A Breath of Fresh Air – The value of breezes

As humans, we have worked very hard to control our environment.

We control

  • the light,

  • the temperature, and

  • our exposure to the wind and rain.

Photo by undefined undefined/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by undefined undefined/iStock / Getty Images

Consequently, most of our indoor spaces tend to stick to a constant temperature with little to no breeze.

 

However, Coulthard argues that humans like fluctuations in our environment. The slight changes in air flow and temperature mimic the outdoors.

 

Think about how much we like warming our feet on front of a fire in winter, or the cool breeze on a hot day.

 

Photo by Solovyova/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by Solovyova/iStock / Getty Images

A study by the Berkley Lab found that ventilation improved work performance.[i] Another study found that performance improved by 1-3% when with small increases in ventilation.[ii] Students have also been found to show better performance at choice reaction, picture memory, word vigilance and word recognition when ventilation was increased.[iii]

Photo by Robert Daly/OJO Images / Getty Images
Photo by Robert Daly/OJO Images / Getty Images

 

Breezes are important to biophilic living. They

  • Bring fresh air inside,

  • Help cool us, and

  • Stimulate our sense of touch.

     

How do you feel when you can feel a breeze?

How can you include better ventilation in your house?

 





[i] https://iaqscience.lbl.gov/si/vent-office

[ii] Seppänen, O., Fisk, W. J., & Lei, Q. H. (2006). Ventilation and performance in office work. Indoor air16(1), 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2005.00394.

[iii] Clements-Croome, D. J., Awbi, H. B., Bakó-Biró, Z., Kochhar, N., & Williams, M. (2008). Ventilation rates in schools. Building and Environment43(3), 362-367.

 

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