

One of the ways we can combat this is with houseplants, which have been proven to filter toxins from the air. Allergies have also been known to be worsened, and even caused, by air pollution within homes. Toxins in the air in your home can also irritate ears, nose, throat, and skin, and cause increased problems for sufferers of asthma. However, it has been shown that sustained exposure to even low levels of these chemicals can cause minor health problems, such as headaches, to more worrying issues, including types of cancer. Because we can’t see these toxins, it is typically something we don’t think about, let alone try to rectify. With less air circulation, toxins in the air in our homes has become trapped, causing levels of toxins to rise. Since homes have become better insulated in an effort to improve energy efficiency, this has actually worsened the problem of toxins in homes. Some of the common items in homes which release these chemicals are carpets, laminate flooring, paint, household detergents, glues, pesticides, and smoking. Formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, and trichloroethylene, among others, are dangerous carcinogenics, causing volatile organic compounds, which are released into our air through a number of ways.

For this reason, high humidity is also recommended for a range of respiratory conditions.Ī NASA study in 1989 found that houseplants can work to remove common toxins from the air.

Increased moisture in the air will help to relieve the pain in your nasal passages, making it easier to breathe. If you are unfortunate enough to contract a cold or virus, high humidity could help you out. This could go a long way to preventing infection and keep you in tip-top health. High humidity isn’t just good for you in cosmetic terms, and it can also help prevent colds and flu.Ī research has shown that at below or equal 23% of relative humidity, total virus collected stayed at 70.6–77.3% infectivity but increased humidity (above 43%), only render 14.6–22.2%.

#Doodle devil plant list skin#
If you sleep in high humidity, you can expect to wake with your skin feeling more supple and refreshed. While dry air can leave your skin and lips feeling dull and chapped, moist air has the opposite effect. Higher humidity can work wonders on the condition of your skin, and having a humidifier at home has long been recommended by dermatologists for this very reason. Higher humidity is especially beneficial in the bedroom as for most people it is where they spend a large portion, if not the highest proportion, of their time, and high humidity has numerous health advantages. For example, the Areca Palm has one of the highest transpiration rates of any plant, with a six-foot plant being able to evaporate a quart of water into the air in every 24-hour period. Some plants are much better at this than others. Once the water gets to the leaves, some of it evaporates and therefore increases the humidity of the air around it. They absorb water from the soil with their roots, and then, circulate that water throughout their stems and leaves with a vein-like system. Some plants can increase the humidity of our air by a process called transpiration.
