Numerous studies and research papers have confirmed the relationship between physical well-being and a person’s surrounding environment. In the past, human beings spent their days outdoors, but over time, we have become fond of closed environments. This has been a gradual process, in response to our eternal need for protection, to find refuge.
Eventually, humans began to show various kinds of ailments. We often talk about fine dust particles or air pollution outside, but the truth is, that humans only spend 10% of their time outdoors. So the real source of this general lack of well-being is not found outside, but indoors.
Offices, for example, present some critical issues. Sometimes the air is unhealthy because there is no circulation, the lighting is poor and mostly artificial, and manufacturing components have chemical agents that release particles which in the long run, can actually damage the body.
The interiors of houses can present similar critical issues. It is the internal environments, where we spend most of our time, which have the greatest influence on our health. We actually notice this ourselves when we walk into a room where the air is stale and we feel uncomfortable, or when we feel welcome and at home in an airy and light-filled room.
Making the places we live in healthy is the goal of the "Healthy Buildings" program, created in the Public Health department of Harvard School. Applying a few simple strategies would be enough to improve the situation and create healthy environments. The commitment of the "Healthy Buildings" program is directly focused on the improvement of people’s long term well-being. Studies have shown that healthy people are more productive, that people who are more productive work better, and that people who work better achieve better results. And after all, the best results guarantee bigger business. The need to set up a new type of working environment that makes people more ambient-aware is reinforced by the fact that good health and good business go hand in hand.