PagesOfWellbeing.com
  • Sleep Health
  • Medical News
  • Mental Health
  • Healthy Food
Medical News

Sick again? Maybe your building is to blame.

by admin April 4, 2025
April 4, 2025

Health

Sick again? Maybe your building is to blame.

Illustrations by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

March 20, 2025


1 min read

Take our quiz to learn more about how indoor air quality can impact your health

Do you ever find yourself feeling tired or struggling to concentrate while at the office? In “Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick — or Keep You Well,” Harvard public health and business experts Joseph Allen and John Macomber explore how the places we spend most of our time — our homes, workplaces, and schools — affect our well-being, focus, and problem-solving ability. Allen helped us develop the following quiz based on his research on indoor air quality.


var gform;gform||(document.addEventListener(“gform_main_scripts_loaded”,function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),document.addEventListener(“gform/theme/scripts_loaded”,function(){gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”,function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,themeScriptsLoaded:!1,isFormEditor:()=>”function”==typeof InitializeEditor,callIfLoaded:function(o){return!(!gform.domLoaded||!gform.scriptsLoaded||!gform.themeScriptsLoaded&&!gform.isFormEditor()||(gform.isFormEditor()&&console.warn(“The use of gform.initializeOnLoaded() is deprecated in the form editor context and will be removed in Gravity Forms 3.1.”),o(),0))},initializeOnLoaded:function(o){gform.callIfLoaded(o)||(document.addEventListener(“gform_main_scripts_loaded”,()=>{gform.scriptsLoaded=!0,gform.callIfLoaded(o)}),document.addEventListener(“gform/theme/scripts_loaded”,()=>{gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0,gform.callIfLoaded(o)}),window.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”,()=>{gform.domLoaded=!0,gform.callIfLoaded(o)}))},hooks:{action:{},filter:{}},addAction:function(o,r,e,t){gform.addHook(“action”,o,r,e,t)},addFilter:function(o,r,e,t){gform.addHook(“filter”,o,r,e,t)},doAction:function(o){gform.doHook(“action”,o,arguments)},applyFilters:function(o){return gform.doHook(“filter”,o,arguments)},removeAction:function(o,r){gform.removeHook(“action”,o,r)},removeFilter:function(o,r,e){gform.removeHook(“filter”,o,r,e)},addHook:function(o,r,e,t,n){null==gform.hooks[o][r]&&(gform.hooks[o][r]=[]);var d=gform.hooks[o][r];null==n&&(n=r+”_”+d.length),gform.hooks[o][r].push({tag:n,callable:e,priority:t=null==t?10:t})},doHook:function(r,o,e){var t;if(e=Array.prototype.slice.call(e,1),null!=gform.hooks[r][o]&&((o=gform.hooks[r][o]).sort(function(o,r){return o.priority-r.priority}),o.forEach(function(o){“function”!=typeof(t=o.callable)&&(t=window[t]),”action”==r?t.apply(null,e):e[0]=t.apply(null,e)})),”filter”==r)return e[0]},removeHook:function(o,r,t,n){var e;null!=gform.hooks[o][r]&&(e=(e=gform.hooks[o][r]).filter(function(o,r,e){return!!(null!=n&&n!=o.tag||null!=t&&t!=o.priority)}),gform.hooks[o][r]=e)}});

Step 1 of 10

10%

1. How much of their lives do Americans on average spend indoors?

2. Which workplace change boosted workers’ cognitive function in a 2015 Harvard study?

3. Building air ventilation rates shifted in the 1970s, with the main goal of:

4. Where do you breathe most outdoor air pollution?

5. If you live in an apartment, how much of the indoor air is coming from your neighbor’s apartment?

6. How many opportunities can you identify to make this building healthier?

7. How much of the air you breathe indoors just came out of the lungs of others in the room?

8. Actions you can take to reduce spread of infectious diseases indoors:

9. Dust is hormonally active. True or false?

10. Of the 80,000-plus chemicals available for commerce, how many have been banned by the EPA since 1976?

document.getElementById( “ak_js_1” ).setAttribute( “value”, ( new Date() ).getTime() );

