Is Your Home or Office Giving You Headaches?

I noticed that http://www.discoveryhealth.com has a group of short articles about making your home and office environment a healthy one. They're really onto something here.

You know, of course, that the smell of paint can give you a headache. I recently spent a day working in a research facility that was being painted. By the time I left the building, I had a doozy of a headache and my eyes were burning. Unfortunately, I had a limited amount of time in that city so I couldn't just come back another day.

What you may not realize is how the type, tint and strength of lighting can affect your health. Fluorescent bulbs are the main culprit here and most offices, including mine, have them. In fact, I've decided I need to change the lighting in my office because the glare is hard on my eyes and makes it more difficult to work.

Several years ago I wrote a profile of a lighting business. I don't think I ever realized before then that there was such a thing as a lighting consultant. When the woman showed me their display of different tints of lighting, I was just blown away by the difference in how I felt with each tint. There's one they suggest for a hospital, for instance, because some tints make you look and feel better, and some have the opposite effect. Another is not suggested for a bathroom; it makes you look greenish.

According to the article on discoveryhealth.com by Sid Kirchheimer, although fluorescent bulbs appear to be on consistently, some are actually flickering up to 60 times per second. This is too fast for you to notice it, but will certainly cause headaches and eye fatigue.

I'm considering changing to a desk lamp with an incandescent bulb to soften the lighting at my desk, and perhaps a filter on my computer screen because I don't like to cover the windows.

The last doctor's office I worked in was in a hospital complex, so periodically we endured fire drills. The alert for fire was a bell and flashing strobe lights which invariably triggered a migraine. I tried putting on sunglasses when the strobe lights went on and that helped, but I still dreaded those drills.

There are other factors in your home and office environment which can cause headaches or other illnesses, such as chemicals in carpeting, appliances, and building materials. Plants can be an effective way to fight the resulting air pollution in your home as they absorb toxins and emit cleaner air. They also add humidity to a dry house, and it just makes you feel good to look at them.

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