Sleep better by installing an air purifier in your bedroom

On average, humans spend one third of their lives in their bedrooms (assuming they sleep eight hours per night). Knowing that indoor air is 7-10 times more polluted than outdoor air, installing an air purifier in your bedroom and breathing cleaner air for eight hours per day can bring a variety of benefits to your well-being. Below we will delve into why the bedroom can make an excellent place to install an air purifier.

What is an air purifier?

First, it helps to understand what an air purifier is and what it does. Using an internal fan, an air purifier pulls in air from your space, applies various filtration technologies in order to remove pollutants from that air, and then releases and circulates the purified air back into the room. This process may be repeated up to several times per hour depending upon the level of air pollution in your space.

Which pollutants does an air purifier filter out?

Due to the varying quality of air purifier filters available on today’s market, not all air purifiers remove the same pollutants from the air. That being said, investing in an air purifier with a filter of the highest quality is vital if you hope to remove as many pollutants from the air as possible.

HEPA-filters: the gold standard of air filtration

Filters that are HEPA-certified provide the most extensive filtration available. What is HEPA? “HEPA”, or "high-efficiency particulate air”, is a filter capable of filtering, in a single pass, at least 99.97% of particles of a size greater than or equal to a diameter of 0.01 µm. HEPA is a European certification overseen by European standards EN 1822 and EN ISO 29463. For decades, these filters have been used in various settings including laboratories, operating rooms, and cleanrooms.

A HEPA-certified filter can filter out bacteria, viruses, common household allergens (such as pet dander and pollen), dust and smoke, mould spores, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and more¹. All Eoleaf devices contain HEPA filters. However, where you place your air purifier within your space can drastically impact its effectiveness.

How can an air purifier help your sleep quality?

Filtering your indoor air can help to remove stale air. Stale, stuffy air has a highly unpleasant smell and is something that all of us have experienced at least once in our lifetimes. Stale air is caused by a build-up of certain air pollutants, chemicals, and humidity in the air due to lack of ventilation. Some of those chemicals may be exhaled carbon dioxide and MVOCs (microbial volatile organic compounds), and when these components are not properly ventilated, the ratio of airborne contaminants to oxygen increases⁴. An air purifier can pull in stale air, remove the airborne contaminants, and release purified air, ensuring that you will only breathe the freshest air while sleeping.

For those who suffer from respiratory diseases (such as COPD or asthma) or allergies (seasonal or year-round), installing an air purifier in the bedroom can encourage easier sleep. For asthma sufferers, 80% of asthma attacks are triggered by allergens, and by removing airborne allergens from the air, asthmatics can be protected from asthma attack triggers². For those suffering from allergies, air purifiers containing a HEPA filter can filter all allergens and air pollution – such as dust, pollen, pet dander, smoke, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) – down to particles the size of 0.01 µm.

Pollutants in your indoor air can also be responsible for causing breathing difficulties which may lead to snoring. If either you or your partner snores, installing an air purifier may help you both sleep more soundly.

Furthermore, recent studies have been finding a link between chronic air pollution exposure and sleep apnoea. One study in particular published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) showed that individuals with a higher level of exposure to nitrogen dioxide and PM (particulate matter), two common components of traffic-related air pollution, are more likely to develop sleep apnoea³.

Where is the best place to install an air purifier?

When choosing a location in your space to install an air purifier, the following list can help you decide:

1. Place it as close as possible to the pollution source (smoke, odour, mould, etc.)
2. Place it near a window or close to a doorway where as much air as possible can pass through the device
3. Never install an air purifier in the corner of a room because this is where airflow is the lowest
4. Make sure that the air purifier is far from any obstacles that may impede airflow
5. Avoid putting your air purifier in rooms with high humidity or near electronic devices (to avoid electronic interference)
6. Move your air purifier around regularly while following the above rules!⁵

The bedroom makes an ideal location for your air purifier. Keep in mind that the closer the device is installed to your head, the shorter the distance the purified air will travel. This will help you breathe the purest air all throughout the night.

Ensure better sleep today by installing an Eoleaf air purifier in your home! Reach out to our team of experts to find the device that is perfect for you and your space.

References

¹ Engel, P., & Barnes, C. (2022, September 20). Do air purifiers really work? CHOICE. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/cooling/air-purifiers/articles/are-air-purifiers-worth-it

² Stallergenes Greer UK. (2022). What is respiratory allergy: Stallergenes Greer UK. What is respiratory allergy. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.stallergenesgreer.com/how-allergy-diagnosed

³ Billings, M. E., Gold, D., Szpiro, A., Aaron, C. P., Jorgensen, N., Gassett, A., Leary, P. J., Kaufman, J. D., & Redline, S. R. (2018). The association of ambient air pollution with sleep apnea: The multi-ethnic study of Atherosclerosis. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201804-248OC

⁴ Paige, A. (n.d.). How to get rid of stale air in your home - 5 easy tips. How To Get Rid Of Stale Air In Your Home - 5 Easy Tips. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.homemadesimple.com/in-the-home/how-to-remove-stale-air/

⁵ Where to place Air Purifier? (7 golden 'best place' rules + bonus tip). LearnMetrics. (2022, July 5). Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://learnmetrics.com/where-to-place-air-purifier/