gform.initializeOnLoaded( function() {gformInitSpinner( 24, ‘https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg’, true );jQuery(‘#gform_ajax_frame_24’).on(‘load’,function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘*’).html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf(‘GF_AJAX_POSTBACK’) >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_wrapper_24’);var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_confirmation_wrapper_24’).length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf(‘gformRedirect(){‘) >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery(‘html’).css(‘margin-top’), 10) + parseInt(jQuery(‘body’).css(‘margin-top’), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_24’).html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass(‘gform_validation_error’)){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_24’).addClass(‘gform_validation_error’);} else {jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_24’).removeClass(‘gform_validation_error’);}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_24’).offset().top – mt); }, 50 );if(window[‘gformInitDatepicker’]) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window[‘gformInitPriceFields’]) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery(‘#gform_source_page_number_24’).val();gformInitSpinner( 24, ‘https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg’, true );jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_page_loaded’, [24, current_page]);window[‘gf_submitting_24’] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK’).html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_24’).replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gf_24’).offset().top – mt);jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_confirmation_loaded’, [24]);window[‘gf_submitting_24’] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery(‘#gform_confirmation_message_24’).text());}else{jQuery(‘#gform_24’).append(contents);if(window[‘gformRedirect’]) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger(“gform_pre_post_render”, [{ formId: “24”, currentPage: “current_page”, abort: function() { this.preventDefault(); } }]); if (event && event.defaultPrevented) { return; } const gformWrapperDiv = document.getElementById( “gform_wrapper_24” ); if ( gformWrapperDiv ) { const visibilitySpan = document.createElement( “span” ); visibilitySpan.id = “gform_visibility_test_24”; gformWrapperDiv.insertAdjacentElement( “afterend”, visibilitySpan ); } const visibilityTestDiv = document.getElementById( “gform_visibility_test_24” ); let postRenderFired = false; function triggerPostRender() { if ( postRenderFired ) { return; } postRenderFired = true; jQuery( document ).trigger( ‘gform_post_render’, [24, current_page] ); gform.utils.trigger( { event: ‘gform/postRender’, native: false, data: { formId: 24, currentPage: current_page } } ); gform.utils.trigger( { event: ‘gform/post_render’, native: false, data: { formId: 24, currentPage: current_page } } ); if ( visibilityTestDiv ) { visibilityTestDiv.parentNode.removeChild( visibilityTestDiv ); } } function debounce( func, wait, immediate ) { var timeout; return function() { var context = this, args = arguments; var later = function() { timeout = null; if ( !immediate ) func.apply( context, args ); }; var callNow = immediate && !timeout; clearTimeout( timeout ); timeout = setTimeout( later, wait ); if ( callNow ) func.apply( context, args ); }; } const debouncedTriggerPostRender = debounce( function() { triggerPostRender(); }, 200 ); if ( visibilityTestDiv && visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent === null ) { const observer = new MutationObserver( ( mutations ) => { mutations.forEach( ( mutation ) => { if ( mutation.type === ‘attributes’ && visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent !== null ) { debouncedTriggerPostRender(); observer.disconnect(); } }); }); observer.observe( document.body, { attributes: true, childList: false, subtree: true, attributeFilter: [ ‘style’, ‘class’ ], }); } else { triggerPostRender(); } } );} );

previous post
Machine healing
next post
Sniffing out signs of trouble

You may also like

Fighting Alzheimer’s one discovery at a time

May 9, 2025

How halt in funding hurts efforts to ensure...

May 7, 2025

Weighing cure for sick kids against troubling ethical...

May 3, 2025

Bile imbalance linked to liver cancer

May 2, 2025

Rewriting genetic destiny

May 1, 2025

U.S. pregnancy-related deaths continuing to rise

May 1, 2025

FDA-approved smoking cessation pill helps break vaping habit

May 1, 2025

Stopping the bleeding

April 29, 2025

Why bother?

April 29, 2025

Is dining with others a sign of happiness?

April 26, 2025
Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get Premium Articles For Free

    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

    Recent Posts

    • Fighting Alzheimer’s one discovery at a time

      May 9, 2025
    • How halt in funding hurts efforts to ensure safety of patients in medical research

      May 7, 2025
    • Weighing cure for sick kids against troubling ethical questions

      May 3, 2025
    • Bile imbalance linked to liver cancer

      May 2, 2025
    • Rewriting genetic destiny

      May 1, 2025
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Copyright © 2025 PagesOfWellbeing.com All Rights Reserved.


    Back To Top
    PagesOfWellbeing.com
    • Sleep Health
    • Medical News
    • Mental Health
    • Healthy Food