Ways That Poor Air Quality May Affect You That You Didn't Know About
Poor air quality can be harming your health, both physically and mentally. It can cause cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and respiratory infections. There is emerging evidence suggesting that pollution may even affect the brain. Air pollution is a popular topic, provoking much talk about how it affects our bodies. But what about the mind? Research has found that air pollution may affect the brain and cause dementia. This can be pretty worrying as everyone is susceptible regardless of their age.
Table of Content
1. What air quality is and its health effects
2. Protect yourself from poor air quality
3. How pollution affects the brain
4. Air pollution and mental health
5. Risk for depression or anxiety
6. Examples of poor air quality
What Air Quality Is and Its Health Effects
Poor air quality is not just problematic for asthma and allergy sufferers. It can also make concentration harder at work or school. Even if you don’t have asthma or a sensitivity to allergies.
However, people who suffer from allergies and asthma are not the only ones affected by poor air quality.
Anyone exposed to specific allergens can experience increased symptoms if the air quality is poor.
Pollution, made up of microscopic solids, liquid particles, and gaseous pollutants, adds to poor air quality in our indoor and outdoor air.
Some pollutants from natural emissions such as volcanoes, forest fires, and dust storms get into the air. In contrast, others are created by people or industry.
Whether bathing, showering, sleeping, or exercising, pollutants in your environment will enter your body through your nose and mouth.
The human body must maintain proper oxygen levels to work correctly and avoid specific health issues. Oxygen levels in the body cannot vary much.
Health conditions will arise if increased carbon monoxide or particulate matter enters the body. Or even a decreased amount of oxygen available.
Both indoor and outdoor air contain pollutants that can worsen your quality of life. They can cause you to come down with an illness and even shorten your lifespan.
The dirtiest air is outdoors around roads and industry. In fact, it’s five times more polluted than indoors.
Pollutants such as pollen, mould spores and dust mites may make you sick or worsen health problems like asthma.
Poor air quality may cause a host of ailments in the human body, ranging from headaches to difficulty breathing.
Air pollution can be caused by many factors, from pollen and dust to carbon dioxide and smog.
And poor air quality doesn’t only cause problems for people with respiratory issues. It can cause a range of effects in healthy people as well. Takeaway:
- Identify health effects of poor air quality
- Air pollution could be harming your health
- Learn how to improve the quality of your home
- Learn about what effects conditions have on your health
Protect Yourself from Poor Air Quality
Poor air quality isn’t just an aesthetic issue. It can impact your health in a way you might not be aware of. Simply put, breathing in polluted air isn’t good for the human body.
This can be attached to several factors, including how it threatens the respiratory system and increases instances of asthma.
Did you know that poor air quality may be making you tired? Or that exposure to cigarette smoke may cause long term lung problems?
How about the fact that poor air quality may make you lose your sense of smell?
There are many reasons for you to keep your air clean. Not only will you feel better, but your home or office will also smell better for those around you.
You may have never really thought much about air quality but think about all of the time you spend outdoors. Perhaps in your car, at work or school, at the gym and so on.
If it seems like there is less fresh air and more pollution these days, then you are right.
Bad air can have severe and long-term health effects. Some that you might not know about from causing asthma attacks to increasing your risk of cognitive impairments.
Air pollution is caused by a mixture of solid particles and gases from sources. It may be industrial plants, volcanoes, fires, and vehicle exhaust.
When breathing in these pollutants, the body does not filter out the particles but instead coughs or sneezes them out.
If you’re feeling stifled, breathless, weak and lethargic at the office, or struggling to breathe or concentrate in your home.
Sounds like there’s a good chance it may be poor air quality that’s to blame.
It could be as simple as changing a few aspects of your home environment or workplace – it may just be time to replace your vacuum cleaner bag!
How Pollution Affects the Brain
While it’s commonly thought that poor air quality can cause respiratory issues, not many people know it has far-ranging effects on the brain.
How does your brain become affected by poor air quality?
The answer lies in what pollution does to the body. It’s how these effects impact the brain and how you can protect your brain from future impacts.
Have you ever wondered how air pollution affects the brain? Pollution is usually connected with adverse health effects on your body.
However, you may not know that it can also affect your brain.
In addition to causing disease and other health issues in people, one of the most severe long-term effects of air pollution on the brain is an increased risk for dementia.
Did you know that poor air quality can affect the life and mood of an individual, making them more susceptible to learning difficulties?
Poor air quality can also worsen existing health conditions. While many people are aware of these problems, they simply do not realise how it happens or why.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of oil-based fuels, such as petroleum, in internal combustion engines account for most ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ from transportation…read more
There are many ways that poor air quality may affect you that you didn’t know about.
Think about how your brain functions on a day to day basis. You are working or studying, and it seems like your memory is turned on to full blast.
You will probably recall facts and figures easily and decide on the best possible answer for any given problem.
However, suppose the air you breathe is full of dust or pollutants. In that case, your brain will actually have trouble focusing.
This is because it takes an enormous amount of energy for the brain to stay focused rather than relaxed and in control.
It becomes hard to deny that pollution is harmful at a certain point.
Most people know about smog and its negative impact on lung health. Still, we don’t always appreciate how it affects other parts of our bodies.
It’s essential to become aware of this to protect yourself and others.
Air Pollution and Mental Health
Perhaps you’ve heard someone say they were going crazy? Sometimes, that may not just be a figure of speech.
Poor air quality may actually cause people to lose their sanity. In other cases, poor air quality might actually send us over the edge.
I know it sounds weird, but there is science behind this and some other ways poor air quality may affect you that you didn’t know about.
