If you’re a older adult living in an independent living community, then you know that it’s important to be able to get around and stay active. However, if your air quality is poor, that can become difficult or impossible. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your senior-friendly assisted living in Durham, NC has good air quality – and here’s how:
Good Air Quality Helps Older Adults’ Respiratory Conditions
Good air quality is important to all aging family members, but it is especially relevant if you or a loved one has respiratory conditions. Aging family members are more likely than younger adults to have chronic lung diseases like asthma and emphysema. Many also suffer from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing due to damage to the lungs’ airways.
Good air quality not only helps those with respiratory conditions breathe easier; it can also help them avoid getting sick in other ways. For example, poor air quality can lead to migraines or headaches for people who don’t have a history of headaches—especially if they are sensitive to smells and odors that aren’t pleasant or familiar.
Good Air Quality Can Improve Older Adults’ Moods and Increase Their Energy Levels
Indoor air pollution is a major concern for older adults, especially those who have chronic conditions or are living with memory loss. Poor indoor air quality can lead to irritated eyes and throats, headaches, and dizziness. It can also make it harder for people to get a good night’s sleep because of the irritants in the air that trigger allergies or asthma attacks.
The elderly are particularly vulnerable when it comes to poor indoor air quality because their bodies tend to be more sensitive than those of younger people; they may not react as strongly but could still notice effects from exposure over time if steps aren’t taken to reduce pollution levels in the home environment.
Because senior-friendly independent living communities must provide safe environments for residents at all times (especially during meals), they must always be clean and tidy. This means keeping them free from contaminants like pesticides on produce or lead paint chips flaking off walls, so they don’t end up being ingested by diners unknowingly while eating out there every day!
The Best Way to Monitor the Air Quality in Your Retirement Community is to Follow the EPA’s Air Quality Index
One of the most important things you can do for your retirement community is to monitor and address the air quality inside your community. The EPA’s Air Quality Index helps you determine whether or not you should take action based on current conditions in your retirement community.
Air quality can be measured by what is known as the particle count, which refers to how many particles are in the air at any given time. It’s important to keep track of this because particles smaller than 2.5 microns (2.5 microns = 0.0025 mm) can get into human lungs and cause health problems like asthma, emphysema, and lung cancer. There are two methods to monitor particle counts in your retirement community: Humidistats & Personal Monitors.
A humidistat measures humidity levels using an electronic device located within a building (often near an indoor pool). These devices measure relative humidity levels and report them back digitally over periods ranging from minutes up through days, depending on how much information you want to be collected at one time period versus another.
This helps identify if there might be mold growth occurring somewhere within those walls because high humidity levels tend towards causing molds to grow faster than normal under these conditions so knowing where molds thrive best will help prevent them from growing elsewhere too quickly!
Conclusion
Good air quality is important for everyone to have. It improves our moods and energy levels so we can enjoy life more fully. But elderly adults who are particularly vulnerable to illnesses like asthma or COPD must have clean air in their homes and communities.
