Luften: What It Is, Benefits, and How to Do It
Wellness & SelfcareHealthy Living

What Is Lüften — and Are There Health Benefits?

What Is Lüften — and Are There Health Benefits?
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Updated on December 11, 2025
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Do you open your windows on a regular basis, even in the cold weather? If you do, you may be following a traditional German practice: lüften. And experts say there may indeed be some health perks to doing so.

Many pollutants from outdoors build up and become more concentrated inside a home, joining indoor contaminants such as dander and carbon dioxide, says Deborah H. Bennett, PhD, an air quality researcher and professor of public health sciences at the UC Davis Health School of Medicine in Davis, California. “Opening windows will lower concentrations, improving indoor air quality.”

What Is Lüften?

Lüften may be an unfamiliar word if you don’t speak German, but it can roughly be translated to the same meaning as the English word ventilation.

 It’s the German practice of opening windows to air out a space and improve indoor air quality — and it’s seen as a way of life that supports values of health and cleanliness.

One intention is to prevent mold, and while there are no hard and fast rules, Reddit posters note that Germans practice lüften once to a few times every day.

As one TikToker who grew up in a German household in America noted, it’s an alternative to turning on the air-conditioning, a more common practice in American homes.

This practice of airing out the home is not exclusive to Germany. In the United States, both the American Lung Association and the Environmental Protection Agency have long promoted opening doors and windows to improve indoor air quality when the outdoor air quality is good, says Jill Heins-Nesvold, the St. Paul–based national senior director of health systems improvement and indoor air quality at the American Lung Association, and a public health instructor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

What Are the Benefits of Lüften?

Lüften can provide a number of potential benefits, from better air quality inside your home to improved mental health.

1. Improved Indoor Air Quality

Most home cooling and heating systems don’t bring fresh air into the house, so opening a window can improve the ventilation rate (how quickly outdoor air replaces indoor air).

 One problem of inadequate ventilation is that it can cause moisture to build up indoors, promoting mold growth.

“Opening doors and windows allows fresh, outdoor air to come indoors, diluting any indoor air pollutants in the home — such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, animal dander, and dust,” says Heins-Nesvold. Cooking with a gas stove, lighting candles, and spraying household cleaners are among the common indoor contaminants you may regularly encounter.

Research shows that good natural ventilation, including airflow from open windows, can greatly improve indoor air quality, reducing indoor pollutants by diluting them with outdoor air.

 That study was conducted in Uganda (which notably has a different climate and environmental pollution sources than the United States). Even so, Heins-Nesvold says the bottom line is the same for households elsewhere: Good ventilation is key to curtail the contaminants that come from cooking.
Good ventilation can also help reduce the spread of common respiratory viruses, such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

2. Better Respiratory Health

Clean indoor air helps keep your lungs healthier by reducing exposure to particulate matter from smoke, mold, dust, chemical fumes, and tiny germ-carrying droplets in the air.

 Poor air quality in homes can lead to respiratory issues and other health complications.

“Indoor air pollution can impact anyone, at any stage of life,” says Heins-Nesvold. But some groups are more at-risk than others for these reasons:

  • Children are still developing their immune systems and have faster respiratory rates than adults, with a higher volume of air for their body weight, according to research from Brazil.

  • Older adults may be less resilient to the harmful effects of pollutants.

  • People with preexisting health conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and diabetes are vulnerable because air pollution can worsen these diseases.

  • Individuals who are pregnant and their babies are at higher risk because of physiological changes during pregnancy, more exposure from higher air intake, and the developing fetus’s vulnerability to environmental toxins, says Heins-Nesvold.

3. Improved Mental Well-Being and Cognition

Poor air quality might affect mental well-being. Although there’s limited and mixed evidence on the impact of indoor air quality on mental health, observational evidence suggests there’s a link between outdoor air pollutants and mental health problems like depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and schizophrenia.

Indoor air pollution may also impact cognitive function and learning. “For example, poor indoor air quality is linked to a variety of harmful outcomes, including drowsiness, headaches, concentration problems, and decreased academic performance and learning,” says Heins-Nesvold.

One small study indicates that graduate students score lower on cognitive tests when there’s less fresh air in classrooms.

