What if some of the things affecting your health aren't in your diet, your medicine cabinet, or your workout routine—but inside your house?
We spend much of our lives indoors, surrounded by mattresses, furniture, paint, plastics, artificial lighting, fragrances, cleaning products, and the air we breathe and water we drink. But how often do we actually think about what those environments are doing to us?
In this episode of We Have A Problem, Kaylyn sits down with Carrie Denning Jackson, founder of Place as Medicine, to explore the overlooked relationship between our homes, our neighborhoods, and our health.
Carrie has spent her career thinking about the places where people live and work—and how the materials, design, air, water, light, nature, and even people around us can influence our well-being.
And creating a healthier home doesn't necessarily mean ripping everything out and starting over.
Carrie walks through the everyday things worth paying attention to—from the mattress you sleep on and the paint on your walls to indoor air quality, drinking water, plastics, candles, fragrance, lighting, and the materials we bring into our homes.
But this conversation goes beyond toxins.
We also explore why access to nature matters, why knowing your neighbors may be more important to your health than you realize, and why creating a healthy home is about more than simply removing things—it's about creating an environment that helps the people inside it thrive.
IN THIS EPISODE:
• What your home may be exposing you to every day
• Why indoor air quality matters
• What to consider when buying a mattress
• What may be hiding in furniture, fabrics, and household materials
• Why water quality deserves more attention
• Plastics in the home—and realistic ways to reduce them
• What to know about candles, fragrance, and scented products
• Why the type of paint and building materials we use matters
• How artificial lighting can affect the body's natural rhythms
• Why opening your windows and getting outside still matters
• How to prioritize changes if you can't afford to overhaul your home
• Why healthier homes shouldn't only be accessible to wealthy people
• How our neighborhoods influence our health
• Why knowing your neighbors and having real community matters
• How nature, movement, and social connection fit into the idea of "Place as Medicine"
We spend enormous amounts of time thinking about what we put into our bodies.
Maybe it's time we start paying attention to what we're putting our bodies into.
We Have A Problem... So, let's talk about it.
ABOUT CARRIE DENNING JACKSON
Carrie Denning Jackson is the founder of Place as Medicine, an organization focused on understanding and improving how the places where we live, work, and learn affect human health.
Her career has spanned urban innovation, real estate, sustainability, and the built environment, including work with IBM Smarter Cities, Sidewalk Labs, Google's urban innovation company, and Jamestown. She holds bachelor's, master's, and MBA degrees from Stanford University.
CONNECT WITH CARRIE & PLACE AS MEDICINE
Website: PlaceAsMedicine.com
Instagram: @placeasmedicine