Pollution is such a touchy word, and it’s hard to know how to perceive it.
Air pollution can be caused by many factors, and most of the time, we don’t even notice it’s there.
It could be coming from you, could be coming from your neighbour’s chimneys, or even being generated by the smokestack of a factory miles away.
It’s scary to think that this invisible enemy invading the air around you may actually be affecting your health more than you thought.
Most people would like to be as healthy as they can be. The right foods, exercise and positive thinking are top priorities for most people.
However, few people consider the effects of the air they breathe on their general health and well-being.
Even at levels below what is considered dangerous by governments, air pollution can harm your mental health.
This is a cause of significant concern among scientists and health professionals, who continually reap evidence that air pollution is deeply intertwined with our mental health.
Air pollution isn’t something you can flee from though, as it exists in all parts of the world to at least some extent.
Let’s hope that we start to give more thought to improving the ambient air quality in our cities and allow ourselves to truly flourish as a result of it. Takeaway:
- You can help alleviate it with easy changes in your life
- Find out how to protect yourself, your family, and your pets
- Learn how to measure air quality in your area
- Air pollution has a correlation to long term problems
- Taking steps to rid the air of pollution will help us live longer
Risk for Depression or Anxiety
Good indoor air quality is essential to maintaining a healthy household. Many factors can contribute to poor indoor air quality, including burning candles, dust mites and poor ventilation.
Poor indoor air can lead to difficulty breathing, headache, and fatigue.
Did you know that poor indoor air quality may also be linked to mental health issues like depression or anxiety?
It may seem strange to think that poor air quality can lead to a risk for depression or anxiety. Still, it is possible if you are ever exposed to poor air quality.
It might seem like I am speaking in hypotheticals. Still, facts and studies show that exposure to poor air quality is a real risk for depression and anxiety.
Have you ever noticed that when the weather changes, so do your moods?
You might not have thought about it too much. But recent studies show that there may be a link between poor air quality and having depressive and anxiety disorders.
Many studies have been done to ensure the correlation. Poor air quality can cause you to not feel as happy in general.
When it comes to our physical health, we usually think of disease and the effects that bad habits or unhealthy lifestyle choices could have.
But mental well-being is just as important as physical well-being, and it can be a little more challenging to notice.
Poor air quality can affect us in more ways than we may realise, and taking precautions to improve your overall health can go a long way.
It is, however, important to not see air as a unitary entity. Every person has their own unique set of needs and personal characteristics that should moderate dirty air’s influence on them.
In this sense, we should all be proactive in protecting ourselves from poor quality air and informing ourselves on what it is and what it does to us.
Examples of Poor Air Quality
Poor air quality can lead to various problems and health issues, from irritated or scratchy throats to cancer.
While many of us take good air for granted, we need to ensure that men, women and children enjoy good air quality for as long as possible.
Air is all around us, and it is vital to keep the air we breathe as clean as possible.
Whenever you go out in public or your home, there are numerous ways that you are exposed to air that is not fresh.
This can trigger health problems that you may not have known about.
If you feel tired and have headaches, you may be experiencing poor air quality.
The best way to clear the air is to open windows to improve ventilation.
For example, if your car has been parked in the sun all day before you climbed inside. You’ll find your windows will be hot, and the air quality inside your vehicle can be unhealthy.
There are ways that bad air quality can affect you in ways most people don’t realise.
This is because a more significant percentage of our atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen than any other gas.
Due to this fact, few people realise the effects high percentages of these gasses have on breathing. The higher the levels of nitrogen, the more dangerous the air quality.
We sometimes take clean air for granted. However, it’s quite possibly one of the most important things to your health and your overall quality of life.
Suppose you’ve ever run a marathon and didn’t shower right away. In that case, you may know what it feels like to be in an enclosed environment with little to no air circulation.
Well, imagine being in the same situation but daily, and that’s how people living in cities with poor air quality can relate to.
Poor air quality can also cause stress and negatively impact cognitive functioning.
You may have noticed people living in areas with poor air quality generally have shorter attention spans and smaller vocabularies. That’s compared to people who live in areas with adequate amounts of clean air.
Reducing air pollution benefits everyone who breathes, so it’s essential to learn more about ways you can take steps to improve your air quality.
Not only does it make you healthier, but it also helps improve your quality of life.
You won’t realise how much pollution affects you until you learn more; then, you will be motivated to do something about it.
Summary
Pollutants in the environment include microscopic solids, liquid particles, and gaseous pollutants. Pollutants in both indoor and outdoor air can reduce your quality of life. Poor air quality isn’t just an aesthetic issue; it can also have a negative impact on your health in a variety of ways. Air pollution is caused by a combination of solid particles and gases emitted by volcanoes, fires, and vehicle exhaust. Pollution is such a touchy subject that it’s difficult to know how to approach it.
Most people want to be as healthy as possible, but few consider how the air they breathe affects their overall health and well-being. People’s sanity may be jeopardised because of poor air quality. Poor indoor air quality is critical for keeping a healthy household. Many factors, such as burning candles and dust mites, can contribute to poor indoor air quality. Poor air quality can cause a variety of problems and health problems, ranging from irritated or scratchy throats to cancer.
It is essential that the air we breathe be as clean as possible. You may be experiencing poor air quality if you are tired and have headaches. To improve ventilation, the best way to clear the air is to open windows. Reducing air pollution benefits everyone who breathes, so it’s critical to learn more about how you can help.
Poor air quality may seem like a thing that has no impact on you, but in actuality, it has a more profound effect on your health than you realise.