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What Are You Surrounding Yourself With? The Hidden Influences Shaping Your Energy, Sleep & Well-Being
What if your environment is influencing how you think, feel, learn, work, sleep, and connect more than you realize?
And what if creating a better environment isn't about optimizing your life?
It's about becoming more aware.
In this episode of Just Count Me In, Sari Stone explores the environments we move through every day—from our homes and bedrooms to classrooms, offices, meeting rooms, digital spaces, and relationships.
We talk about the light we wake up to, the noise we live with, the importance of silence, the chairs we sit in, movement breaks, exercise, creativity, nature, technology, and even the emotional environments we create for one another.
With a new school year beginning, this conversation is especially relevant for teachers and school leaders thinking about classroom environments, parents creating supportive spaces at home, and business leaders thinking about how offices and meeting spaces can better support the humans inside them.
And there's one question at the heart of the entire episode:
What small change could we make in this environment to better support the humans inside it?
In this episode, we explore:
- Why Sari believes awareness is more useful than constant self-optimization
- How light interacts with our circadian rhythms and sleep
- The health effects associated with excessive environmental noise
- Why silence and periods without constant stimulation may be worth reconsidering
- How physical spaces can influence attention and experience
- Why prolonged sitting matters and why movement belongs in schools and workplaces
- What research says about classroom movement and active breaks
- The relationship between physical activity and executive function
- Why creativity deserves a place in children's environments
- How ergonomic design can better support people at work
- How nature may help restore attention
- The effect of digital interruptions and notifications
- Why our relationships are part of our environment, too
- How to think about feng shui and intentional spaces without turning them into another set of rules
- Using August 8 as a personal moment for reflection and intention
- Why the goal isn't to create the "perfect" environment—but a more human one
A question to take with you:
What small change could you make in your environment to better support the human being inside it?
You don't have to change everything.
Notice one thing.
Then choose.
Research & Further Reading
Light, circadian rhythms & sleep
Chellappa et al. — Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults.
Read the research on PubMed
Böhmer et al. — Are we still in the dark? A systematic review on personal daily light exposure, sleep-wake rhythm, and mood.
Read the systematic review on PubMed
Environmental noise
World Health Organization — Guidance on environmental noise and associated health effects, including sleep disturbance, cardiovascular risks, and cognitive impacts.
Read the WHO guidance
Movement, exercise & the brain
Mao et al. — 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis examining cognitively engaging physical activity and executive function in children and adolescents.
Read the research on PubMed
Teng et al. — 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examining cognitively engaging physical activity and executive function in children and adolescents.
Read the 2025 research on PubMed
Brain breaks & schools
Reyes-Amigo et al. — 2025 systematic review of school-based active breaks, classroom behavior, executive functions, and physical fitness.
Read the systematic review on PubMed
Sitting, chairs & ergonomics
Rhodes et al. — Systematic review examining sedentary behavior and health in adults.
Read the research on PubMed
Leyshon et al. — Systematic review of ergonomic interventions for office workers.
Read the ergonomic research on PubMed
Channak et al. — Systematic review examining chair interventions and lower-back pain/discomfort among office workers.
Read the chair research on PubMed
Nature & attention
Stevenson et al. — Systematic review examining Attention Restoration Theory and exposure to natural environments.
Read the research on PubMed
Creativity & well-being
Hugh-Jones et al. — 2025 systematic review examining arts and creative activities and adolescent mental health and well-being.
Read the research on PubMed
Digital interruptions
Research examining communication notifications found that reducing notification-related interruptions was associated with improved performance and reduced strain in a workplace field experiment.
Read the study on PubMed
The takeaway: You don't need to optimize your life.
You can begin by noticing.
Notice the light.
Notice the noise.
Notice your body.
Notice your surroundings.
Notice what enters your mind.
And then ask:
Does this environment support the human being I want to be?
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Thank you for joining me!
If this episode resonates, please share it with a friend who needs a little inspiration today!
