It’s late afternoon and my eyes cross from looking at my computer screen all day. The thump, thump, thump of the bass on my husband’s computer speakers in our shared office matches the pulse of the headache building behind my eyes.
My fingers slow on the keyboard as words escape me. Deadline be damned. Blurry vision, fuzzy brain, limbs as tight as if I’d shared the back seat of a Mini Cooper with a gorilla on a 10-hour road trip. I’d call it the post-lunch work slump, but it’s a little late for that. I just want to get this work done for the day!
Flagging energy, brain fog, and physical stiffness dog everyone from time to time. In frustration, you watch productive hours slip away due to these pesky intrusions.
It’s tempting to blame your body for not cooperating. But your body is not the only culprit. What about your environment? In particular, what about the air you’re breathing?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend 90 percent of their time in enclosed spaces – from homes to offices, to schools and stores. If you add in time spent in vehicles (particularly during seasons of inclement weather), the percentage of indoor time is greater.
Think of what that means for your predominant source of air.
In enclosed spaces, the air grows stale, even with the fan on the furnace or air conditioner running. Outdoor sounds are muted. And natural light becomes diffused as it passes through glass and window coverings.
Almost makes you want to escape outside. Or just crack open a window for a minute. But wouldn’t that make things worse?
Don’t Fall for the Myth
There’s a common misperception that pollution only exists outdoors, therefore we must keep our homes closed to prevent harmful particles from getting in. In truth, for all but those in urban centers or near certain industrial zones, more good is gained from letting outdoor air in than not.
And indeed, there are pollutants we trap inside our homes that must be cleared out.
According to the EPA, concentrations of pollutants indoors can be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor air pollution. It sounds far-fetched until you consider how many ways pollution can occur within a given building.
10 Insidious Ways Pollution Collects in Your Home
You may have heard of some indoor air pollutants because they can be detected and mitigated or prevented. Most common are dangerous gasses such as radon and carbon monoxide, and substances like asbestos.
You’ve also experienced the effects of accumulations of dust (achoo!) and tobacco smoke (cough! cough!). But those are merely the obvious sources of poor indoor air quality.
Here are other culprits:
- carpets, drapes, and mattresses made of synthetic materials.
- plywood, particle board, and composite wood used in furniture and home construction.
- paints and varnishes when freshly applied and for several days after.
- air fresheners, perfumes, and household cleaners.
- laptops, notebook computers, and printers.
- sources of combustion such as gas stoves, fireplaces, and candles.
- accumulations of moisture leading to mold and mildew.
- furry pets that shed dander.
In other words, pollution-emitting objects surround us everywhere – at home, school, and at work. While the number of particles, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and toxins released by any of these items remains individually insignificant, collectively they can build up over time – especially in a well-insulated, closed-up environment.
Your body could be giving you clues it’s had enough.
How Your House (or Office) Is Making You Feel… And Function
Think only seasonal allergies and cold viruses cause sniffles and sneezes? Think again. Dust mites and pet dander can make the indoors just as allergy-inducing as a spring day in full bloom. Ditto for asthma attacks caused by indoor allergens.
Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, headaches, dizziness, lethargy. These can be indications of irritants in the air.
Studies have also linked heart disease and some respiratory diseases to the air we breathe while cooped up inside.
It’s not all physical though. Research has also found a decrease in cognitive function – meaning worse performance by students and decreased productivity among workers – related to poorer air quality.
Thankfully there’s a simple solution that doesn’t require ripping up carpeting, selling furniture, or giving Milo the Maltipoo to your Aunt Sally. Plus it’s one that not only helps clear up the negative effects of indoor pollution, it also brings a whole host of positive outcomes.
The solution? Open the windows! And more than a sliver.
What’s on the Breeze Out There is Surprisingly Good
Air is air, right? And air without pollutants is clean air. But not all clean air is equal.
Outdoors the air benefits from the effects of plants and trees. As children, we learn about photosynthesis, the process by which plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. That’s one way in which nature helps clean the air.
However, trees magnify this purifying effect by absorbing both CO2 and particulate matter. According to Dr. Qing Li, author of Forest Bathing, “a single tree… can absorb 4.5kg of air pollutants a year.”
