I’m betting that most of you have closed your windows to keep the cold air out and the warm air in, but fresh air is essential for health. Not only does your body require oxygen, but it must also expel the carbon dioxide you create.
If your windows are closed, you have very little oxygen entering the room and the carbonic acid from exhalation builds up. You end up breathing in your own waste products.
Additionally, the air pollution in homes is far greater than that found outside, so it’s important to open the windows wide occasionally to circulate the air.
Leave your windows open a crack all the time, especially your bedroom windows. The few extra dollars in heating is worth the health benefits derived.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Levels of CO2 do build up inside, a little bit, but most homes breath, because they are not all that well insulated. Levels of CO2 should not be a concern. Of more concern is a bad heating system that causes CO to build-up, and that is deadly.
If you leave your windows open a crack in a cold winter, you are throwing money out the window – a lot of money. Don’t waste energy.
Thanks for weighing in. I decided to post some information to support my position. Here’s one reference.
Carbon dioxide levels in bedrooms with 2 occupants with the bedroom doors and windows closed can rise to 4,500 ppm during the night…The literature indicates that persons exposed to 10,000 ppm over a period of several weeks experience a measurable bone loss.
Also a paper from a study in the Netherlands called The Healthy Bedroom.
Sleeping in exhaled air
Humans act as emission sources of heat, CO2, and moisture from breathing and the body, bio-effluents. The amount of CO2 produced is related to the food intake and the activity level of each individual person, but is, compared with activity level typical of office worker, about 200 ml/min. Carbon dioxide levels greater than 800 ppm (1000 ppm) indicate poor air quality. The typical CO2 outdoor concentrations vary between 350 to 575 ppm.
The ventilation conditions in 35 bedrooms in family houses in La Coruna city (Spain) show, that CO2 levels are much higher than recommended. This was also found in monitored houses in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The maximum CO2 concentration in the bedroom varied between 2300 and 5480 ppm (Rodriguez, ). Values higher than 3000 ppm were reached when the bedroom had the door closed, even when there was only one person. The average infiltration rate varied between 0.66 and 5.04 dm3/s in all cases and was lower than the minimum ventilation rate required for appropriate indoor air quality.