The Breathe Easy Blog

Hurricane prep usually starts with the obvious: batteries, bottled water, flashlights, medications, and a plan for where to go if conditions turn dangerous. But hurricane season home preparation should also include the air inside your home.

I've lived in Florida my whole life, so hurricane prep feels almost like a seasonal ritual. Still, indoor air can be easy to overlook when there are shutters to hang and supplies to track down.

Counterintuitively, a big part of maintaining good indoor air quality (IAQ) is being more mindful of the air outside your home. That's because half of what's in the air outside can make its way inside [1]^[1].

From pollen and mold spores to pesticides and other lawn treatments, lots of different outdoor contaminants find their way into the air you breathe when you're chilling on the couch, eating lunch at the kitchen table, or even tucked under the covers in bed. 

As a lifelong resident of the Sunshine State, I consider myself an authority on all things sunny. So, I speak from experience when I say: Summer has a way of making skincare routines and hair maintenance schedules feel like full-time jobs. 

Summer is all about getting outside and having fun, but for many families, it also means a rush of indoor air pollutants that go largely unnoticed.

From sunscreen sprays to insect repellents to beachy scented candles, the products we use to help us enjoy summer can measurably degrade our indoor air quality (IAQ). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from these everyday items can accumulate to concentrations much higher indoors than outdoors, triggering everything from mild irritation to more serious long-term health consequences [1]^[1]. 

Grills firing up. Fireworks cracking overhead. Citronella candles glowing on the patio. Personally, I'm excited for the festivities. But some of summer's most familiar moments come with a little smoke.

We usually think of these as outdoor activities, which makes them feel separate from the air inside our homes. But your indoor air doesn't exist in a hermetically-sealed bubble. Smoke can drift through open doors, screened porches, cracked windows, attached garages, and nearby air intakes. And once those tiny particles make their way inside, they can linger longer than the fun.

Big emotions are a regular part of childhood, but kids don't always know how to manage them without support. One of the simplest and most effective emotional regulation tools they can learn also happens to be completely free: mindful breathing. For kids and adults, deep breathing helps calm the body's stress response, making it easier to control emotions, refocus, and navigate challenging situations. 

We love our pets. We love their little routines, their tiny dramatic sighs, their oddly specific favorite spots around the house. What we don't love quite as much? We love our pets. We love their little routines, their tiny dramatic sighs, their oddly specific favorite spots around the house. What we don't love quite as much? The fur tumbleweeds, the mystery smells, and the microscopic particles they leave behind.

Summer is often portrayed as the season of fresh air, when you're supposed to get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors, or at least crack open a window or two. But well-meaning advice about "getting fresh air" isn't always supported by science. This article debunks five common myths about summer air quality, so you can make more informed decisions about your home environment. 

You've probably heard that air pollution is bad for your lungs, but have you ever thought about how it might affect your brain? A growing body of research suggests that the air you breathe has a measurable impact on cognitive performance, and some of the best evidence comes from pretty unexpected places: baseball, football, and soccer fields. 

You've probably heard a lot of common tidbits of sleep advice before: Dim the lights. Put your phone away. Keep the room cool. Avoid caffeine too late in the day. Maybe add a fan, sound machine, or "rainfall in a forest" playlist (if that's your thing). All good ideas. But there's another part of your sleep environment that deserves a spot in the routine: the air you breathe all night.

Open the windows. Let the breeze in. Put some lilies in a vase. Finally, your home feels fresh again. Well, that's the idea, at least. In reality, the air this time of year has a way of blurring the line between "fresh" and "irritating." The same air that carries in that light, mid-to-late spring feeling also brings along something less welcome: pollen, particles, and other such respiratory irritants. 

My third baby is turning one this week. Reflecting back, the newborn and infant phases were different this time around. For starters, he's a really chill little guy who loves sleep (and trust me, we earned it after our first two). There was also a noticeable lack of late-night internet searching and spiraling. 

As the title suggests, May is Clean Air Month. No, really, it is. Clean Air Month is an annual observance held throughout May in the United States to raise awareness about air pollution, promote healthy, clean air, and encourage actions to reduce carbon footprints. When we think about air, our brain tends to focus on what's happening outside. Smog, pollen, pollution, wildfire smoke.

We've all been there. You're crammed in a room for an office happy hour or some other gathering, huddled up with old friends and fresh faces, and you notice the person whose hand you've just shaken is clearing their throat an awful lot. They're sniffling too. And is that a rasp in their voice?