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Using an in-home HEPA purifier for one month spurs a small but significant improvement in brain function in adults age 40 and older. We analyzed data from a study of 119 people ages 30 to 74 living in Somerville, Massachusetts.
We randomly assigned participants to one of two groups. One used a HEPA air purifier for one month and then a sham air purifier – which looked and acted like the real thing but did not contain the air-cleaning filter – for one month, with a monthlong break in between. The second group used the real and sham purifiers in reverse order.
The test probed people's visual memory and motor speed skills by measuring how quickly they could draw lines between sequential numbers, and it tested executive function and mental flexibility by asking them to draw lines between alternating sequential numbers and letters. We found that participants 40 years and older – about 42% of our sample – on average completed the section testing for mental flexibility and executive function 12% faster after using the HEPA purifier than after using the sham purifier.
That was true even when we accounted for factors like differences in the amount of time participants spent indoors, with either filter, as well as how stressful they found the test. While you may not experience a sudden increase in clarity from a 12% boost, preventing cognitive decline is vital for long-term well-being.
Even small decreases in cognitive functioning may beResearch has been especially lacking in people living near major sources of air pollution, such as highways.and also experience higher rates of air pollution-related diseases. These risks aren't encountered by all Americans equally: People of color and low-income people are more likely toHEPA air purifiers may therefore be especially beneficial for older adults.
Our study did not explore this possibility, as fewer than 10 of our 119 participants were over the age of 60. Also, our participants only used a HEPA air purifier for one month. It's possible that longer durations of air purification may sustain or even increase the improvement in cognitive function we observed in our study.
'Superager' Brains Defy Cognitive Decline. We Finally Know Their Secret. We plan to study whether reducing particulate matter by using air purifiers is indeed protecting the brain's white matter, and whether it could reverse some cognitive decline. We will explore that possibility by studying how levels of molecules called metabolites, which cells produce as they do their jobs,
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