We might take good care of our home and buy only high-quality furniture, but why might we still feel ill, lose our appetite, feel stressed or depressed?​

Something in our home might still affect our health. Let’s explore 5 of 10 issues in your home that could harm your physical or mental well-being.

1. Paint can harm your health.

When we spend all day at home, why might we feel eye and nose irritation or dizziness? It could be because of the wall paint.

Paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause immune problems and affect the nervous system, causing dizziness, fainting, eye irritation, and difficulty breathing. In the worst case, they may cause fainting and lung damage in the long term.

Paints should contain few volatile organic compounds. Adhesives, sealants, paints, and strong-smelling coatings can all harm our bodies. Paint has 2 recommend levels: Low VOCs = 5-50 g/l and Zero VOCs = less than 5 g/l.

Never forget to check the VOC level before buying paint.


2. Choosing the wrong lighting type can make you have less appetite.

Lighting in your home might be daylight or cool white because that gives a white light that lets us see clearly. In the dining room, however, it can make food look pale, reducing our appetite.

Lighting in dining areas should have warmer tones with a 3000 K color temperature, making dishes look more appetizing and boosting appetite for children and older adults.

In addition to color temperature, perception of space also depends on high color rendering index and flicker values. Light with a low color rendering index will distort perception between objects. You can check the color rendering index by considering the CRI value. The higher the value, the better you will see. A typical lamp has a CRI value of 70-80. In high-standard lighting design, the CRI should be 95-100 or at least 90.




3. Light over your head makes your face look dull.

While working or reading, do you sometimes feel hot, even though you aren’t angry or stressed? So why does this happen?

We can feel hot if ceiling lights are directly above our heads. Shadows from the light can also hurt our eyes and makes our faces look dark and dull.

You can fix your ceiling light position by:

- Ensuring the light isn’t over your bed, because the heat can trigger illness. This will help you avoid sitting and working on your bed or lying down while reading, which can cause pain from poor posture.

- Ceiling lights shouldn’t be over a seat, which can make us feel sick and cause shadows on the page while making our face look dark and dull.




4. Wrong lighting position can make you sick.

Ever felt unwell while watching TV? Or had a headache after waking? Or felt sick and had a sore throat?
These symptoms can all be caused by poorly positioned air conditioners. Supply and return air should both be positioned according on these principles:
- Avoid installing the air conditioner at the head of the bed because we may inhale polluted air at the return point causing illness.
- Avoid installing the air conditioner at the foot of the bed or where cold air blows at the bed causing illness.
- Air conditioning should be at the side of the bed to prevent illness and facilitate maintenance and cleaning.




5. Carpets can cause allergies.