The Ins and Outs of Sick Building Syndrome

Much of my work pertains to homes, apartments and other personal spaces, but the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) relates to your working environment as well. In modern times, we spend a little less than 1/3 of our time at work on average. That's a lot of time in the same space! Unfortunately, these spaces are often poorly ventilated and filled with a host of other issues that lead to sick building syndrome, which is as gross as it sounds. 

Sick building syndrome is a collection of symptoms that seem to be caused directly by spending time in a certain building, often an office. These symptoms can include anything from headaches, dizziness and sensitivity to smell to asthma attacks, flu-like symptoms and even personality changes! Long term, they can even lead to cancer, pregnancy difficulties and other more serious issues. Not only do these issues cause us to feel poorly, they can also result in higher incidents of missing work and difficulty being productive when we do make it in. 

These effects can be caused by many factors, including:

  • external pollution (think car exhaust, radon, asbestos, lead paint) that leaks indoors through ventilation

  • VOCs off gassed by a number of office supplies like manufactured wood furniture, carpet, printers and more

  • Off gassing from clothing, fragrances and personal products

  • Insect or vermin droppings

  • Mold and mildew

  • EMFs from small appliances like microwaves

  • Inadequate lighting

  • Ventilation issues

The good news is that there are ways to avoid sick building syndrome, and while many of them are reserved as actions for landlords and building owners, some of them we can do at our desks! If you own a building you suspect of making people sick, take care to use proper ventilation, remove and replace water stained carpet, upholstery and ceiling tiles, aim to use materials that do not off gas as much, and educate yourself as well as possible to help prevent sick building syndrome in your space. Changing out your air filters regularly with HEPA filters can be very effective as well! 

If you're an employee in a sick building, be sure to bring the problem to the attention of someone who can make changes, but you can also consider bringing in a small air purifier for your office and adding plants to your desk and office space that can help to absorb harmful VOCs. Check out our favorite options! 

Generally the symptoms of sick building syndrome are relieved when you leave the building, but if you leave one place and head to another polluted place, you're not doing much good! So work to make your home as holistic and green as possible to give yourself a safe place to rejuvenate and heal from a long day at the office!

by Anjie Cho

Q&A Sunday: Bedroom Colors and the Bagua

I'm confused when it comes to bedroom feng shui. I see a lot of articles on creating a bedroom space that's romantic, with colors of red/pink, etc. But what about the area in which the bedroom is on the bagua map? My bedroom is in the Family area which has different colors and shapes, etc. than the Love & Relationships area. What's the best way to set up a bedroom like this?

Jennifer S., Madison, WI


Hi Jennifer

Thanks for your question! it’s a really good one, and it comes up a lot. Here we’re looking at two different approaches or feng shui techniques. 

First off, when writing a general post on feng shui for a bedroom, I try to make it as crowd friendly as possible. The bedroom can be in any area of the feng shui bagua map, but it’s always a bedroom! So usually I approach it from the knowledge that the bedroom can be in any bagua area, however here are some ways to work with the bedroom in light of what a bedroom is generally used for: sleep, or healing, or in the case that you mentioned, to encourage romance. 

It’s actually a great idea to also approach the bedroom with regard to where it’s located on the feng shui bagua map. You mentioned that your bedroom is in the New Beginnings (Family) area and it’s not in the Relationship area. You can possibly see that with your bedroom in this area, there can be opportunities for energy and growth in your relationships, especially your primary relationship. Your bedroom doesn’t have to be in the Relationship area to use the colors related to the Relationship gua. You can invoke romantic colors in your bedroom (in New Beginnings area) to create and invigorate new relationships. Or you can use the colors of New Beginnings (green) to encourage growth and healing in your personal life. But without talking to you, I can’t tell you what is the “best” way to set up your bedroom. 

This is where a feng shui practitioner can be very helpful. My friend and colleague, Doris Ingber, calls what you’re looking at as “Barnes & Noble Feng Shui”, where you read things here and there and work with things in a very literal way. There’s nothing wrong with this, because it’s a step in the right direction! But a skilled feng shui consultant can help you use the feng shui principles in a more precise and effective way depending on what your needs are. It’s sort of like working with a doctor or looking on WebMD 😃 But if that’s not something you’re interested in, I’d advise you to look at what you want to achieve in your bedroom, and take the advice on the posts that resonate with you.  

We’re also doing a raffle on the podcast in May through June 2017, so be sure to enter and you will have a chance to win a free mini-consultation with me that we’ll share on the podcast. There we could look at your bedroom more closely! Until then, take a peek at some of these bedroom feng shui posts to see what you can glean!

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

The Mood-Boosting Nontoxic Nail Polishes You Need To Try Right Now

featured this week on MindBodyGreen by Kayla Jacobs

Nail polish in general is a lot safer these days, with most brands removing carcinogens and toxic phthalates from their formulas to make them safer for both us (the consumer) and manicurists alike. Bright sunny days call for bold and beautiful nails, and so I've chosen seven shades for your digits' seasonal debut. To aid in the decision-making process, I thought about the literal mood-boosting effects of color, and consulted with feng shui expert, Anjie Cho.

Let these tiny bottles of kaleidoscopic lacquers take center stage in your springtime beauty rituals, and while you get your paint on, rest assured that the formulations you're playing with are the current gold standard in green beauty. Oh, and they shine pretty magically in summer evening light too. Now, I've just got to find that porch to sit on...

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