Viavi was featured in the Financial Times as part of an article exploring the growing connection between health, longevity and the home environment.
The feature looks at how architects, designers, homeowners and medical consultants are beginning to think differently about residential spaces. Rather than focusing only on aesthetics, the article explores how homes can influence exposure to toxins, sleep quality, indoor air, lighting, mould, noise, water quality and the wider factors that shape long-term wellbeing.
As part of the article, Dr Sabine Donnai, founder of Viavi, shared expert insight on the exposome, the cumulative effect of environmental factors on human health, and why the home has become one of the most important spaces to consider in preventative health.
Read the article now: Does Your Home Need a Doctor?
Article Details
Publication: Financial Times
Article: Does Your Home Need a Doctor?
Author: Rebecca Newman
Published: 5 May 2026
Featuring: Dr Sabine Donnai, founder of Viavi
Topic: Healthy homes, longevity, exposome research, indoor air quality, mould, PFAS, microplastics, sleep environment and preventative health
Key Takeaways
- Viavi was featured as an expert voice in a wider Financial Times article about the growing relationship between home design, longevity and health.
- The article explores how the built environment can influence wellbeing through air quality, mould, lighting, noise, water, materials and daily exposure to chemicals.
- Dr Sabine Donnai commented on the importance of the exposome, which looks at how external factors shape health alongside genetics.
- The feature highlights a broader movement towards homes designed not only for aesthetics, but also for prevention, recovery, sleep, resilience and long-term wellbeing.
- Viavi’s perspective reinforces the importance of reducing cumulative toxic load while still focusing on the fundamentals of health, including movement, nutrition and lifestyle.
“Our health is not shaped just by genetics but by the external factors we are exposed to…The home becomes one of the most important environments influencing that exposure.”
Why This Feature Matters
The Financial Times article reflects a growing shift in how people think about longevity. Conversations about healthy ageing often focus on supplements, diagnostics, cold plunges, red light therapy or medical interventions. But the spaces we live in every day can also have a meaningful impact on how we feel, sleep, recover and function.
Many people spend the majority of their time indoors. That makes the home environment a major part of everyday exposure. Air pollutants, damp, mould, microplastics, PFAS, volatile chemicals, poor lighting and noise can all contribute to the wider picture of health.
This does not mean a home can replace the foundations of wellbeing. Physical activity, nutrition, sleep, not smoking, stress regulation and metabolic health remain central. But the home can either support those foundations or make them harder to maintain.
That is why this feature matters. It moves the conversation beyond surface-level wellness and asks a more practical question: is your environment helping your health, or quietly working against it?
Related Reading from Viavi
If you are interested in environmental exposure, prevention and evidence-based longevity, you may also find these Viavi insights useful:
Take a More Complete View of Your Health
Your home is part of your health environment. The materials you use, the air you breathe, the products you touch and the quality of your sleep space can all contribute to your overall wellbeing over time.
At Viavi, we help clients move beyond generic wellness advice with advanced diagnostics, expert clinical interpretation and personalised health strategies focused on prevention, performance and long-term wellbeing.
If you are ready to understand your health and environment in greater depth, contact Viavi today to book your Advanced Health Evaluation.