3 ms·

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

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.

3 ms·

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

by ipython 7y ago

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.