There’s more. In addition to oxygen, trees give off antimicrobial substances called phytoncides. When inhaled, these natural oils can prompt an immune response in which natural killer (NK) cells go to work fighting viruses and tumor cells. NK cells also release anticancer proteins.
And opening the windows isn’t something you should do solely on fair weather days.
Rainy days bring even greater benefits in the form of negative ions. Negative ions normally occur in greater abundance outdoors than inside. But moving water in particular causes an increase in negatively charged particles (a phenomenon called the “Lenard effect” or waterfall effect), which is why it’s especially beneficial to open the windows after a rainstorm.
As Linda Åkeson McGurk points out in her book No Such Thing as Bad Weather, “Negative ions bond with, and remove, dust particles, mold, bacteria, and allergens in the air. They get rid of the germs.”
Now that’s good stuff!
How Boosting the Fresh Air Indoors Helps You
“Fresh air impoverishes the doctor.”
Danish Proverb
You can guess by now letting out the bad (allergens and VOCs) and inviting in the good (phytoncides, negative ions, oxygen-rich air) would make a difference. And indeed it brings a surprising host of benefits. Increased amounts of fresh air lead to:
- Better sleep
- Improved concentration and cognition
- More energy and alertness
- Increased mental clarity
- Greater sense of well-being
- Fewer headaches and other indoor allergen & VOC reactions
- Fewer illnesses from viruses
When else can such a simple action that costs nothing bring so much good?
I push away from my keyboard and stand up to pull the cord on the window blinds. Right outside I see the shivers of air rustling the leaves of our Serviceberry tree. I unlock the sash and give a heave to slide the window open. Immediately the breeze catches the papers on my desk and scatters them to the floor. I laugh as I chase them.
Then since I’m already on my feet I walk to the kitchen to refill my water glass. Once I return to my office, I can already feel the difference in the air. It’s fresher, lighter. My mood lifts and my head clears.
I open a new window on my laptop and let my fingers jitterbug across the keys to the thump of the bass.
Bottom Line: Your home or workplace accumulates pollutants from a variety of sources. It’s hard to avoid and can increase sickness and decrease cognitive performance, among other things. Opening the windows not only clears out indoor pollutants but freshens the air with negative ions, and phytoncides, and increases oxygen volume. You’ll find yourself happier, less plagued by viruses and allergies, and possibly even energetic enough to wash all those windows you opened (or not!).
Before you go, get my FREE bonus:
Frequently Asked Questions:
When is it best to open the windows? And for how long?
Opening the windows when the air is cooler outside, such as first thing in the morning tends to provide the most benefits. You can moderate indoor temperature this way by allowing cool air in for one to three hours (until outdoor temperatures start rising)and then closing up to trap that cool air in and keep warmer air out. This works best during shoulder seasons, but if you have cool nights in summer, or not-so-cold days in winter, then it’s just as effective.
In colder climates, it could help to crack a window open a few inches for a brief time to freshen the air. But obviously, there are limits to how effective this is when you’re trying to keep your house heated.
I have a whole house fan. Will it help?
Absolutely! Whole house fans when used properly do wonders to exchange stale air for fresh.
Before turning on a whole house fan, make sure to open at least one window. Even better – open windows on opposite sides of the house to allow for cross-current airflow.
In the spring and summer months or in warmer climates, run the fan for one to three hours early in the day when temperatures are lower. By doing so, you can save on the need to run air conditioning by capturing all that cool air. In the shoulder seasons, particularly in northern climates, run the fan for an hour or two in the late evening.
But I have allergies…
You may need the clearing effect of fresh outdoor air more than others. Indoor allergens such as dust mites and pet dander can cause as many (or more) problems as the irritants in the air outside.
During high pollen season, keep windows closed and run air conditioning or furnace fans to circulate indoor air and prevent humidity from building up.
After a rainstorm, seize the opportunity to freshen your home. Rain washes allergens out of the air, so you’re safe to open windows for a brief time afterward.
For more information on how to cope with indoor allergies, check out Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America website.
