How Your Bedroom Paint Colour is Affecting Your Sleep
Written and contributed by Krista Harper, a freelance writer from California, who writes about home and interior design
40% of Americans get only six or fewer hours of sleep per night. Perhaps you don’t either and have tried everything to make the sandman visit with little luck. Could the paint colour of your bedroom walls be to blame?
It sounds like something too simple to actually work, but the truth is the psychology behind colours has been researched for years. Different colours have the ability to make us feel particular emotions; if you’ve ever felt a difference in your mood while wearing your favourite hue, you know this is true. It’s the reason why a dentist’s office or spa may choose a soothing wall colour while a gym may go for vibrant tones to help its clients feel energized.
Here’s a general guide to the best and worst colours for your bedroom.
First, the WorstPaint Colour
When it comes to getting some shuteye, these
are the general paint shades you may want to avoid.
Red
It’s the colour of romance and heat, so you may think it’s a suitable choice for your bedroom to help spice things up. But as it turns it, red is way too energetic. Red light makes cattle more aroused than blue or green light, and red is a common colour in bullfighting as it is believed to excite the bull.
Another study found that when people saw red their reactions became faster and more forceful. Red has also been found to increase the heart rate. Save the colour for roses and date night, but don’t paint your bedroom walls with it.
Bright Colors
Bright colours in general, no matter which ones they are, will stimulate and begin to energize you which is the opposite of what you need when trying to fall asleep. Vibrant shades of yellow, orange and blue are great for other parts of the house such as the kitchen and family room but may make it difficult to fall asleep when used in the bedroom.
This photo I took during a client’s comprehensive buyers inspection had rising damp, falling damp and penetrating damp in the boundary and garden walls. In addition, the white marks on the wall were caused by efflorescence.
Often the maintenance of the walls that are attached to or which do not form part of our houses is neglected. These are our boundary, garden and courtyard walls.
These walls are very important in that they protect our privacy and security and are our first line of defence against intruders. Unfortunately, we sometimes do not make enough effort to protect them!
The greatest enemy of these walls is damp which penetrates into the wall from below, above and from the sides of the walls.
Rising Damp
Rising damp occurs as a result of capillary action at and below ground level intoporous building materials. These materials are mainly concrete, bricks and mortar. The moisture rises up the wall in this way. It usually occurs where there is no damp proof course (DPC). Freestanding walls such as boundary and garden walls do not normally have DPC built into the walls because it would make the wall unstable. A layer of DPC would break the bond between the wall and its foundation.
The height to which the moisture will rise is determined by the evaporation rate and the nature of the wall. However, the normal limit for rising damp is generally about one metre above ground level.
Rising damp may show as a stain on the plastered and painted wall, the blistering of paint and loss of plaster. A damp area may be evident at the base of walls and in extreme situations, may cause the structure of the wall to wear away and crumble.
Falling Damp
Falling damp is caused by downward water penetration from the top of porous masonry walls. This is as a result of the top of a boundary wall not being adequately waterproofed, if at all.
Walls should be:
properly sealed at vertical expansion joints;
repaired at copings that have cracked or deteriorating mortar joints;
cleaned to prevent the build-up of dirt and moss on upper surfaces of stone or brickwork.
Leaves, bird manure, moss and dirt on top of the walls contain weak acids and salts which can promote decay of the masonry and paint if absorbed.
Penetrating Damp
Penetrating damp is a common form of damp. It occurs as a result of the horizontal ingress of water through gaps, cracks and joints in the wall’s structure. Penetrating or horizontal damp can be due to your or your neighbour’s irrigation system spraying against the boundary wall. Moreover, foliage growing against the wall (bushes and trees)can also be the cause. Other causes are deteriorating paint finishes and inadequately ruled joints which allows moisture intrusion into faced brick or stone walls.
Penetrating damp tends to produce localised patches of dampness and decay, whereas rising damp may affect the base of the wall.
