Colds and flu are common companions of cold, winter days. But every now and then, you might even catch a summer cold. When that happens, we’re quick to blame air conditioning for making our offices too cold. Is this the right assumption?

Beware of dry air and summer stress

Cold temperatures don’t cause colds on their own. It’s always viruses you can thank for that sore throat, runny nose and cough. However, it’s true that certain environmental conditions make it easier for cold and flu viruses to spread around. Low relative humidity in winter months (below 43%) is certainly something most viruses seems to appreciate, as it helps them to travel better through air.

Cooling down our indoors during summer also causes air to dry out, which in turn is related to a number of problems we experience in heavily air conditioned spaces. Irritated dry eyes are quite common, especially if you’re a contact lens wearer. As the air dries out, it may also cause the protective mucous barrier in your nose to dry, making you more vulnerable to infections. Viruses love a cold, dry nose!

Viruses also find it easier to attack individuals with a weakened immune system. The stress, caused by sudden changes in temperature and humidity you experience daily when moving between the blazing heat outdoors and overly cooled indoor spaces, can lower your immunity. Even the stress of planning a vacation or getting everything sorted out before leaving can make you a better target for viruses lingering in the air.

Keep in mind that symptoms of cold don’t necessarily mean a cold. Allergies that can feel similar to colds can be caused by pollen in the air from plants and moulds. Allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems are also caused by dirty air filters in HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems, a common cause of sick building syndrome.

Cooler isn’t better, keep your air filters clean

Air conditioning can be partially to blame for colds and respiratory problems during summer. That doesn’t mean the risks outweigh the benefits. Without AC, it’s nearly impossible to stay productive in higher temperatures. Air conditioning also helps to deal with high humidity and, if kept clean, even improve indoor air quality.

The trick is in keeping the temperature at comfortable levels, between 70°F and 75°F ( 21°C and 24°C) at offices. It’s also worth remembering that air conditioning doesn’t bring fresh air indoors. Thoroughly ventilating rooms in the evening or early morning can therefore help you get rid of existing air pollutants that are causing respiratory problems. And finally, if you want to keep your building healthy, it’s important to regularly clean or replace air filters.

It’s a commonly held belief: when left alone, cats spend most of their time sleeping. But is this really true? Now that I have CubeSensors in each of the rooms of my home, it’s easy to keep track of my two cats, Epic, a four year old Maine Coon, who likes to pose with our Cubes; and Blink, a one year old Devon Rex, who’s only still when he’s sleeping.

The easiest way to check for activity is to look at the noise data in all rooms. We keep the living room and bathroom closed off when we’re away to prevent mischief such as chewing on headphones (been there, done that). So the cats basically have three rooms to hang out in: the kitchen, where they have a fresh supply of kibble and water; our bedroom; and a guest room, where they often sleep when we’re home and where their litterbox is.

After looking at the data, it quickly became obvious that the guest room doesn’t see that much activity when we’re away. Practically flat noise levels. By looking at data from the other two rooms, it also became clear that our cats do have an established routine. In the morning, it’s snack time in the kitchen. Two noise peaks close together mean the cats are taking turns eating their kibble, as usually. Our kitchen Cube is quite close to their food bowls, so the loud crunchy noise shows just enough to see when it’s snack time.

In the afternoon, the main point of interest becomes our bedroom. The cats have had their naps and snacks, so they start making a bit more noise around 1 PM. That’s perfectly in line with their behavior during weekends, when we’re at home.

Keep in mind that cats are pretty silent creatures, so any spike in noise means they are up to no good. There’s probably some playing around going on, which sometimes moves into the kitchen. Yep, cats get hungry when they chase each other around! And the good news is that they never make enough noise to disturb the neighbors. Humans definitely have a much noisier presence. I do wonder about dogs though; we’d need a multi-dog household to compare.

And finally, there’s a bit of extra activity before the time my husband usually gets home. They’ve had their fun and are now ready for their human servants to provide fresh food and cuddles.

You can look at my noise charts from the past two days below. I’ve only included the two rooms with the most activity and I’ve marked the areas with higher than usual noise levels that don’t seem to be related to outside noise (outside noise shows in all or at least adjacent rooms).

So, you think cats have a boring life when you’re not around? Think again! That doesn’t mean they should be left alone for longer periods of time though. It’s quite clear that they anticipate our return home.

I’ll of course keep monitoring the secret life of my cats with the help of our Cubes and report back if I uncover more interesting facts. In the meantime, do let us know if there are other home or office experiments you’d like to see us try!

You’re in the flow. Fingers dancing on the keyboard like there’s no tomorrow. Pieces of that challenging problem are finally moving in place. It all makes perfect sense!

Wait, why are you seeing double all of a sudden? You look around and find yourself working in complete darkness.

Sounds familiar? Getting lost in work and not noticing gradual changes in your environment is a common problem. It’s great when you’re in the zone. But when you don’t have the right lighting, your eyes will only reward you with itchiness, blurry vision, and maybe even a headache to go.

The ideal lighting for your office

A lot of us spend the majority of our working hours behind a computer screen. Luckily, modern, high resolution LCD screens are much friendlier to our eyes. But the amount and kind of light you get in your work environment also matters.

For computer work, the ideal lighting level is between 300 and 500 lux. Which is why your CubeSensors will fire an alert if they sense light slipping below the recommended threshold. And no, just because your computer screen is illuminated, it doesn’t mean you can work in the dark. The high contrast between the screen and the darkness of your room will put unnecessary strain on your eyes.

If you’re doing a lot of paper-based work or reading, you might need even more light. Use a task light with a low glare, asymmetric lens that won’t shine on your computer screen. In your office, try to go for a well-distributed diffused lighting and avoid light sources directly behind your computer screen.

While having a big window in your office will boost your workplace happiness, it can also cause disturbing glare on your computer screen. Too much of a good thing isn’t always better. Use window blinds or curtains to avoid direct light on your screen if you can’t reposition your screen or move your desk.

Check out the image below to get a better idea on what the recommended lightning arrangement for computer work looks like. (source)