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A recent study found that an estimated 27% of Americans aren’t getting enough sleep. We tend to attribute it to overstimulation, whether that stems from working long hours, consuming too much caffeine, or activating the mind with our smartphone’s blue light.
What we may be overlooking are the conditions of the room we’re sleeping in. Is the temperature comfortable? How about the air quality?
Chances are, your bedroom isn’t as humid as your body would prefer. Investing in a humidifier might just be the solution to your sleeping troubles!
Read on for the benefits of sleeping with a humidifier. Once you know what a difference humidity can make, you’ll never want to go back to sleeping in a dry room.
Selecting the Right Humidifier
There are two primary types of humidifiers on the market. The first is a cool-mist humidifier and the second is a warm mist humidifier.
Cool mist humidifiers can be evaporative or ultrasonic. Evaporative humidifiers expel humid air. Ultrasonic humidifiers shake up the water contained in the unit and release that water into the air in the form of small droplets.
Warm mist humidifiers expel warm mist from water that comes to a boil with the help of an internal heating element. This kind of humidifier can offer relief when you’re feeling particularly congested, much like the steam from a hot shower can. However, because of the heating element, we don’t suggest running a warm mist humidifier for long periods of time, especially while you’re sleeping.
To save you some trouble, we’ll just tell you our favorite cool mist humidifier on the market: this ultrasonic humidifier. It’s sleek, easy to clean, safe to run overnight, and really packs a punch.
Top 5 Benefits of Sleeping With a Humidifier
So, what are the benefits of using a humidifier overnight? We’re glad you asked.
While we might associate humidity with sweat and bad hair days, the truth is that our bodies thrive on humidity–and our homes often don’t generate enough humidity on their own. In the hot and cold seasons, when we’re running our AC units and heaters, things are going to get even drier.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons you should sleep with the humidifier running.
1. Adds Moisture to Your Respiratory Tract
The respiratory tract requires moisture for a number of functions. One of the most basic things moisture aids in is oxygenation. Without enough moisture, your airways can constrict and your respiratory system can struggle to deliver oxygen to the blood.
Reintroducing moisture to your respiratory tract overnight can help you achieve a better night’s sleep. For some, it may relieve symptoms related to sleep apnea.
2. Lowers the Risk of Respiratory Infection
Moisture allows your respiratory tract to create mucus. While too much mucus can cause a problem, you still need a small amount of it to help your nasal passages filter out irritants.
When your nasal passages dry out, those irritants are not blocked from entering your lungs. This can cause inflammation and, in some cases, infection. Using a humidifier will help your body to maintain the filtration system it is naturally designed to have.
3. Thins Mucus
Like we said before, too much mucus can be just as irritating as too little. When we have a buildup of thick mucus, we cough and sneeze as a way to break that mucus up and expel it from our bodies.
Many cold medicines are considered expectorants and are designed to aid in that process of breaking mucus up. Increasing the humidity in your bedroom at night can also aid in that process without any of the side effects. More moisture will help to thin your mucus, making it easier to cough up or sneeze out.
Also read: Top 5 mattresses for heavy people
4. Lowers Chances of Nosebleeds
Do you ever wake up with nosebleeds? Do you find that during the winter or summer months, you’re much more likely to develop a nosebleed throughout the day?
Dry air is one of the number one sources of nosebleeds. Our nasal membranes are made up of a delicate tissue that can crack or crust over when dry. Once our nasal membranes are dried out, all it takes is a bit of pressure for a nosebleed to set in.
If you suffer from chronic nosebleeds, there’s a good chance that your indoor air is dry. Sleeping with a humidifier running may drastically reduce your nosebleeds.
5. Keeps Skin Moisturized
The respiratory tract isn’t the only part of our body that will appreciate a humidifier. Our skin is our largest organ and it needs humidity to function, as well.
We’ve all heard the sun is the biggest contributor to aging skin. Did you know that dryness is a close second?
Without moisture, our skin loses elasticity. This can slow collagen production and make it harder for your skin to look and feel smooth.
Skin is also shedding cells every second of the day. In order to regenerate, it needs plenty of moisture. We do quite a bit of that regeneration overnight.
Finally, dry skin is, well, dry! Dry air can exacerbate conditions like eczema and cause even the least sensitive skin to become flaky.
By increasing our skin’s moisture for at least eight hours a day, we give it the tools it needs to stay healthy and smooth.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Humidity
Are you looking for ways to improve your sleeping patterns? Do you wake up feeling dry both inside and out? There are tons of benefits of sleeping with a humidifier, and the biggest one is that you’ll get better sleep and wake up feeling more refreshed.
There are all sorts of gadgets that can improve or enliven your day-to-day experience. Take a look at some of our other posts and find out what gadgets you need today.
