Skip to main content

Air humidity and viruses

As the air temperature decreases, the amount of water it contains decreases. Therefore, outdoor air entering a room from outside and heated by radiators has low relative humidity. In winter, this value can drop to 20%. Optimal values are between 40-60%. Humidity directly and indirectly impacts our health; let's explore them.

 

✔️ Direct Impact of Humidity: The lower the humidity, the stronger the evaporation from the skin and mucous membranes. This means increased irritation of the eyes, nose, mouth, and respiratory tract and impaired mucociliary transport. When mucus dries out, it can irritate the mucous membranes, leading us to touch our nose, eyes, and mouth involuntarily. 
 
This increases the risk of infection, as the mucous barrier is weakened, making it easier for viruses to enter. 
 
Dryness also increases symptoms related to breathing difficulties, reduces tear production, and increases eye fatigue. If you talk a lot, your voice will tire more quickly and sound worse in dry air. Low or excessively high humidity also affects thermoregulation and sleep quality.
 
✔️ Indirect Impact of Humidity: The indirect impact of humidity lies in how it affects the circulation of dust and aerosols in the air. The lower the humidity, the more dust and allergens are present in the air and the longer they linger. Therefore, more humid air tends to be cleaner. 
 
Dry air also accumulates more electrostatic charge. Humidity affects the release of formaldehyde from walls and materials. In dry air, aerosols with viruses and bacteria stay airborne longer. 
 
The stability of viruses is minimal at 50% humidity. At 23% humidity, 70-77% of viral particles from talking or coughing remain in the air, whereas at 43% humidity, only 14% remain. This applies to both the flu and the coronavirus.
 
👌 What to Do? Monitoring (using a hygrometer) and humidifying the air (using an ultrasonic humidifier) alleviate these symptoms. Research shows that increasing humidity to 40% relieves irritation symptoms. The optimum humidity is 40-60%; excessively high humidity is undesirable as it can cause other problems.
 
 
Indoor air humidity, air quality, and health – An overview International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health Volume 221, Issue 3, April 2018, Pages 376-390
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Mackerel for breakfast in numbers.

Mackerel for breakfast and not only for it, measured in numbers. The most common fish in our diet is mackerel (whole and deep frozen). The reasons for this are that it is a Norwegian wild-caught fish delivered in good condition to a relatively small number of bones (children eat it with them while herring, for comparison, has a lot of small bones).  Usually, I eat a medium mackerel at a time (350 grams), equal to a portion of boiled mackerel of 250 grams. What does this mean in numbers? So, one mackerel is 550 kcal, 50 grams of high-quality protein , and 36 grams of excellent fat.  It is also 129 micrograms of selenium ( more than 200% of the daily requirement) and 135 micrograms of iodine (almost complete daily requirement).  If to talk about omega-3 fatty acids, one fish contains 3.6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. As you can see, there is no need to take additional supplements if even you consume only 2-3 portions of fish per week. Fish...
Read more

Rule #2. Eating window

Rule 2. Eating window The eating window is the time between the first and the last meal in twenty-four hours. The eating pause is the time from the last meal of a day to the first meal the next day. In general, the smaller the eating window and the bigger the eating pause (within the reasonable limits), the better it is for health even without restriction of caloric content. Without getting of calories, the cellular self-cleaning (autophagy) and fat burning accelerate; the body's sensitivity to various hormones increases, the level of inflammation decreases, and the percentage of muscle bulk increases over time. Studies have shown that such diet prevents metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, hepatic steatosis (fatty liver disease) and high cholesterol level. Rule #2. Eating window BREAK. The eating window is the time between the first and the last meal in twenty-four hours. The smaller the eating window and the bigger the eating pause, the better it is for...
Read more