Efflorescence
Efflorescence occurs when an appreciable quantity of soluble salts and moisture is present in the masonry. It routinely occurs in masonry construction, particularly in brick and concrete. It typically occurs during the initial curing of the cementitious product. Moisture carries these salts to the face of the masonry or concrete where the moisture evaporates.
As the water evaporates, it leaves the salts behind as a white fluffy deposit. Therefore, to remove it, brush the deposit off when the wall is dry. It usually disappears with time after rains or washing with water.
Efflorescence is generally an aesthetic concern and not a structural one. However, where there is excessive efflorescence, the crystallizing salts within the pores of the masonry can disrupt even the strongest material. As a result, this can lead to the breaking up and crumbling of the structure.
How to prevent damp damage in your freestanding walls
Rising Damp
Rising damp is not easy to resolve in any freestanding, boundary or garden walls because of the lack of DPC. However, you can do the following:
Make sure that there is no pooling of water against the wall. Good drainage away from the walls is essential. If you have a low point in your garden against your boundary walls you will need to create a hole in the wall at the lowest point for the stormwater to drain away. Your neighbours have to accept a certain amount of your stormwater by law.
Try not to overwater your gardens against boundary and garden walls. overwatering will result in sodden earth around the walls and, as a result, rising damp in the wall.
Keep leaves and other debris on the ground which may retain water away from the walls.
Falling Damp
You should waterproof the tops of all freestanding walls with a layer of an acrylic waterproofing system or any other system to prevent moisture intrusion into the top of your boundary and yard walls.
If there is a concrete or brick coping on top of the wall you must ensure that the joints form a water-resistant seal. You should seal all deteriorated joints or porous joints between the bricks and copings.
Seal the top of expansion joints to prevent water from entering the joint with a silicone sealer.
Penetrating Damp
If your freestanding walls are plastered, check the paint finish regularly. It may be time to repaint if the finish is chalky.
If you have a sprinkler system make sure that you are not watering your boundary walls. Sprinklers heads are normally adjustable. If yours are not, change them.
Trim bushes and shrubs so that there is a gap between the foliage, branches and the walls.
If it appears that the moisture is from your neighbours’ sides, you will need to talk to them about the problem.
Clean out and seal vertical expansion joints with a good silicone sealer. Any cracks should be sealed as well. Furthermore, if your plastered walls are covered in crazing cracking wash the wall down. Thereafter, when the wall is dry, seal the wall with a sealer and repaint the wall.
Efflorescence is a sign of damp
Efflorescence is caused by moisture absorbed in the wall evaporating and leaving behind salts as a white powder. Therefore, if you repair and maintain your walls as suggested above, very little efflorescence should appear on your walls.
I am not specifically promoting Prominent Paints as all the well-known paint manufacturers produce the same required paints and sealers. You can use most of them to repair and maintain your freestanding walls.
However, Prominent’s video provides very good advice on how to repair moisture damage to boundary and garden walls!
Adequate ventilation and good air distribution are important.
In our cities, the air we breathe is not clean. Coal plants and factories belch out harmful CO2, trucks and cars spew filthy exhaust fumes. Many families in our cities rely on coal and wood fires for heating and cooking. On the outskirts of the city, cows and other farm animals add methane to the mix. Sometimes just looking out your window at all the pollution may be enough to make you stay indoors.
Staying indoors
The degradation ofindoor air quality can be worse than outdoor pollution. Pollutants can build up more in the much smaller closed-up area of your home. They may not be ventilated to the outside.
You may think indoor air pollution does not apply to you. In addition, you don’t live near a highway, farm or industrial plant. You don’t smoke and you don’t use a wood-burning stove. However, the air you breathe may still be polluted.
Some very surprising sources cause indoor air pollution:
Your house itself.
The land on which your house is constructed.
Furthermore, we spend a large portion of our time indoors. Indoor pollution can then becomes a serious concern.
