The downsides of sleeping with a fan on when you have allergies
Posted: 10th August 2022 | Posted by Costa
The downsides of sleeping with a fan on when you have allergies
The UK broke its highest ever temperature record in July, leaving a lot of people fighting the heat. It led to some beautiful days in the sun, but some uncomfortable nights trying to get to sleep. One way people try to beat that nighttime heat is by keeping a fan on, spreading cool air through the room.
But people with allergies might have found this exacerbates their symptoms. What was supposed to be a cool night’s sleep turns into one filled with dry eyes, a dry throat, and a stuffy nose. Why does this happen? And what can you do to stop it?
The downsides of sleeping with a fan on
A fan’s whole purpose is to move air around a room to keep it cool. When there’s a lot of dust or pollen lying around, that is naturally going to get whipped up and moved around the room too. If you have an allergy to either of these, you’re basically going to get them thrown in your face by your fan, setting off a reaction. If you also have the window open, the fan may also pull in even more pollen from outside and circulate that through the room.
This is going to cause those telltale symptoms, such as a runny nose, watery eyes, and an itchy throat. More than that, fans can cause issues even without allergies. The cold air it pushes around can dry out your skin and eyes. And excessive dryness can trigger your body to produce more mucus, leading to congestion. Combine this with allergy symptoms, and you might wake up feeling worse than when you went to sleep.
How to prevent it
The simplest solution is to not sleep with a fan on, but that might make your night worse in other ways. So there are a few ways you can mitigate any issues. Number one is to keep the fan clean. The blades can quickly accumulate a lot of dust, so giving them a wipe daily can stop the build up.
Next, keep your fan at a distance. With how warm it can get, we know you’ll be tempted to have it right at your side. This is only going to send allergens directly at you. Keeping it further away means the allergens can be dispersed. Also, make sure your fan can rotate. This way, it isn’t pointing just at you and can evenly distribute the air. You might also want to invest in an air filter that’s rated specifically for allergies.
It might not solve all your problems, but it should allow you to have a good night’s sleep without feeling too many bad effects. As long as you keep your room clean – and potentially even keep the windows closed during the day – you should be fine. If you ever have any huge concerns, you can always talk to an allergy specialist for the best advice.
Don’t let your allergies bring you down and keep you up at night. Talk to one of our experts to help you live freely. You can register as a new patient here, or simply give up a call on 02031 433 449.