earth. Each layer silently shapes how we think, behave, learn, and feel. Even if we don’t notice it, our surroundings constantly influence our everyday life.

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The Power of Everyday Spaces

Imagine entering a sunlit, organised room with fresh air and silence; your mind instantly relaxes. But a dark, messy, noisy room creates irritation and stress. This is environmental psychology: the study of how spaces affect emotions, decisions, habits, and personality.

We often assume our mood comes from within, but the spaces around us strongly affect our feelings. A peaceful bedroom improves sleep; a bright classroom encourages alertness. Nature calms the mind, while gloomy or chaotic places drain energy. Truly, “your environment is not just a background; it is an active partner in your mental well-being.”

The Room: Where The Mind Begins

The simplest room can be the most powerful environment. A cluttered, dim, or noisy room silently drains motivation. A tidy, sunlit, airy room does the opposite: it sharpens focus and lifts mood. Sunlight boosts serotonin (the “feel good” hormone), plants reduce stress and add freshness,colors influence the mind, warm tones energise; cool tones calm.In many Indian homes, students spend long hours preparing for exams. The environment of the study room often decides the quality, not just the quantity of those hours.

Home and Family Atmosphere

A home filled with kindness, communication, and emotional safety builds confidence. A home filled with shouting or pressure can make even talented teenagers feel insecure. Daily habits, tone of voice, and respect shape behaviour more than strict rules do. Homes that allow conversation and expression raise emotionally strong individuals. As psychologists say, “Environments silently teach values.”

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Neighbourhood and Community

The place outside the home also influences daily psychology : Safe and friendly areas build trust, walkable streets support physical health, and parks, libraries, and local shops increase social connection, while clean surroundings promote dignity and responsibility. In contrast, noisy, polluted, unsafe, or unfriendly neighbourhoods cause fear, irritability, and social withdrawal, with these subtle effects shaping personality over time. 

School and Learning Spaces

Classrooms, playgrounds, and libraries shape curiosity, ideas, and social behaviour. Schools that promote creativity build independent thinkers. Schools focused only on marks can create anxiety and fear of failure. For Indian teenagers, where academic pressure is high, supportive teachers and collaborative classrooms greatly reduce stress.

Cities, Streets, and Urban Design

Urban life shapes emotions and behaviour. Noisy, crowded, and dirty areas raise stress, long commutes drain energy, and few green spaces harm mental health. Well-designed cities counter this: green areas reduce anxiety, quiet streets ease irritability, efficient public transport minimises daily frustrations, and pedestrian and bike paths encourage healthier lifestyles. “ Good design prioritizes well-being over luxury ”. 

Nature: The Original Therapist

Nature heals in ways modern environments cannot. Research shows even 20 minutes in greenery reduces stress and improves mental clarity. A walk in the park, watching rain from the balcony, or a sunrise on the terrace works like emotional medicine. “Nature is like a natural charger for your mind.”  In a screen-heavy world, nature becomes a necessary pause button.

The Digital Environment: The Invisible Room

Today’s teenagers live in three environments: home, school, and the digital world. What they watch, read, and scroll online influences their self-esteem, attention span, mood, sleep, and imagination. Positive digital spaces can inspire and motivate, while toxic online content fosters comparison, insecurity, and anxiety. Therefore, the digital environment requires the same careful management and attention as physical surroundings.

How Daily Surroundings Affect Us?

Our daily surroundings quietly shape our mood, health, and energy. Light is one of the strongest signals for the brain. Bright morning sunlight reduces melatonin and boosts alertness, which is why studying near a window feels energising. Dim lighting causes tiredness. Blue light keeps us awake but disturbs sleep at night. The rule is simple: let light support your day.

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Colours influence emotions. Warm colours (red, orange, yellow) increase energy but may cause restlessness if overused due to overstimulation of the brain. Cool colours (blue, green, lavender) calm the mind and promote relaxation. Choose colours based on the mood you wish to create.

Noise affects the body more than we realize. Loud sounds raise stress and reduce concentration. Quiet spaces help the mind reset and think clearly.

Plants, trees, and natural views refresh the brain. Even a few minutes around greenery improves focus and lower stress.

Crowded or poorly ventilated rooms raise stress, while open layouts and fresh air make us feel grounded. 

Every person carries an “invisible comfort bubble.” Crowds disturb it, increasing anxiety. Having a small personal corner restores calm and provides mental space.

Conclusion: Shape Your Space, Shape Your Life

From your room to your neighbourhood, city, and country, every layer of your surroundings quietly shapes your emotions, habits, and health. These effects build up over time. Noisy places create irritability, dirty areas normalise unclean habits, while green and open spaces calm the mind. Safe, well-lit spaces encourage positive behaviour.

A healthy environment strengthens the mind and improves balance. Your surroundings can brighten your mood and improve your productivity—or drain your energy if neglected. The empowering truth is: you can enhance your environment. Once you notice how a space affects you, you can redesign it to make life healthier and easier.

The world influences us, but we can influence it too. Environmental psychology teaches us: care for your surroundings, and they will help you grow. Build spaces that support you, and they will guide you toward becoming your best self.

References

1. Main Paper: Stokols, D. (1992). Establishing and maintaining healthy environments: Toward a social ecology of health promotion. American Psychologist, 47(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.47.1.6

2. Jiménez, M. P., et al. (2021). Associations between nature exposure and health: A review of the evidence.  DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18094790. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125471/

3. X. Bai and F. Li, “What Really Helps Recovery from Stress: The Leafiness or Representational Style of Trees in a Virtual Nature?,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, p. 102869, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102869

4. Edgerton, E., McKechnie, J., & Maltby, J. (2025b). Developing a psychological understanding of students’ perceptions of their school environment and the relationship with academic achievement. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 102862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102862