Imagine increasing the amount of oxygen in a room with equipment no more complex than an air conditioner. This is the future of high altitude living. This is already happening in some academic and industrial sites at high altitude, such as mines and research telescopes.   Every one per cent increase in oxygen concentration is like descending 300 feet. An increase of five percent can improve sleep and brain function. This could be important for sensitive populations such as newborns and people in critical jobs where an increase in errors could have catastrophic consequences. British physiologist Joseph Barcroff interviewed residents in 1922 in Cerro de Pasco at 14,210 feet and found decreased cognition he termed “bungling”.  Maybe I should install oxygen conditioners in my office at 9,100 feet!

Information from the Journal of High Altitude Medicine and Biology, Sept 2015. John West