'Luften' Is The German Practice We All Should Be Doing In The Winter

This ritual may seem counterintuitive, but your well-being will thank you for it.

When Nancy Lundrum, a professor at Munich Business School, moved to Germany three and a half years ago, she noticed an interesting clause in her rental agreement: lüften.

The term sparked some confusion for Lundrum, but she quickly caught onto the practice, which is a ventilation technique designed to encourage airflow throughout a property. The method, which originated in Germany, typically involves creating a strong draft by opening windows wide ― often on opposite sides of living spaces ― to facilitate a complete air exchange.

There are two types of lüften, called “Stoßlüften” (shock ventilation) and “querlüften” (cross-ventilation). The former requires windows in a single room to be opened for a short, intensive period. During colder months, Germans typically perform Stoßlüften for about 15 minutes, two to three times daily.

On the other hand, querlüften requires all the windows in a home or building to be opened for cross-ventilation throughout the premises. During the height of the COVID pandemic, the government advocated this, thinking that ventilation would help ward off the virus in enclosed spaces. The general idea for both processes is to replace “stuffy” air with fresh, new air.

Lüften, regardless of the type, is a timed procedure that Germans take seriously as part of their daily routine, and other parts of the world are catching on. Is the buzz really merited? Experts weigh in on how to apply this practice.