5 ms·

I'd always been dimly aware that I always woke up feeling more refreshed in a tent, but it wasn't until fairly recently that I noticed I got the same effect if

by dTal 7y ago

I'd always been dimly aware that I always woke up feeling more refreshed in a tent, but it wasn't until fairly recently that I noticed I got the same effect if I slept with the window open. Now I keep my bedroom window open at all times. In general, I think society is extremely blase about possible health hazards - if it doesn't kill you instantly, people basically don't wanna know. Alcohol is huge. Smoking is even now considered basically fine by huge swathes of the population. It wasn't until 1996 that leaded gasoline was banned in the US, two decades after lead paint was banned. We tolerate absurd levels of pollution in cities, with not much more than a shrug. For almost any given product and interaction, you can ask yourself "is there a powerful incentive structure in place to prevent this from invisibly but seriously harming me"? Usually, the answer is "no". It's up to you to pay attention, and ignore what society thinks is okay. Ancient Romans would consider you a sissy snowflake to avoid their lead pipes - modern society will consider you likewise, if you go out of your way to be healthy. If you don't feel like a sissy snowflake - you're probably being poisoned.

ipython 7y ago
Sorry that I'm focusing on one small part of your comment, but I'm genuinely curious - do you find you have the same effect if, say, you force your whole house fan to run at least five or ten minutes out of every hour? I find that fresh air helps too, but during the winter I can't convince myself to "waste" money heating the house while at the same time leaving a window wide open letting the cold back in... BTW I don't think smoking is considered 'fine' by any stretch - at least where I live in the US. All restaurants/bars are non-smoking, and the only place my kids have encountered smokers has been when we travel in Europe.
- dTal 7y ago
  I don't quite know what a "whole house fan" is - is that air conditioning? I guess it might help depending on the size of the house, the size of the bedroom, and whether the air comes from outside. I feel like it's to do with gas conditions - too much CO2, too little oxygen, carbon monoxide buildup, some kind of material outgassing - who knows. Winter is trickier, but as I live in a relatively mild climate I usually deal by keeping the bedroom door shut, the room heating off, and snuggling under a thick duvet with pyjamas. You sleep better in cooler conditions anyway. If it's really cold out, I'll air the whole house while I'm not at home and the heating's off anyway - then I sleep with the bedroom door open, in the hope that I at least get the benefit of the larger volume. In Europe, as you say, a very large number of people smoke, even though they're just as aware of the health problems as Americans. I think America's advantage there is less to do with health consciousness and more to do with a kind of low-key puritanism - smoking is stigmatized and is seen as a moral failing in a way that it isn't in Europe.
TeMPOraL 7y ago
> In general, I think society is extremely blase about possible health hazards - if it doesn't kill you instantly, people basically don't wanna know. A flip side of this is that if you stopped and considered what is reported to be killing you slowly, you'd go crazy (and arguably a lot of people did, to some extent). Consider e.g. nutritional "advice" in popular press. Having my attention constantly called to garbage information on what does cause cancer this week by random people, I developed a following rule of thumb: if the actual negative health effect is big enough to even worth spending time thinking about, the product is either already banned by the government or has huge warning labels on it. Otherwise, it's fine in moderate quantities. EDIT: > "is there a powerful incentive structure in place to prevent this from invisibly but seriously harming me"? Usually, the answer is "no" There's another question worth considering: "is there a powerful incentive structure in place to blow up statistical noise out of proportion, in order to create fear around common products?", and the answer is clearly yes - this is one of the ways news portals, lifestyle magazines and small blogs drive their traffic.
balabaster 7y ago
> Now I keep my bedroom window open at all times. I don't always keep the bedroom window open, but it's open enough, even in the middle of winter that it's not unusual. I feel way better sleeping with the window open than I do with it closed.
mleonhard 7y ago
My nightmares and mood swings stopped five weeks ago when I started leaving my windows open 24/7. There is an efficient way to get fresh air without wasting energy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recovery_ventilation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recovery_ventilation I'm looking into setting up a window-mounted HRV in my apartment. I'm looking at the VENTS-US MICRA 150 and a DIY window vent bracket. The MICRA 150 is available at Home Depot and on Amazon. It collects condensation in a tank, rather than draining it through the vent tube.
- rainbowzootsuit 7y ago
  In hot and humid areas an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) should be chosen as it's able to remove moisture from the incoming air as well. There are a number of companies that make whole house ERV/HRV kits and a good method of setup is to constantly exhaust your bathrooms and possibly other contaminated spaces, while delivering fresh air to bedrooms or common areas. Energy recovery is in the 50% range. Some can be balanced to slightly positive pressure particularly if there is an attached garage or other sources of contamination. ASHRAE publishes standard 62.2 which recommends that for modern houses the ventilation rate in CFM = 0.03*ft^2 + 7.5(Nbedrooms+1)

