Air Pollution & Allergies

Air pollutants can cause allergies and respiratory issues like blocked and runny nose, watery eyes, cough, etc. And as you can imagine, these don’t help in maintaining your quality of sleep!

Unfortunately, air pollution doesn’t only happen outside, but it can be inside your home too. Nasal congestion can be caused by dust, mold, pet dander, and more. One way to get rid of all of this is by cleaning and vacuuming your home frequently, and using an air purifier to get rid of all the contaminants in the room. You can also place some indoor plants that are known to purify air, such as aloe vera, spider plant, chrysanthemum, rubber tree, bamboo plant, peace lilies, and more!

“We have a number of clients with sleep difficulties which it seems is impacted by their allergy,” Clancy told Coach magazine. “These people might have a sensation of choking because of allergic response, they might be awake and trying to clear their sinuses, or uncomfortable during the night because of throat issues.”

She goes on to elaborate further why these issues affect sleep in particular. “Usually people stop breathing and their brain has to wake them multiple times during the night to tell them to breathe. If it’s waking them 100 times an hour then the quality of sleep is going to be very low. Air quality could very well affect this,” she says.

If you’re afraid you suffer from sleep apnea, Dr. Clancy says there’s one way to detect it. “If you snore and you wake up ‘headachy’, unrefreshed with a dry mouth, maybe a sore throat — and you have a lot of centrally located body fat — then that would be a warning sign to get you to a respiratory session.”