Life is stressful enough, but when the temperatures begin to drop, the leaves fall to the ground, and the wind and snow arrives, stress levels can get even higher. Even a hot cup of coffee in the morning can lose its effectiveness if you are rushing to make it on the way out the door.
Coffee can help you to stress less and focus on comfort and coziness instead. With the following tips, you can use coffee to bring warmth and love into your home, your break room, and your work-space.
Coffee, Cozy, and Hygge
The Danish concept of hygge (pronounced “hyoo-gah”) is the process of creating and embracing feelings of familiarity, love and warmth. Hygge promotes relaxation, being in the presence of soothing, cozy, gentle things, and designing a sanctuary for yourself.
Coffee goes hand in hand with this philosophy. There are few better examples of hygge than freshly brewed coffee in the morning, but it goes far beyond the physical warmth you feel holding that full coffee cup.
The true hygge and coffee connection happens when you brew it the old-fashioned way. Rejuvenate your olfactory senses by grinding the coffee beans, inhaling the scent of fruit, nuts, berries, and chocolate.
Coffee craftsmen and old-school coffee fans use a percolator filled with water and coffee, set it on the stovetop, then sit back and take in the relaxing yet stimulating smells that emanate throughout the house.
Other coffee fans may prefer to combine hygge with the pour-over method and enjoy the feeling of warmth that comes from listening, watching, and smelling as the water pours through the coffee grounds in the ceramic dripper.
Another option is roasting your coffee and breathing in the savory scents that fill the air. Finally, indulge yourself by cozying up in a nook, wrapping the blankets around you, enjoying your coffee, and turning off those winter blues.
Coffee and a Welcoming Break Room
You can establish the same concepts of coffee and hygge in your workplace break room. The employee break room can sometimes be a contentious magnet for venting and general dissatisfaction. That atmosphere can be changed by redesigning the space and adding some coffee to the mix, creating a sanctuary for your coffee break.
As coffee is an integral part of this common meeting area, you can start to change the aura of the break room here. First, upgrade the coffee maker, if necessary, to make it as easy as possible for colleagues to get that cup fast.
Then, provide a variety of coffee appropriate for winter, including flavored coffee such as cinnamon sticky bun, gingerbread, and apple strudel. Added delights like caramel, chocolate syrup, peppermint extract, and creamers can transform an ordinary cup of coffee into a winter wonderland that allows you to handle your day with positivity, warmth, and energy.
Have some upbeat music playing softly in the background and some comfy pillows in calming colors to make time in the break room less stressful and more relaxing. Give your workplace break room a coffee shop vibe. Top off any of those activities with a winter coffee brew and a supportive community, and your day will only improve from there.
Creating a Workplace Haven With Coffee and Hygge
If you want to add some comfort, coffee, and coziness to your workspace, you can create an inviting home away from home right at your desk, starting with your coffee cup. Bring your favorite mug from home as a reminder of the warm, cozy feelings you’ve established there.
Go a step further and bring your favorite coffee with you as well. Allow yourself to have mindful moments away from the stress of your job by recreating moments of relaxation and peacefulness.
A comfortable space is critical to your mental health and productivity rates. Recent studies show that comfortable workspaces increase productivity, lessen fatigue, and reduce the chances of severe musculoskeletal disorders.
Aside from that important cup of coffee, you can also add other features to your desk to make it a refuge from work stress. Consider adding greenery and a light therapy lamp to combat stress and depression.
Drape a snugly knit blanket over the back of your chair, and place meaningful photos or decor on your desk or the walls of your cubicle. These comfortable touches can ease your stress and make the good vibes from that warm mug of coffee last even longer.
CBD, Holistic Remedies and Coffee
With winter comes extra stress that often compromises our immune systems, leading to colds, sinus infections, and the flu. Coffee acts in several remarkable ways to help our bodies, including as an antioxidant, diuretic, digestive stimulant, and a central nervous system stimulant. A strong cup of coffee can relieve hayfever and allergies, and raise dopamine and energy levels to improve our mood.
Coffee combined with CBD (cannabidiol), a substance derived from the Sativa plant, provides a variety of health benefits, including anxiety reduction. When CBD and caffeine are blended, they activate similar pathways in the brain.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that this combination supplies the alertness desired from coffee without the sometimes harsh physical effects of the caffeine in coffee. Start with small doses of CBD in coffee, such as a drop or two first thing in the morning, to gauge how much CBD-infused coffee is the right amount for you.
However, coffee offers more far-reaching holistic and environmental remedies. Here are some ways that coffee can be used around the house to make your environment cozier, relaxing, and stress-free:
Use Coffee Grounds as a Natural Deodorizer:
It can be ideal for use as a household cleaner or as a relaxing, eco-friendly face soap and body exfoliant and scrub. Additionally, unused coffee grounds help eliminate foul smells from the air, especially from enclosed places like refrigerators and pantries.
Coffee Grounds Can Fertilize Your Plants:
Look ahead to spring by saving coffee grounds for your garden or compost pile. With 2% nitrogen by volume, coffee grounds are an excellent organic resource to spread on and cultivate into the soil come spring.
The grounds provide a perfect environment for microorganisms to grow as they use nitrogen for growth and reproduction. The additional nutrients in the grounds will fertilize your plants and improve soil quality for some spring and summer hygge in a few months.
Use Coffee & Coffee Essential Oil Aromatherapy to Bring Energy to a Room:
Add a blend of these products to incense or candles adds warmth and an accompanying warm scent that will clear your senses and prepare you for the holiday season.
The versatility of coffee will keep you and your home full of natural goodness and inviting aromas. Sometimes that’s all you need to experience some relaxation in your home or workplace.
De-stress Your Life with Coffee
Coffee can do much more for you than sit in that travel mug or tumbler on your way to work. It can change your life for the better by helping to cut down or eliminate the stress you experience at home and work. This quality is especially important during the winter season when reduced daylight, the holidays, and general busyness can amplify stress.
Enjoy your coffee in as relaxed a state as possible, whether that’s curled up in a chunky blanket and reading a book at home or taking a break from a busy work shift. Coffee equals hygge, and that means less stress and mess and more coziness and self-care.
