I had many reasons for quitting my job and moving to Portugal but one of those reasons was for health.
However, my apartment in Portugal had other plans for me. As soon as I moved into my new home, I began to develop terrible allergies.
At first, I thought there may have been a dog living inside of it prior to my arrival (I’m allergic), but my real estate agent confirmed that this was not the case.
I also figured that the place collected a lot of dust and dust mites since it sat empty for a while. So, I thoroughly cleaned as best as I could.
Eventually the allergies began to subside, albeit not disappear entirely. However, for months I experienced a variety of random illnesses that seemingly came from nowhere. This didn’t make sense because I live a generally healthy life, and while we all will experience the misfortune of coming down with sicknesses here and there, having back-to-back-to-back issues is clearly a sign that something is not right.
Eventually I noticed what appeared to be mold growing on the walls and assumed that it was in fact the mold that was causing my problems.
Fast forward, and I’m typing this essay from a new apartment that I just moved into, and the symptoms have all but vanished.
This made me think of something that I feel is overlooked when considering health, which is that the buildings we live in play a major role in promoting, or diminishing, our health.
Mold is only one small part of the many aspects of buildings that impact our health as there are many different elements in our homes, and particularly in modern homes, that could silently be destroying our health.
When you think about it, the buildings that we spend most of our time inside of are constructed largely of artificial materials. Using a food analogy, one can say that modern buildings are ultra-processed; that is, they are nowhere close to resembling anything found in nature, as they now are the result of mass manufactured industrialized processes that yield economic benefits at the expense of health.
The modern home contains an wide assortment of artificial materials such as sheetrock, PVC, surface treatments and finishings, appliances and wireless connections that produce electromagnetic noise, fiberglass, and the list goes on and on and on... this is not unlike food with a laundry list of artificial ingredients that cannot be pronounced.
Perhaps its time for us to start viewing building materials the same way we look at ingredient lists when because exposure to these various artificial elements has become so ubiquitous that it is the rule rather than the exception. When something becomes the rule, we stop asking questions about it and take it for granted as a fact of life.
We walk around large cities without questioning whether shiny glass towers rising from a sea of concrete are actually a suitable environment for humans to exist within.
We can hardly comprehend that simply existing in the modern world chronically exposes us to architecture that has substantial impacts on our minds’ and bodies’ ability to function properly.
In the past, we spent way more time outdoors and far less time inside of our homes and other buildings.
But also, the structures we built for ourselves were far simpler. There once was a time when we used the earth’s natural features as a form of shelter, or we built simple shelter out of natural materials in our immediate vicinity.
In prehistoric times we built earthen homes, rock shelters, grass huts, teepees, lean-tos, and the like. With the advancement of civilization, homes became more elaborate. As prehistory turned into ancient history, temporary shelters turned into larger, sturdier, permanent structures also composed mostly of natural materials such as mud, brick, bamboo, etc.
However, in more recent years we’ve seen natural materials have given way to plastics, sheetrock, and a host of other chemical concoctions that improve building efficiency while reducing costs. Yet this change also resulted in humans fundamentally changing our physical environment to the point where our biology becomes misaligned.
I have spoken before about “Evolutionary Mismatch Theory,” but here’s a refresher:
Evolutionary mismatch is the evolutionary biology concept that a previously advantageous trait may become maladaptive due to change in the environment, especially when change is rapid.
In other words, we used to be well adapted for the world that we lived in; for the trees, for the natural environment, for the earthen structures we built for ourselves. This is why we thrived. However, by changing the physical spaces that we spend much of our time inside of, we are no longer well-adapted to the environment that we live in.
We have induced an evolutionary mismatch for ourselves.
This change has taken place over the past 10,000 years or so, but in the timeline of human history, this represents a very rapid change.
Thus, we‘ve introduced previously unfathomable diseases and undesirable health consequences into our reality. Conditions like “sick building syndrome” are now an accepted fact of life.
Because I’m not a doctor, I cannot say this with certainty, however I suspect that even the most prestigious medical programs and public health institutions do not consider the buildings we live in as primary contributors to undesirable health outcomes in patients.
Whenever I’ve gotten sick enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, I certainly have never been asked about the nature of my home, and I definitely have never had a conversation with a doctor about how being cautious about the nature of the buildings we spend most of our time in could potentially be an effective preventative measure to avoid or mitigate common illnesses of the modern world, such as asthma and various cancers.
I do realize that this topic might be a bit too open-ended to have a specific conversation with a doctor. However, the fact remains that we spend most of our time indoors, and the amount of exposure to the artificialities of modern buildings that we experience is far too great to ignore as if it doesn’t exist.
