Why Is Fresh Air Important?

Welcome back! The topic of “fresh air” is something that we talk about a lot on the Metro Screenworks blog as one of the main reasons to have working screens; they allow you to enjoy fresh air without the irritation or worry of letting insects, rodents, birds, leaves, and other objects into your home. However, as a population that has become increasingly more sedentary and apt to stay indoors, it is more important than ever to be reminded why fresh air is important to our health and our happiness.

Today, we will be discussing the importance of fresh air but from a different perspective; today, we will be talking about our lungs and how they not only serve us but how fresh air is pertinent for maintaining their health and the health of our entire body. Stick around to learn more!

Also, be sure to shop Metro Screenworks! We offer a variety of traditional and specialty screen products — such as air filtration screen — that allow homeowners and contractors to get the most out of their screens. Check out our selection of window screens, screen doors, and more, online!

It is often difficult to remember how much our lungs do for us until they are impaired by a cold, allergies, or other illness. They reliably inflate and deflate several times every minute of our lives, bringing oxygen to our blood stream. However, our lungs don’t just provide our body life, but they also function as a protection against other chemicals and objects suspended in the air that are small enough for us to breathe.

Our lungs are, essentially, filters; they bring in lung-fulls of air, hopefully, rich with oxygen, without allowing other substances to infiltrate our blood stream. These substances and particles are often removed from our lungs through exhalation. Though the act of exhalation isn’t something we need to think about as it is something that our body naturally does, we should give thought to the health of our lungs.

 Detoxing Our Lungs

Like all of our organs, we have to take care of our lungs to ensure that they are working at their best and that they function properly for a long time to come. Investing in good general health practices will definitely benefit our lungs, but there are a multitude of other ways to take care of our lungs including:

• Steam therapy - inhalation of steam
• Green tea - antioxidants can decrease inflammation in lungs
• Anti-inflammatory foods - eating foods such as turmeric, leafy greens, cherries, and others can enhance lung health
• Exercise - an increased heart rate and breathing can increase detoxification
• Quitting - stopping harmful habits such as smoking
• Wearing proper protection and having proper ventilation - when using potentially harmful substances
• Clearing - getting rid of stagnant air
• Enjoying fresh air

Like all other organs in our body that aid in detox, the lungs can benefit from a healthy lifestyle as well as mindfulness of our habits and the environments we frequent.

Tree Bathing & Fresh Air

As we have discussed in several of our other blog posts such as “Indoor Air Quality & Your Health,” fresh air can do wonders for our overall physical and mental health. Many studies and anecdotal evidence confirm this. However, the Japanese practice of tree bathing only just further shows the benefits.

Tree Bathing

Nature is healing, but in more ways that Ralph Waldo Emerson and other lovers of nature discuss in their works. Tree bathing called shinrin-yoku in Japanese is the practice of being in nature and taking it in through all the senses: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, and feet. There are a lot of reasons that tree bathing, though at first seemingly odd, benefits those who would practice it:

• Unplugging from technology
• Exposure to therapeutic phytoncides
• Nature’s stillness

Because trees are natural air filters — they crave carbon dioxide and release oxygen — the practice of tree bathing can be a healthy practice for those wanting to detox and enhance their lung health. !t is the exposure to fresh air that makes this practice pertinent to our current conversation.

 What Does This Have to Do With Window Screens?

It may seem odd for a screen company to discuss the benefits of tree bathing. However, the concept of bathing in nature isn’t as far removed from the benefits of window screens. As we have discussed in our previous blog posts, “Indoor Air Quality & Your Health” and “Indoor Air Quality: What You Thought You Knew,” indoor air pollution can be just as harmful as outdoor pollution. Stagnant air filled with mold, dust, cleaning fumes, and other particles found commonly in homes, can have a negative effect on our lungs. For this reason, it is important to frequently open our windows and doors and let fresh, oxygenated air (from our local trees) flow into our homes and get rid of old, polluted air.

Window Filter Screen & Pollen Screen

Most people probably won’t have much objection to opening their windows more — except when seasonal allergies occur. When it’s a choice between dealing with possible indoor pollution and suffering from allergy symptoms, such as water eyes, a drippy nose, and even difficult breathing, choosing stagnant air can seem like the lesser of two evils.

However, when you install air filtration screens or pollen screens, you don’t have to choose. These types of window screens filter out pollen and other pollutants that can cause allergies and other issues.

Metro Screenworks offers two types of window screens that can help you open your windows and doors without fear. We sell Pollen Guard and Allergy Guard screens. Pollen Guard offers basic benefits for keeping 50% of pollen out of your home. Allergy Guard, on the other hand, provides pollen filtering benefits as well as additional benefits of filtering out bacteria, some viruses, dust, pollution, fly ash, and other pollutants.

 To learn more how to enhance your life and the life of your customers, visit our website! There, you can learn more about Pollen Guard, Allergy Guard, and the options available. Shop Metro Screenworks today!