Commercials and topics in the media usually dictate what we are talking about when you really think about it. If the media and social media starts talking about a hurricane hitting South Florida, that’s going to be one of the top stories for that week. If commercials start emphasizing that we need to hit the gym or sleep on a better mattress, we start looking into it with serious interest. This is the power of information and how it can influence us. It’s not necessarily meant to make decisions for us, but simply educate us on a possible problem that we need to look into in order to improve our health and stay safe throughout the year.
One of, if not, the main topic for well over a year now has been the coronavirus pandemic and it should be. The fact is that this virus has taken over the world, shutting down tourism, many industries, schools and even entire countries for weeks or months at a time. New vaccines and safety precautions are helping us slow the impact and get back to somewhat of a normal life. However, there’s still something that commercials and media are not talking about. Air purity should be one of the most important conversations going on right now, right? We are all dealing with an airborne virus, meaning it is passed through the air. So, why aren’t we focusing on improving the quality of our air?
Even if you’re not concerned with the virus or you are satisfied with the safety measures you are taking, air purity is something that still should be talked about. Allergists around the country have seen new patient enrollment skyrocket over the last five years and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus. People are getting allergies for the first time in their life because of things like dust, pollen and other things that we should be used to but for some reason our bodies are not handling it well. One potential reason for this is because the quality of the air we are breathing is not what it was even 20 years ago.
Pollution is a serious matter and one we are going to have to battle for a while. However, pollution is not the only reason we should be more focused on what we are breathing in and out every day in our homes and our place of business. Think of all the cleaners we use in our homes to keep them clean from the virus or just to keep them clean in general? 50 years ago people were still using toxic chemicals to clean but they had open windows while they were doing it. Why? Because air conditioning wasn’t as common as it is now.
That’s right, our air conditioners are recycling the air we are breathing in and out during the day and giving it right back to us. Imagine if the water we use in the shower was then recycled into the ice cubes we use in our drinks? That wouldn’t be very appealing, would it? Yet we continue to introduce new chemicals and other things to our air each day, within our homes, and breathe it in over and over again. Does that seem smart?
A bit of irony from the coronavirus pandemic was that flu cases dropped drastically in 2020. Why? Because people weren’t going out as much? Very much so, but the other reason was because we were wearing masks when we did go out. Masks work and there’s a reason they are worn by medical professionals during surgery and most procedures to ensure patient safety. This doesn’t mean you have to start wearing a mask at home, it simply means that we have to start taking our air quality more seriously, especially in the places we are at the most without a mask. Even if you are working or out and about most of the day, the average person still spends over 10 hours a day at home which includes your sleeping time. Why wouldn’t you want to upgrade the quality of the air in a place where you spend at least 40% of your day? It’s a fair question and it’s one you should look into as you start to look for new ways to improve your health. Drinking more water and exercising are great, but let’s also start thinking about the air that goes into our bodies because it’s something we’ve avoided for far too long.
