If you’re hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner for the family this year, you’re probably already busy planning everything. There’s just one little thing we’d like to add to your to-do list: making sure the air you’ll breath during the dinner won’t be making any of your guests uncomfortable. It will take you less than 15 minutes to:
1) Open the windows a few hours before your guests arrive. Even if you live in an area with colder weather, opening the windows for a little while will clear the air and help keep the spirits up during dinner. And don’t forget to open the windows again before heading to bed!
2) Choose healthier candles. Unfortunately, most of the candles on the market are made out of paraffin wax and scented with synthetic fragrances, which are both derived from petroleum. They might smell nice, but can potentially irritate your respiratory tract or even trigger asthma attacks. Candles from natural materials such as soybean, palm, hemp, or beeswax are a healthier choice.
3) Watch out for dry air. You’ll probably try to make your home warm for guests, which might have the side effect of leaving your air dry. If your relative humidity drops below 45%, turn on a humidifier close to your dining area and keep it running during dinner. Increasing the humidity (but not above 55%!) will make your guests more comfortable and also make it more difficult for aunt Sally’s cold to spread around.
You can find even more tips for better indoor air quality during the holidays on our blog.
Thousands of Cubes have already been shipped to over 50 countries around the word. And we’re getting a bit curious about where they live, what do they see when they look out of the window, what’s keeping them company as they monitor your rooms.
If you’d like to help us out, take a photo of your Cubes and post it on Twitter or Instagram under the hashtag #cubesensors. We’ll be showcasing the most interesting submissions right here on our blog!
How did your bedroom environment affect your sleep tonight? It’s something we don’t often think about. That’s why we’re making our Cubes more aware about what’s causing you to wake up or become restless during the night. We demoed our Sleep update last week at Engadget Expand NY, and we also wanted to share some basic tips with you.
A common thing we kept hearing from visitors at Expand NY is that we all tend to spend a bit too much time in front of various screens before going to bed. A bad habit indeed! Too much artificial light in the evening can suppress the production of melatonin, the natural sleep hormone. Yet it’s also important to get enough light exposure during the day. Placing your work desk near a window is ideal, but going outside for a lunch walk on sunny days can also help.
Another common mistake we make is keeping our bedrooms too warm during the night. A warm bedroom might sound comfortable, but your body cools during the night, so you should keep your bedroom between 64°F – 72°F (18°C – 22°C) for comfortable sleep.
And while winter is coming to the northern hemisphere, you shouldn’t forget to open the windows regularly to let some fresh air in. Dry air is another common problem in cold winter months due to increased heating. Unfortunately, this prepares an ideal situation for spreading cold and flu viruses.
Finally, it’d be great if we could all sleep in a silent bedroom. But if you live in a noisy city like New York, that might not even be an option. You can however embrace noise by getting used to falling asleep with a smartphone app that generates the same background noise or simply by wearing earplugs.
You can of course keep track of everything in your bedroom environment by placing a little Cube on your nightstand. We have them in stock now, so they can be on your nightstand just a few days after you order your pack.
