Air pollution and humidity both affect how well you rest at night.
Overly dry air irritates your nasal passages and throat. It makes your eyes and skin itchy.
You’re likely to find yourself waking up unnecessarily because of the discomfort.
But polluted air saturated with particles and chemicals is downright dangerous.
Impure air leads to sleep apnea and may cause dementia.
Fortunately, both of these problems are easy to correct.
Fix the Humidity
If you run one of the best bedroom humidifiers, it will correct the lack of humidity.
First, use a hygrometer to check the amount of water vapor in the air.
These are cheap instruments available at hardware stores, supermarkets, or online for ten bucks or less.
Or you might have a hygrometer built into your household thermometer or air purifier right now.
Check it every few hours for a day or two. The ideal amount of moisture is between 30 and 50% (1).
Of course, you might not need to measure if your skin and hair feel dry, and you frequently suffer shocks from static electricity. It’s obvious that you don’t have enough humidity.
Running a humidifier for at least a few hours each day takes care of the problem.
Choose from evaporative, cool mist, or warm mist models according to your needs.
If you’re not sure which kind to get, ultrasonic cool mist humidifiers are the most popular and usually the least expensive option.
Then be sure to clean your humidifier regularly. This prevents the buildup of mold and bacteria.
If you’re not likely to keep on top of that task, spend a few dollars more to get drop-in cleaning cartridges.
Now that you’ve added sufficient moisture to your bedroom let’s make sure the air that you’re breathing is clean and pure.
Cleanse the Air
Studies show that people who reside in areas with high levels of air pollution are much more likely to sleep badly.
But it’s not just your rest that is at risk. Air pollution and poor sleep are linked to asthma, sleep apnea, dementia, and cancer (2).
The solution to protecting your health is to use one of the best bedroom air purifiers.
Cleansing the air doesn’t have to be expensive, either. Modern air purifiers are energy-efficient, running for just pennies per day.
If you’re on a budget, remember to take into account the price of replacement filters, too. Happily, most filters don’t need to be replaced for several months or a couple of years.
You may be wondering how you can know if the air in your home is polluted.
It’s possible to purchase equipment to monitor particles and gases. Some air purifiers also display this information.
Otherwise, use one of the free air quality apps available for your smartphone. Although this only reveals the situation outdoors, it provides a baseline measurement.
Now, prepare yourself for the shocker.
Your indoor air may be worse than what’s outside.
That’s because you may have dust mites, mold spores, bacteria, viruses, chemicals from cleaners, new carpet, and furniture, cooking fumes, tobacco smoke, and so on concentrated indoors (3).
Simply shutting the windows isn’t enough protection if you’re sealing the problem inside with you.
And while I love aromatherapy and believe in its benefits, essential oils won’t remove all these pollutants from the air.
You need an air purifier.
This is especially true if you’re in a zone that’s prone to wildfires. Your air conditioner alone isn’t likely to filter out all the harmful particles.
An air purifier with a HEPA filter removes nearly 100% of the most common pollutants in your bedroom air.
It runs more quietly than a refrigerator and shouldn’t have an impact on room temperature.
Once you’ve experienced what it’s like to sleep with pure air, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make this change sooner.
Wake Feeling Rested
Set up your humidifier and air purifier before you go to bed. Let them run for at least an hour.
Then when you slide under the covers, take a deep breath and relax.
Those respiratory problems that have been plaguing you should become just a memory.
Instead, I hope you have sweet dreams and wake up feeling rejuvenated and well-rested.
Sources:
1. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-control-humidity-your-bedroom accessed October 8, 2019
2. https://www.livescience.com/59253-air-pollution-linked-to-worse-sleep.html by Tereza Pultarova, published May 24, 2017, accessed October 8, 2019
3. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/inside-story-guide-indoor-air-quality accessed October 8, 2019