Is Your Office Making You Sleepy?
New Studies Show High Carbon Dioxide Levels Could Be To Blame
After a big lunch or a long meeting, we all fight the urge to put our heads down at the office and take a little siesta. But is there something else at that makes us tired at work?
It turns out that high levels of carbon dioxide due to poor ventilation are often the cause, according to researchers at the State University of New York and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California.
When outdoors, concentrations of carbon dioxide are usually about 380 parts per million, or PPM. In the typical office, the PPM is, on average, at about 1000. But in conference rooms - where groups of people are breathing out carbon dioxide in close proximity - it can exceed 3,000 PPM. Similar results have been found in classrooms as well.
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The effects of high carbon dioxide levels: sleepiness and a decreased ability to make decisions. Says one doctor involved in the story, "If people can't think or perform as well, that could obviously have adverse economic impacts.'
The easiet - and cheapest - solution? Open a window!
