Have you ever been dwelling on something so much that you cannot fall asleep? Perhaps you experienced that kind of nights, but your mind might not be the only thing to blame. Unnoticeably, rising carbon dioxide levels might be the vicious culprit.
Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is colorless, odorless natural gas created from metabolic activity. People and animals release it into the air by exhaling. Although CO2 is normal and harmless, the buildup of the gas into high quantity can be a health hazard.
But then, how the level of CO2 is relevant to your home, especially your bedroom? Unventilated bedrooms often have high levels of carbon dioxide, especially when the room contains more than one person. When we are sleeping, we release the CO2, and it keeps rising throughout the entire night in the bedroom where all windows shut closed. What happens in the room is that the CO2 keep replacing oxygen your body needs.
Traditionally, it had been understood that CO2 levels would require to reach a high concentration of at least 5,000 parts per million (ppm) so that it will cause effects on human health. Anyhow, many research indicate that CO2 levels at 1,000ppm canbe already harmful to your health, even though you have exposedto it only for a couple of hours. The victims who are at most risk are those children and senior members with health conditions.
How does the high levels of CO2 affect the health of human being?
The high levels of CO2 are correlated to sickness in many ways. At the level of 2,500 – 5,000 ppm there are tiredness, drowsiness, and headache which normally occurs at the back of a head. When it reaches up to 5,000 – 40,000 ppm, it causes severe headache. In the worst scenario, the CO2 level climbs up to 40,000-10,000 ppm, it immediately cause dizziness, sweating, fast heartbeats, difficult breathing, seizures, and loss of consciousness.
The last one may seem like the most dangerous effects toward human beings. However, if the CO2 level hits more than 10,000 ppm, it can cold-heartedly kill a life of a human.
What can save us from the high levels of CO2
Since the situation of covid-19 pandemic, people tend to spend most of the time in indoor houses, thus replacing air filters in indoor fan systems regularly does help. It is even better to install a CO2 monitor to remind the exact levels of CO2 in parts of a house. The good results after improving filtration and installment of the monitor are various and truly best for the health of people not only in bedroom but in anywhere of the house.
Limiting levels of carbon dioxide can reduce Sick Building Syndrome, or SBS, which causes fatigue, difficulty breathing and allergies. Getting more oxygen to brain, it also improves human cognitive functions so that we can perform more effectively. Thus, ensuring the safe limit of CO2 in studying or working space certainly increases productivity and performance. Here comes the most important result to your health…sleeping quality! Adequate sleep during the night results in energized feeling and being alert the next day. Engaging in alertness throughout the day is unquestionably a wonderful feeling to oneself and others.
