The Connection Between Air Quality and Mental Health

When you think of air pollution, you likely immediately think of the havoc it wreaks on your lungs, right? Well, that’s a start, but in reality, air quality is linked to your wellness in many ways, and that includes your mental health. Yes, the contaminants in the air could be contributing to your depression, anxiety, and other mental health matters. Let’s explore this more.

Air Pollution and Mental Health

Research published in BJPsych Open tells us that while further exploration is needed, science has found an association between poor air quality (whether indoor or outdoor) and both poor mental health, in general, and specific mental health disorders. Air pollution could also make pre-existing long-term conditions worse, and children seem to be especially vulnerable. Outside of age, other variables appear to be geography, socioeconomic conditions, and biological factors.

Other research shared by the JAMA Network Open examined the mental health of more than 9,000 participants. The longitudinal birth cohort study found that higher exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) during pregnancy and childhood was connected to an increase in psychotic experiences. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy was linked to higher rates of depression.

Another study looked at more than 1.7 million participants living in an urban area. Air pollution was “significantly associated” with a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. The consumption of prescription drugs supported these findings.

Air pollution might be more powerful than we think. In China, researchers estimated that an increase in particulate matter of just one standard deviation leads to another 1.15 million people suffering from mental health problems.

The Impact on Sleep

Air pollution can also impact the quality and duration of sleep, which can then exacerbate any mental health issues you’re dealing with. For example, higher exposure to ozone and sulfer dioxide, plus sleeping in higher humidity, can increase your risk of sleep disturbances due to wheezing. Exposure to particulate matter is the biggest risk factor, and women seem to be more vulnerable than men.

This doesn’t even touch on more common contaminants you might be exposed to at home, such as animal fur/dander and dust.

 

 

On top of this, keep in mind what your throat does when you lay down. The muscles relax, and sometimes, the tissues can close in on each other, blocking your airways. Combine this with what pollutants might be doing to your throat (causing irritation, soreness, and dryness), and you might have one heck of a sleepless night.

Air Contamination and Cognition

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about air pollution’s impact on cognition. Fine particles can gather in the brain tissue, leading to neuroinflammation, which can then lead to symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Memory formation can take a hit, and neurological development can be compromised. Furthermore, attention span and information retention and processing can suffer. It doesn’t take much, either. Even low levels of exposure to air pollution have been linked to significantly poorer cognitive performance.

It doesn’t end here — not even close. Exposure to air pollution can also contribute to an increased risk of stroke, headaches, and it can even hurt the immune system.

We mentioned earlier that age can be a variable, but we want to make something clear: Damage to mental health due to exposure to air pollution has been observed across individuals of every age.

How is Air Pollution Able to Impact Mental Health?

While researchers are still exploring the details of this answer, much of it seems to boil down how exposure can lead to increased inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain (and the brain is already highly susceptible to oxidative stress). This leads to damage of the nervous system and the neurons.

This can manifest in all sorts of ways, but to give you one example, when oxidative stress occurs, free radicals damage the structures of brain cells and even cause cell death. This can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, among other health problems.

Inflammation of the brain is also very complex, but after what we’ve already discussed, the cognitive symptoms probably won’t suprise you: fatigue, anxiety, psychosis, memory loss, behavioral changes, cognitive impairment, confusion, irritability, and even hallucinations.

Air pollution goes so far beyond irritating your lungs and maybe triggering your allergies. We’re talking about severe impediments to your mental and physical health.

How to Protect Yourself From Pollution

Want to safeguard your health? Here are a few simple tips for reducing your exposure to air pollution, both inside your home and outdoors.

For Indoor Air Pollution…

• Use an air purifier with a replaceable (not washable) medical-grade HEPA 13 filter.
• Change your sheets weekly, especially your pillowcases.
• Keep pets off of your furniture. 
• Vacuum weekly — more frequently, if you have pets that shed.
• Deshed your animals in a designated area of your home, and vacuum it immediately after.
• On days when the outdoor air quality is poor, try to keep your windows and doors closed.
• Ensure that rooms prone to moisture, like the laundry room and bathrooms, stay ventilated to prevent mold growth.
• Be mindful of creating smoke indoors, whether from cigarettes or cooking.

For Outdoor Air Pollution…

While this is tougher to control, there are a couple of things you can do:

• If you have to go outside when the air quality is low, wear a mask.
• Consider how you might be contributing to air pollution and adjust your habits, if possible. For instance, carpool to work.

While we’re all susceptible to outdoor air pollution, you can control what happens in the walls of your own home. Protect the air quality around you and you’ll protect your whole-body health.