Breathing healthy air should be among your New Year’s resolutions

Good resolutions for a better future

With the coming of the New Year, people choose some basic resolutions to improve their lives.

On the list of things to do in the new year we find physical activity, a healthy diet and reducing excess vices but no one ever thinks about indoor air quality and the importance of breathing clean air especially in the winter months those in which we spend most of our time indoors.

The main indoor sources of pollution are multiple factors including occupants-humans and animals-, dust, building and furnishing materials, everyday objects, the normal activities we perform every day, and outdoor air.

Air pollution has negative effects on humans, ecosystems, buildings, materials, and climate. It leads to respiratory and cardiovascular problems and causes nearly 4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to the WHO.

In the harshest season, a phenomenon called “thermal inversion” occurs when the temperature increases as it rises in altitude instead of decreasing, promoting the formation of air pollution.

For example, some pollutants in vehicle exhaust fumes can react with some building materials and furnishings, as well as chemicals used for cleaning, creating very dangerous compounds that make indoor air even more toxic.

But the dangers do not reside only outside.

Ordinary activities that may prove dangerous

Some normal activities that seem harmless to us, such as lighting candles, spraying cleaners or air fresheners in the home, heating and cooking food in the kitchen, release fumes and harmful substances that put our health at risk.

The British Lung Foundation (BLF) warns that heating and cooking can release two types of pollutants-particulate matter and gases . Exposure to any of these pollutants can lead to lung and heart disease.

Let’s not forget that the pollutants in the air are odorless, colorless and tasteless so without an appropriate instrument we have no way of understanding the quality of the air we are breathing in our home or any other building.

That is why monitoring the air and making sure it is of quality should be a priority for anyone.