<
https://www.sciencealert.com/air-purifiers-could-boost-your-brain-function-study-suggests>
"Using an in-home HEPA purifier for one month spurs a small but significant
improvement in brain function in adults age 40 and older.
That's the result of a new study we co-authored in the journal
Scientific
Reports.
HEPA purifiers – HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air – remove
particulate matter from the air.
Exposure to particulate matter has been connected to respiratory and
cardiovascular illnesses as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's
and Parkinson's.
Environmental health researchers increasingly recommend that people use HEPA
air purifiers in their homes to lower their exposure to particulate matter, but
few studies have examined whether using them boosts mental function.
We analyzed data from a study of 119 people ages 30 to 74 living in Somerville,
Massachusetts.
Somerville sits along Interstate 93 and Route 28, two major highways, resulting
in relatively high levels of traffic-related air pollution. This makes it an
especially good location for testing the health effects of air purifiers.
We randomly assigned participants to one of two groups. One used a HEPA air
purifier for one month and then a sham air purifier – which looked and acted
like the real thing but did not contain the air-cleaning filter – for one
month, with a monthlong break in between. The second group used the real and
sham purifiers in reverse order.
After each month, participants took a test that measured different aspects of
their mental capacity.
The test probed people's visual memory and motor speed skills by measuring how
quickly they could draw lines between sequential numbers, and it tested
executive function and mental flexibility by asking them to draw lines between
alternating sequential numbers and letters.
We found that participants 40 years and older – about 42% of our sample – on
average completed the section testing for mental flexibility and executive
function 12% faster after using the HEPA purifier than after using the sham
purifier.
That was true even when we accounted for factors like differences in the amount
of time participants spent indoors, with either filter, as well as how
stressful they found the test.
This improvement may seem small, but it is similar to the cognitive benefits
that people experience from increasing their daily exercise."
Via Joyce Donahue.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
