How indoor temperature affects your physical and mental health
What's a healthy indoor temperature?
When a room feels cold or has stuffy air quality, we’ll tend to start feeling sluggish or our mood will drop. But do you know about the many ways in which the ideal indoor temperature of your home can affect your physical and mental health?
What is a recommended comfortable room temperature? The ideal indoor temperature isn't just about comfort – it can have a real effect on your physical and mental health. Be it body temperature, cognition, resistance to infection, mental health or even dementia symptoms, your home's temperature makes a big difference to your well-being.
Degrees of well-being
Ambient indoor temperature may seem like a minor factor in your general peace of mind, but think back to the last time you were in a place that was too hot or cold. It might be an event in an uncomfortably warm venue or a working day in an overly chilled office. Think about how much it affected not only your happiness but your performance.
The Polish Ecological Building Association’s Healthy Office report suggests that thermal comfort influences mood, efficiency, productivity and work satisfaction. Too hot? Employees feel sluggish and tired. Too chilly? They struggle to concentrate. Studies at Helsinki University of Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory back this up: scientists found that employee productivity was highest at 21-22°C. Each rise of 1°C causes a fall in productivity by 2 percentage points.
What is a healthy indoor temperature?
If your house is cold and damp, it becomes a breeding ground for damp and mould. An indoor temperature of less than 16°C increases the risk of asthma and other respiratory conditions, while going below 12°C puts the cardiovascular system under stress. A cold home can increase your risk of depression and confusion. If you are living with chronic pain, it can make conditions much worse. If it's too warm and stuffy, we can develop headaches or irritated mucus membranes, or we might feel too tired to concentrate.
What is a recommended comfortable room temperature?
So, what’s the recommended indoor temperature? It depends on the room, but 20°C is a good baseline. Bathrooms should be warmer, between 22 and 24°C, to avoid a shock when you step out of a hot shower. Adults’ bedrooms need to be cooler, between 16 and 19°C, as our body temperature decreases as we sleep. We sleep better if our internal regulatory system doesn't have to work too hard. Bear in mind, though, that an overly cold bedroom can be hard to sleep or study in if it doubles as a student’s work area.
Children’s bedrooms should be around 17-20°C. If a child’s room is too hot, and therefore has dry air quality, it can lead to respiratory problems. For older people sleeping in a too-warm bedroom has been said to contribute to heart attacks, asthma and stroke. Studies have shown that physical performance in elderly people – from their ability to get up from a chair to how quickly they can walk – is negatively affected by a hot ambient temperature.
Balanced temperature, better life
Living, working and sleeping at the ideal temperature gives your body one less thing to worry about. If you’re not having to regulate your temperature continually, you can use that energy for other things.
Choose the right indoor thermometer
It is very important to have a good indoor thermometer to control your indoor temperature. A digital thermostat is ideal, as it allows you to track indoor temperature accurately and sensitively.
Daikin’s solutions help you find the right temperature, ensuring comfort and well-being for you and your family around the clock.
