Why Use Solid Wood Flooring in the Home?

Why use Wood Flooring in your Home, Office or Commercial Premises Then Healthy option for indoor environments

Engineered wood flooring is the same as solid wood flooring but more sustainable and stable. The distance between the top surface of a solid board and the top of the tongue is very similar to the distance on an engineered wood floor. Yet and engineered wood floor is still made from timber even if the top surface is different. As members of the Timber Trade Federation and Wood for Good we have access to a lot of research and information. The details below show that everyone should have wood floors.

Wood for Good has compiled 15 facts about health and wellbeing in buildings for you. Each year we spend 90% of our time in buildings or cars.

Yet buildings still being designed today can create issues like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), depression and lung disease.

90% of respondents to a recent survey said they wanted a home that doesn’t compromise their health and wellbeing and a third would pay more for a healthy home.

67% of social renters want a home that doesn’t compromise their health and wellbeing.

85% of respondents who are willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly home would also be willing to pay more for a healthy home.

In contrast, 47% of those willing to pay more for a healthy home would pay more for an environmentally-friendly home.

Cognitive abilities increase by 61% when in a green building. This increases to 101% when additional ventilation rates are introduced.

A study conducted in 2010 in an Austrian school compared two ‘timber’ classrooms versus two ‘standard’ classrooms. The benefits for children studying in the timber classrooms were impressive, especially their heart rates, which were lowered by up to 8600 heartbeats.

The children were noticeably more relaxed and it had a positive effect on their performance too.

There was also a decreased perception of stress.

A Japanese study found exposure to wooden panels significantly decreases blood pressure, while exposure to steel panels makes it rise.

Another Japanese study carried out in a care home found by providing wooden tables, chairs and tableware, the interaction between residents increased Workers in offices with wooden interiors conveyed feelings of innovation, energy and comfort. Workers in offices without wood conveyed feelings of their environment being impersonal and uncomfortable.

Wood products in a room have also been shown to improve indoor air quality by moderating humidity.

The reason wood has such a good effect on human health is because of how it lowers the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation. SNS is what causes stress responses, increases blood pressure, heart rate and inhibits functions like digesting, recovery and repair. When surrounded by nature and wood, these symptoms lower.