Side effects of air pollution
Some side effects of indoor pollution is maybe a little worse than the common cold. However, pollution can lead to coma, lung cancer and death if you are exposed over a long period. Continue reading “Air Pollution in Your Home”
Moisture absorbed into brickwork and plasterwork causes them to expand slightly. When the brickwork and plasterwork dry they contract slightly. The water absorbed by the bricks and plasterwork usually causes a slight vertical crack at the edges of the internal window sills. The paint then starts to bubble along the vertical crack. This crack may continue around the length of the window sill before you notice it. What started out as a small vertical crack then becomes a horizontal crack along the bottom of the window sill on the interior face of the sill wall.
The cracks are usually not significant unless allowed to continue unabated.
Rising Damp
Sometimes the moisture intrusion at sills are mistaken for rising damp! Water leaking in at the window sill may bypass the damp proof course (DPC) built in under the window sill as a water-resistant barrier. The moisture may then appear as bubbling paint or crazing cracking of plasterwork, or both, below the window, extending down to floor level.
On external face-brick walls, this may appear as efflorescence (a white powder).
Internally, this may appear as bubbling paint above the skirting or discolouration of the skirting itself.
How do you prevent the moisture intrusion into window sills?
In our cities, the air we breathe is not clean. Coal plants and factories belch out harmful CO2, trucks and cars spew filthy exhaust fumes. Many families in our cities rely on coal and wood fires for heating and cooking. On the outskirts, cows and other farm animals add methane to the mix. Sometimes just looking out your window at all the pollution may be enough to make you stay indoors. However, indoor air may even be more polluted!
Staying indoors
Pollutants can build up more in the closed much smaller areas of your home than in open areas because they may not be released to the outside. As a result, the degradation of indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor air pollution.
You may think indoor air pollution does not apply to you. Furthermore, you do not live near a highway, farm or industrial plant. You do not smoke and you do not use a wood-burning stove. However, the air you breathe may still be polluted.
Some very surprising sources cause indoor air pollution:
Your house itself.
The land on which your house is constructed.
In addition, most people spend a large portion of their time indoors. Indoor pollution can then become a serious concern.
Side effects of pollution
Some side effects of indoor air pollution may be a little worse than the common cold. But, long-term exposure can lead to coma, lung cancer and death.
The likelihood is that you encounter at least one harmful chemical in your home every day. Even if this is not the case you may not yet be safe, e.g. using spray paint indoors can release high levels of air pollutants in a very short time.
For instance, chemicals leaching out of your carpet will, over time, severely affect the air quality.
Listed below are some most common causes of indoor air pollution:
Cigarette smoke
Cigarette smoke carries many toxins. It remains within contained spaces and can cause many medical problems for humans and pets. If you or someone in your family smokes do it outside the home to avoid pollution of the air inside your home.
Biological contaminants
Biological contaminants include bacteria, mould, mildew, viruses, animal dander, dust mites, cockroaches and pollen. Many of these are carried into the house or grow in damp, warm environments. When you don’t open windows and doors after using showers and baths mould will form on walls and ceilings. Furthermore, prevent condensation of windows and walls in your bedroom by keeping a window open while you sleep.
Combustion
Unvented gas heaters, woodstoves, fireplaces and gas stoves emit carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and small particles. Therefore, be careful when using solid fuels like wood and coal for heating and cooking. Make sure the room or house is well-ventilated.
Household products
Paint, varnishes, hobby products, air fresheners and cleaning products release organic chemicals causing pollution in indoor air. Therefore, be careful with their use and storage.
Pesticides
Furthermore, up to 80% of exposure to pesticides happens indoors. Many homes have pesticides in indoor air at measurable levels. In addition, the potential harm from pollutants is dependent on individual sensitivity. Older people, the young and those with compromised immune systems are more susceptible.
Therefore, ventilation plays an important role in air quality and how these pollutants harm you. If fresh air frequently circulates throughout the area, pesticides won’t accumulate and reach dangerous levels. Open windows and doors when the weather is nice, and especially after a lightning storm when the air is cleaner to get rid of the pollution in the indoor air!
