Trying to sleep with hay fever symptoms can hugely impact your quality of rest, but you’re not alone. 1 in 5 people in the UK experience these problems. This includes having a stuffed-up nose at night, red and swollen eyes, headaches, and irritability.
In this article, we'll provide some top tips on how to sleep with a blocked nose at nighttime, which may result from hay fever.
Why Is My Hay Fever Worse At Night?
For some, symptoms such as a runny or blocked nose and sore eyes can be worse at night. This can be due to allergens within the bedroom, such as dust, or even pollen entering the room through an open window.
During the night as air cools, pollen settles back to ground level, which can make pollen worse at night.
Lying down can often make nasal congestion worse. This is primarily due to changes in body position and increased blood flow to the head, which can cause swelling of the nasal tissues. All of which can contribute to bad hay fever symptoms at night.
How To Sleep With A Blocked Nose
Thankfully, there are a few things you can try to alleviate breathing issues from allergies at bedtime.
Use An Air Purifier
Air purifiers can clean bedroom air to remove indoor allergens such as pollen, pet dander, and dust particles, all of which can trigger allergies. Doing so may help relieve your stuffy nose at night and help you get a better night’s sleep.
Shower Before Bed
Pollen particles can easily stick to your skin and hair. So, rather than transferring these straight to your bed linen, washing them off will reduce the allergens you bring into your bedroom.
Close Your Doors And Windows
A key way to prevent pollen from entering your home is to keep windows and doors closed during the day. As appealing as the fresh air may be, open windows can mean pollen particles could make their way into your clothes, skin, and soft furnishings, which will worsen your symptoms when it comes to bedtime.
Keep Your Head Elevated
With symptoms worsening when you lie down due to the sinuses not being able to drain as efficiently, you should aim to elevate your head by finding a new sleeping position and using some additional luxurypillows.
Ensure A Clean Sleeping Environment
To prevent a build-up of pollen particles, dust mites, or any other allergens that can worsen your symptoms, it’s crucial to maintain a clean sleeping environment. This means regularly cleaning your bedroom, pillows, duvets, and pyjamas.
If you have pets, it may be worthwhile keeping them out of the bedroom during hay fever season, as pet dander can also increase allergy symptoms and impact your sleep.
Once the bedding and pyjamas have been washed, it can also be beneficial to try and dry them indoors. If left outside to dry, there’s a risk of pollen particles sticking to the freshly laundered bedding.
It’s not just your accessories and clothing that need a clean. Remember to also keep your bed frame andmattress in shape by regularly flipping and wiping them down. A quick vacuum every once in a while can remove trapped dust from the mattress, and a quick wipe down with a cloth can get rid of any allergens from the bed frame itself.
Use Nasal Strips
These small strips are placed over the nose and widen the nostrils to increase the amount of airflow and ease breathing. These can be beneficial to those suffering from congestion.
Why Do I Get a Blocked Nose When Lying Down?
Although hay fever can increase your chances of having a blocked nose at nighttime, sometimes, hay fever isn’t the only culprit. If you find your nose getting blocked every night, you might have a deviated septum, a sinus infection, or other allergies at play.
Thankfully, some of the above tips can help alleviate stuffed or blocked noses while sleeping, but they aren’t exhaustive. To fully diagnose your sleeping issues, we recommend speaking to a qualified medical professional, like a general practitioner. They may refer you to receive more help.
More Sleep Guidance and Tips
The science of achieving the perfect night’s sleep will continue to evolve. To support your newfound sleep hygiene tips, make sure you have the right mattress and bed for the job, which you can find at Bed Factory Direct.
For more help with sleeping routines, choosing the right bed frame, and more, stick to our blog
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