PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

Snežana Živković, Milan Veljković

DOI Number
-
First page
109
Last page
117

Abstract


Office buildings need to provide clean, cozy and comfortable working environment with good indoor air quality in order to create favorable conditions for psychological and physical functioning. Most people are not satisfied with the quality of air in an enclosed office space, which is one of the factors that affect people’s work, productivity and stress levels. Indoor air pollution reduces person's ability to respond to the demands of the environment, which often leads to fatigue, malaise, anxiety, headaches, mental confusion, reduced mental and physical performance, as well as irritation of the eyes and throat, coughing and wheezing. The outcomes of exposure to air pollution is largely mediated by the intervening perceptive and cognitive processes that shape behavioral and health responses to stressors.

Longer exposure to pollutants can lead to behavioral and mood changes, personality changes, impaired memory, slower motor responses and other functional deviations. Poor indoor air quality can cause diseases such as "sick building syndrome" mass psychogenic illness, and environmental diseases caused by the influence of environmental stress.

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References


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