10 Issues in your home that could harm your physical or mental well-being (2)
Created By RISC | 3 years ago
Last modified date : 2 years ago
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 another 5 of 10 issues in your home that could harm your physical or mental well-being.
6. Closing your home can cause more molds and chemicals.
Many people face the problem of mold on bags, clothes, or furniture that causes a musty smell in our home. But does the mold come from, even if we look after our home? The reason is not opening windows to let air circulate. Lack of airflow increases moisture. Good ventilation will help reduce indoor humidity, including condensation on walls or furniture. Reducing humidity will help prevent mold. Chemicals on furniture, interior paints, coatings, appliances, and decorations can also be released, causing long-term health effects, hurting our eyes, and causing nasal congestion.
7. Loud noises and stress Noise pollution is another problem many of us face. Loud noises can startle us. Prolonged noise can make irritated and affect working, reading, and sleeping. Sound directly affects our brain and body. If the sound is in a range that suits brain perception, you will feel concentrated and relaxed. If it is too loud, it affects our feelings, nervous system, and health. At our home, there are 2 main noise sources: outdoor noise from the street and indoor sounds from TV rooms, living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. We can prevent noises by:
Outdoor sound filtering and protection:
- Planting a line of trees to filter out noise.
- Covering holes and openings in walls, roofs, and windows.
- Opening windows only in quiet directions.
Preventing indoor noise:
- To prevent loud noises through the air, cover holes and seal any openings that allow sound to enter like gaps under doors.
- To prevent loud noises through walls and floors that come through the structure, noisy rooms should be separated from other rooms. Group rooms that don't need sound together like the bedroom and working room.
- Reduce noise from various impacts to prevent loud walking noises such as rugs in corridors
8. Electronic outlets can harm your brain.
Electrical outlets can cause electromagnetic fields (EMF) or electromagnetic waves. Some international studies suggest they can affect our health and brain function.
Electromagnetic fields can occur in 2 ways:
- Naturally, from the earth's magnetic field, solar radiation, lightning, and gamma rays.
- From human activities in 2 ways: from an intentional generation for usage and from electronic devices
Power sockets should be located at a distance from where we rest or sleep:
0.15 meters – music players, computer monitors, refrigerators
0.30 meters – electric fans, air conditioners, computers, coffee makers, dryers, hairdryers
0.60 meters – TVs, lights, electric stoves, hoods, washing machines, ovens, toasters, food processors, electric shavers
1.20 meters – wireless phones, mobile phones, tablets, internet routers, microwaves, dishwashers
9. Shut out daylight can make you depressed.
Some of us like to shut out daylight to concentrate better. In fact, the results could be the opposite. Excluding natural light can make us less energetic, less productive, and cause poor sleep at night. Natural light with the blue light spectrum helps treat depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Ancoli-Israel S in 2003 found that natural light in the morning calms patients with Alzheimer's disease. Another study by Mishima K, 1994, found light in the morning can treat symptoms like insomnia in elderly dementia patients (Anne-Marie Gagné, 2011). Exposure to natural light also boosts alertness at work, reduces stress, and enhances working efficiency. It also helps in balancing our bodies to sleep better at night. There is also a study showing that if we do not get natural light or daylight (about 5000-6500 K) during the day, it will slow our biological clock by 1.1 hours every 24 hours due to the melatonin production at the wrong time causing difficulty in sleeping. Blue light from phone screens is another factor that can inhibit and slow down melatonin production.
10. House with the wrong direction can make you feel uncomfortable.
Most of us feel comfortable when the air temperature is 22-27°C with relative humidity in the air at 20-75% RH. In a tropical climate, houses should face the right direction to avoid the sun and get wind flow. The first thing to consider is which direction does the wind normally blow from?
There are usually 2 directions that the wind blows during the year:
- February to September, to the southwest and south
- October to January, to the northeast and north Local terrain also influences the wind, such as mountains, rivers, or high-rise buildings. Also consider sunrise and sunset, as sunlight influences heat. Each day, the sun rises from the east, tilts to the south (or north), and sets in the west.
- The sun goes to the north during May-August (4 months)
- The sun goes to the south during January-April and September-December (8 months)
This orientation of the building affects heat transfer. We can build for less sunlight or shade from direct sunlight. Residences should face from north to south, getting natural light without glare all day. Exposure to natural light can reduce stress and depression. In addition, receiving regular winds from both directions, with constant winds in the northeast in winter and regular winds in the southwest in summer.
Read the previous chapter at: https://risc.in.th/knowledge/10-issues-in-your-home-that-could-harm-your-physical-or-mental-well-being-1
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