by dTal 7y ago

ipython 7y ago

Sorry that I'm focusing on one small part of your comment, but I'm genuinely curious - do you find you have the same effect if, say, you force your whole house fan to run at least five or ten minutes out of every hour? I find that fresh air helps too, but during the winter I can't convince myself to "waste" money heating the house while at the same time leaving a window wide open letting the cold back in... BTW I don't think smoking is considered 'fine' by any stretch - at least where I live in the US. All restaurants/bars are non-smoking, and the only place my kids have encountered smokers has been when we travel in Europe.

dTal 7y ago
I don't quite know what a "whole house fan" is - is that air conditioning? I guess it might help depending on the size of the house, the size of the bedroom, and whether the air comes from outside. I feel like it's to do with gas conditions - too much CO2, too little oxygen, carbon monoxide buildup, some kind of material outgassing - who knows. Winter is trickier, but as I live in a relatively mild climate I usually deal by keeping the bedroom door shut, the room heating off, and snuggling under a thick duvet with pyjamas. You sleep better in cooler conditions anyway. If it's really cold out, I'll air the whole house while I'm not at home and the heating's off anyway - then I sleep with the bedroom door open, in the hope that I at least get the benefit of the larger volume. In Europe, as you say, a very large number of people smoke, even though they're just as aware of the health problems as Americans. I think America's advantage there is less to do with health consciousness and more to do with a kind of low-key puritanism - smoking is stigmatized and is seen as a moral failing in a way that it isn't in Europe.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

> In general, I think society is extremely blase about possible health hazards - if it doesn't kill you instantly, people basically don't wanna know. A flip side of this is that if you stopped and considered what is reported to be killing you slowly, you'd go crazy (and arguably a lot of people did, to some extent). Consider e.g. nutritional "advice" in popular press. Having my attention constantly called to garbage information on what does cause cancer this week by random people, I developed a following rule of thumb: if the actual negative health effect is big enough to even worth spending time thinking about, the product is either already banned by the government or has huge warning labels on it. Otherwise, it's fine in moderate quantities. EDIT: > "is there a powerful incentive structure in place to prevent this from invisibly but seriously harming me"? Usually, the answer is "no" There's another question worth considering: "is there a powerful incentive structure in place to blow up statistical noise out of proportion, in order to create fear around common products?", and the answer is clearly yes - this is one of the ways news portals, lifestyle magazines and small blogs drive their traffic.

balabaster 7y ago

> Now I keep my bedroom window open at all times. I don't always keep the bedroom window open, but it's open enough, even in the middle of winter that it's not unusual. I feel way better sleeping with the window open than I do with it closed.

mleonhard 7y ago

My nightmares and mood swings stopped five weeks ago when I started leaving my windows open 24/7. There is an efficient way to get fresh air without wasting energy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recovery_ventilation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recovery_ventilation I'm looking into setting up a window-mounted HRV in my apartment. I'm looking at the VENTS-US MICRA 150 and a DIY window vent bracket. The MICRA 150 is available at Home Depot and on Amazon. It collects condensation in a tank, rather than draining it through the vent tube.

rainbowzootsuit 7y ago
In hot and humid areas an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) should be chosen as it's able to remove moisture from the incoming air as well. There are a number of companies that make whole house ERV/HRV kits and a good method of setup is to constantly exhaust your bathrooms and possibly other contaminated spaces, while delivering fresh air to bedrooms or common areas. Energy recovery is in the 50% range. Some can be balanced to slightly positive pressure particularly if there is an attached garage or other sources of contamination. ASHRAE publishes standard 62.2 which recommends that for modern houses the ventilation rate in CFM = 0.03*ft^2 + 7.5(Nbedrooms+1)