 Certain indoor air pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are also linked to headaches.

6 Tips for Practicing Lüften

Lüften is easy to practice at home, but it’s not right for every situation. Here’s how and when to practice lüften for the best results.

1. Let In Enough Air

“Open the doors and windows completely for fresh air exchange,” says Heins-Nesvold. That said, if you can’t open them completely, even a slightly cracked window can help with ventilation.

2. Practice Lüften 1 to 2 Times per Day

“Consistency is key,” says Heins-Nesvold. “Instead of opening your doors and windows for one hour once a week, open them once or twice daily for 10 to 15 minutes. Think morning and night.” You can also use your ceiling fans to improve airflow, preferably when the windows are open.

3. Get Strategic About Which Windows You Open

“Create a cross-breeze to increase the airflow,” says Heins-Nesvold. “This means open doors and windows on opposite sides of the home.” Research from Japan shows that window placement has an even stronger effect on airflow and ventilation than building layout.

4. Don’t Open Windows During Poor Air Quality Days

This includes when wildfires have been reported nearby. Also, skip opening your windows when it’s raining, since this can increase the indoor humidity rather than reduce it, says Heins-Nesvold. Instead, she recommends using a portable mechanical HEPA air cleaner to capture polluted air and remove particulate matter, chemicals, and other pollutants when you can’t open your windows.

5. Skip Lüften if You Live Near Certain Sources of Pollutants

For instance, if your home is near a busy freeway or coal-burning factory, it may actually be best to keep your windows closed and use an air cleaner instead, says Heins-Nesvold.

6. Also Consider Allergy Season

“If any of the members of the house have seasonal allergies, windows should remain shut during allergy season,” says Dr. Bennett. For those who have allergies, air filtration can reduce airborne allergens and offer relief.

The Takeaway

  • Lüften is the German practice of opening windows every day to ventilate the home and improve air quality.
  • Research suggests that better indoor air quality is linked to benefits such as better respiratory health, improved mental health, lower risk of airborne disease, and prevention of mold.
  • There are certain cases in which lüften should not be practiced, including during times of increased outdoor pollution or if someone in your household is affected by seasonal allergies.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
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  14. Why Indoor Chemistry Matters. National Academies.
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Michael Rubino

Michael Rubino

Medical Reviewer

Michael Rubino is an air quality expert, environmental wellness advocate, founder, speaker, podcaster, author, father, and husband. On a mission to bridge the gap between our homes and our health, Michael put his background in construction and remediation to good use and founded All American Restoration in 2017, which ultimately became HomeCleanse, an organization that operates in 50 states. HomeCleanse provides information, services, and products to create healthier living through cleaner indoor air.

Michael is also the cofounder and chair of Change the Air Foundation, a nonprofit organization giving every person the knowledge, resources, and support to achieve better health by breathing safe indoor air through education, impacting public policy, and funding research.

Michael is a specialist in working with people who are immunocompromised or have acute and sustained reactions to mold exposure. His scientific understanding has enabled him to create change via alternative remediation protocols and treatments that provide solutions that lead to a healthy home long into the future, all through using his proprietary tried and tested HomeCleanse method.

In his decade-long career, he’s helped thousands of families each year to identify, eradicate, and detoxify their homes, potentially saving hundreds of lives in the process. So successful are Michael’s methods that he’s the trusted advisor to multiple Hollywood A-list celebrities, athletes, doctors, Fortune 100 CEOs, and medical experts across the country.

Michael is a published author with his first book selling 4,000 copies and his second book near completion. He’s an accomplished podcaster with his show Never Been Sicker educating and entertaining thousands of monthly listeners, where he hosts guests including celebrities, CEOs, doctors, entrepreneurs, and mold survivors. As a result, Michael has become one of the most in-demand subject matter experts and keynote speakers, appearing on countless television, radio, newspaper, magazine, and podcast interviews around the world.

Through HomeCleanse and Change the Air Foundation, Michael works on ensuring people are healthier through improving air quality.

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Kelsey Kloss

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Kelsey Kloss is a health and wellness journalist with over a decade of experience. She started her career as an in-house editor for brands including Reader’s Digest, Elle Decor, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, Woman's Day, and Redbook, and her work has been featured in over 50 publications.

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