Sleep: Why Is it So Important?

by | affirmations, detoxification, dust mites, electromagnetic radiation, EMF, health, high frequencies, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, mould, radiofrequencies, sleep, stress

Do you struggle to get a good night’s sleep?

Many people do these days, and this can have a bigger impact that just feeling sleepy all day, or perhaps being on the caffeine-cycle. Ironically, according to apps on our devices, there is an “insomnia epidemic.”

When you are tired, you don’t function so well – your mood is off, your tolerance levels are down, you are easily agitated or stressed. As well, over time, this can deplete you and your immunity is also affected.

Why is Sleep so Important?

Sleep is incredibly important as it is the time that we heal and recover from our day – in preparation for the next day. Sleep is when we detoxify, when we create melatonin (a hormone which has an antioxidant effect) and when we rest.

It is one of the most important physiological functions we do, in my opinion.

What Affects Sleep?

There are many factors that can impact sleep. Some of these are:

  • Stress
  • Eating too late
  • Caffeine
  • Conversation
  • Poor sleep hygiene
  • Environmental stressors

eco-health-solutions natural

 

Did You Know…?

Did you know that if you use your device for two hours in the evening that it affects the quality of your sleep; melatonin production; your mood, attention and accuracy the following day?

Research links this to the short-wave light emitted from the LED lights inside our devices (Green, et al, 2017). I wonder if there is more to it, and the use of these devices on wi-fi or 3G/4G/5G is also playing a role.

What Can I Do to Improve My Sleep?

I am going to focus purely on environmental stressors here…

1) Promote melatonin production – ensure your bedroom is dark. If this isn’t possible, it would be worth using an eye shade. 

2) Reduce the radio frequency electromagnetic energy (RF EME) – turn off your mobile phone and wi-fi router

3) Reduce indoor air contaminants – remove scented reeds and candles from your bedroom

4) Minimise exposure to allergens – use a silk pillowcase to reduce issues with house dust mites (HDM)

5) Reduce your exposure to biotoxins – address any mould in your home

Still Concerned?

Then contact me and we can arrange a
Virtual Indoor Environmental Health Assessment
to assess and address stressors in your environment.

 

References

Green, A, Cohen-Zion, M, Haim, A & Dagan, Y (2017) Evening Light Exposure to Computer Screens Disrupts Human Sleep, Biological Rhythms and Attention Abilities Chronobiology International (Online) Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2017.1324878 (May 2017) 

#sleep #indoorenvironmentalhealth #environmentalstressors

 

House Dust Mites are Everywhere

by | air pollution, building biology, buildings and health, dust mites, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health

House Dust Mites (HDM) are Everywhere!

House dust mites are tiny, opaque, feast on skin cells and love to live in mattresses, with their population being three times higher in a mattress as compared to a carpet. They are so small that around 50 HDM can fit onto the head of a pin.

HDM can trigger symptoms for people – interestingly, it is actually the protein in their faeces, not the mite themselves that cause problems.

According to Better Health Channel, HDM can trigger wheezing, coughing, breathlessness, a tight feeling in the chest, runny nose, itchy nose, itchy eyes, itchy skin, skin rashes.

Health

Even in people who aren’t allergic to HDM faeces, their existing asthma may be exacerbated and they can experience chronic bronchial hyper-reactivity.

For those affected, this can be a year-long problem (that is, it isn’t seasonal), symptoms are worse at night or upon waking, symptoms may be relieved when humidity is lower.

What They Need to Thrive

HDM are unable to drink – so they rely on a humid or moist environment to keep them hydrated. They need the relative humidity to be over 40%.

They need a warm environment and thrive when temperatures remain at or above 24oC.

Food in the form of animal and human skin cells, pollens, microbes.

They love mattresses for all of these reasons, they are warm, moist and full of skin cells (food).

10 tips for managing house dust mites (HDM):

  1. Keep your home clean – use damp microfibre cloths and water to collect dust, not just move it from surface to surface
  2. Pull back the covers on your bed each day and allow it to air and dry out
  3. Vacuum your mattress regularly to reduce the HDM population
  4. Mop your home using a microfibre mop to collect dust
  5. Consider silk bedding – HDM don’t like anything excreted by other insects
  6. Consider HDM-resistant bedding – fabric that is tightly woven, and thus the HDM can’t fit through them
  7. Wash bedding (sheets and pillow cases) as well as night clothes weekly
  8. Replace mattresses every 10 years
  9. Maintain relative humidity to between 40-60% – and a dehumidifier can be key in this process
  10. Use vacuum-storage bags to store clothes (ones that are vacuumed to keep compress them

If you want to learn more about creating a healthier home,
then join us in Detox Your Environment Inner Circle. >>

Humidity – Understanding and Managing it

by | building biology, buildings and health, condensation, humidity, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, mold, mould

Humidity is not just a present in our rainforests, it is also present in our homes

Humidity is basically moisture levels in the air.

Relative humidity (RH) is what we commonly talk about, and the ideal range is between 45-55% RH.

Why? Because at this level, it is not moist enough to for most mould, bacteria and other microorganisms to grow. Thus, this is our levels of “no concern” in our Building Biology Standards.

This image depicts different activity levels at different levels of RH (Arundel, et al).

The best way to know what the levels are in your home or workplace is to use a basic hygrometer, such as this one.

RH levels affect our comfort levels as well as our experience of temperatures

When RH levels are high, temperatures feel a lot more oppressive… Think “tropics” and “wet seasons.”

When RH levels are very low, we feel dry – our eyes, throat and mouth can become irritated as a result. Too, we may experience more static electricity.

Why is Humidity an Issue?

Humidity is an issue because when a material is cold enough, this moisture will condense out of the air and can result in the proliferation of mould. Read more about condensation here.

In a recent trip to far north Queensland, I witnessed first hand what regular high levels of RH were like. The temperatures remained stable in the high 20s (celcius) and the RH levels were around 86% night and day. The buildings I saw had the air conditioning running full pelt, and as a result, there was water streaming down all the windows.

On further investigation, it was apparent that the building materials had varying temperatures, and some were cold enough to be below dew point. The result? In technical terms: mould in the interstitial spaces of the building… hidden mould – aka “invisible mould.”

Discover more…

In the video below as I share with you how to manage humidity in our homes.

Understand the difference between desiccant dehumidifiers and refrigerant dehumidifiers and which one is best for you.

Work out what you need in your home or workplace.

CLICK HERE if you want to understand
mould & environmental stressors more deeply?