Keeping health and productivity in check, indoors

Did you know that we spend nearly 90% of our time indoors? So why not make our familiar hangouts more comfortable to stay in? After all, our wellbeing and productivity are affected by the conditions of the buildings within which we live, learn, work and play.

For example, installing more windows and light reflecting ceiling panels in an office is beneficial to employees, as research suggests that exposure to natural light during the day can result in an extra 46 minutes of sleep at night (World Green Building Council, 2016). This contributes to improved mental health, and allows us to work more efficiently and live life feeling more vibrant.

The chirping of birds or revving of cars outside while you’re trying to focus on a task can be a truly maddening distraction. Studies have shown that children miss 25% of the words spoken by their teachers as a consequence of a noisy classroom (Acoustic society, 2018). Remedying this issue would therefore likely help facilitate their learning process. Schools have also seen an improvement in maths and reading scores when ventilation has been increased.

Additionally, reducing the amount of indoor pollutants can enhance indoor air quality and produce less health issues, thus lowering the number of days away from school and raising the wellbeing and concentration of students (World Green Building Council, 2017).

Too hot? Too cold? Temperature is another quality that can affect not only your comfort levels in a building, but your productivity as well. In office buildings, working in optimal conditions allows us to think and accomplish tasks better. When an office is too warm, staff performance decreases by 6% (World Green Building Council, 2016).

On the other hand, cold surfaces, combined with humidity and dampness, can cause mould to grow, possibly leading to respiratory issues which would incur health and medical costs, a diminished quality of life, and a diminished life expectancy.

Findings show that people living in damp homes are 40% more likely to have asthma (Fraunhofer, 2016). Furthermore, the total annual cost for European societies attributable to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is estimated to be €82 billion (European Respiratory Society, 2013).

So, think about the indoor spaces you spend most of your time in. Are they dequately comfy? If not, perhaps some renovation work is just what you need.

Source(s):

^{1. World Green Building Council, 2016
2. Acoustic society, 2018
3. World Green Building Council, 2017
4. Fraunhofer, 2016
5. European Respiratory Society, 2013}