The effects of bedroom air quality on sleep and next‐day performance
Open Access
- 5 November 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Hindawi Limited in Indoor Air
- Vol. 26 (5), 679-686
- https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12254
Abstract
The effects of bedroom air quality on sleep and next-day performance were examined in two field-intervention experiments in single-occupancy student dormitory rooms. The occupants, half of them women, could adjust an electric heater to maintain thermal comfort but they experienced two bedroom ventilation conditions, each maintained for 1 week, in balanced order. In the initial pilot experiment (N = 14), bedroom ventilation was changed by opening a window (the resulting average CO2 level was 2585 or 660 ppm). In the second experiment (N = 16), an inaudible fan in the air intake vent was either disabled or operated whenever CO2 levels exceeded 900 ppm (the resulting average CO2 level was 2395 or 835 ppm). Bedroom air temperatures varied over a wide range but did not differ between ventilation conditions. Sleep was assessed from movement data recorded on wristwatch-type actigraphs and subjects reported their perceptions and their well-being each morning using online questionnaires. Two tests of next-day mental performance were applied. Objectively measured sleep quality and the perceived freshness of bedroom air improved significantly when the CO2 level was lower, as did next-day reported sleepiness and ability to concentrate and the subjects' performance of a test of logical thinking.Keywords
Funding Information
- Styrelsen for Forskning og Innovation
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Experimental study on a bedside personalized ventilation system for improving sleep comfort and qualityIndoor and Built Environment, 2013
- Pilot study on the application of bedside personalized ventilation to sleeping peopleJournal of Affective Disorders, 2013
- Ventilation rates in the bedrooms of 500 Danish childrenJournal of Affective Disorders, 2010
- Time in bed, quality of sleep and school functioning of childrenJournal of Sleep Research, 2000
- Perceived sleep quality and its precursors in adolescentsHealth Promotion International, 1999
- The Role of Actigraphy in the Evaluation of Sleep DisordersSleep, 1995
- The Pittsburgh sleep quality index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and researchPsychiatry Research, 1989
- A 3 min reasoning test based on grammatical transformationPsychonomic Science, 1968
- Statistical principles in experimental design.Published by American Psychological Association (APA) ,1962
- Task for the Study of Perceptual Learning and Performance VariablesPerceptual and Motor Skills, 1955