Here’s a more tangible example….
Many of the materials and features of modern buildings are known to be hormone disruptors. Hormone disruptors may seem like a buzzword describing something that poses a small inconvenience to us in the grand scheme of things. However, they are oftentimes the root cause of many health problems of the modern world.
Hormones are the biological levers that are used to control basically everything inside of your body. Hormones tell your body what to do, and by how much. They tell your body how to process food. They tell muscles to get bigger. They tell cancers to grow uncontrollably. They tell your brain to be happy or sad. They tell you when to sleep and wake up.
Hormones are the real MVPs when it comes to your body’s functioning, and hormone disruptors tend to spoil the party.
Depressed and unmotivated? That could be the result of a dopamine deficiency.
Low energy and brain fog? Perhaps your serotonin levels are off.
Overweight because you can’t control your eating? Your body’s hunger hormones likely play a role in that.
Chronic disease? It’s plausible that hormones such as insulin and cortisol, have directed your body to create the conditions for these chronic diseases to manifest.
Hormones are affected by many things, but I like to generalize by saying that our hormones are driven by our interactions with our external environment. The information we consume, the people we interact with, the foods we eat, and the things we come into contact with all affect our hormones.
And this is where the buildings that we live in come into the picture, because it is the external environment that we encounter the most.
In other words, buildings that we live in are probably causing some disruption to our hormones.
Chronic exposure to plastics, carpet, waterproofing, even the electromagnetic fields from household appliances all could be unknowingly causing harm.
One example of this includes the effects that many of these modern elements has on our testosterone levels, particularly in men.
Over the past few decades, we’ve seen testosterone levels in men drop precipitously.
Erectile dysfunction among young men under the age of 40 is up compared to several decades ago.
Young men’s libido has decreased over the decades along with sperm counts.
Most people I know have needed medical intervention to get pregnant, as doing so naturally is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Studies also suggest that men’s general strength levels have been declining over the past few generations.
In addition to many of these documented effects, lower testosterone in men is also linked to mood problems such as anxiety and irritability, less muscle and higher levels of body fat, and a general lack of enthusiasm to take on challenging life pursuits.
This is just one specific example of how the buildings that we live in can have tangible impacts on our ability to thrive. There of course are many others.
Why do we not question this?
This article is me sounding the alarm that everyone should at least be aware that the physical environments that we’ve created for ourselves may make our lives convenient in many respects, but also could be unknowingly contributing to a host of health issues.
I realize that it is unreasonable to expect society to stop everything and completely alter itself to solve this one issue. Nor do I think we need to turn back to living in grass huts and lean-tos. However, I do think there is plenty of room for us to modify and make adjustments to our individual lives to counterbalance the effects that modern buildings have on our biology.
I think the easiest way to do this is to simply make a conscious effort to increase exposure to nature. Open your home windows for natural ventilation and a source of fresh air rather than keeping the home sealed airtight and reliant on mechanical HVAC systems.
Also, make it a point to spend a lot more time outside of the home and other buildings in general. Spend more time in nature, in local parks, in forest preserves, at the beach, on hiking trails, etc. If that’s not possible, then simply being outside in your yard, porch, or balcony also helps a lot. When you do any of these things, try to remove your shoes and have direct contact with the earth in the process.
Another useful tip is to add lots of plants to your indoor space. Plants have been known to help indoor air quality by absorbing harmful substances. Additionally, plants help artificial indoor spaces more closely resemble the natural environment that we are better adapted for, so plants generally improve functioning of both the mind and body.
Lastly, it helps to make small adjustments to the materials inside of your home whenever the opportunity arises. Any home improvement or renovation projects marks an opportunity to consider more natural, less poisonous materials. Whenever you are replacing new furniture, appliances, cookware, and basically anything else in the home, make an effort to use better alternatives.
As my fitness journey has evolved, I have shifted from diet and exercise as my primary form of “fitness” towards more holistic approaches. I have learned that our health and wellness is impacted by so much more than the foods we eat or the amount of movement we engage in.
Every facet of our interactions with our environment, physical and non-physical matters, including the buildings that we spend most of our lives inside of.
As you work on your own health and fitness journey, I encourage you to stop and take a moment to think about how your own home could be impacting your health. Take a moment to observe the abundance of artificial materials, or natural materials treated with artificial substances, which are in every direction you look.
Observe the "ultra-processed" nature of your home, and make a mental note of it.
This simple act of being more mindful and observant, I believe, is the first step to taking health and fitness to another level beyond the basics of diet and exercise.