"It has previously only been sparsely documented that bedroom air quality can affect your sleep. Our study has now clearly proven that it can," says Pawel Wargocki, Associate Professor at DTU Sustain.
He has headed an international research project that has conducted a number of studies to determine if and how bedroom air quality affects sleep. One of the researchers' findings is that a night in a stuffy bedroom may contribute to poorer sleep and next-day work performance.
In the research project's studies, measurements have been made in more than 100 households, which agreed to let the researchers measure the air quality in their bedroom while they slept. In addition, their sleep was tracked and their cognitive abilities tested. The measurements were made by researchers in both Denmark and at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China.
Need for twice as much ventilation as the rules prescribe
At night, both people and furnishings affect bedroom air quality. As a consequence of the body's metabolic processes, we humans affect air quality while we sleep. Computers, TV screens, furniture, and clothes also pollute air quality in the bedroom. Together, this pollution accumulates during the night if it is not diluted by, for example, ventilating.
"The air quality in the bedroom can affect your cognitive abilities, such as your ability to concentrate, to understand, and to react. Sleeping in a well-ventilated bedroom benefits your cognitive abilities," says Pawel Wargocki.
The new studies from DTU suggest that twice as much ventilation in the bedroom as the currently recommended level in Danish building regulations is needed to support your sleep optimally.
