Asthma is a common respiratory disorder that often makes it difficult to have a quality of sleep. Many people with severe asthma experience symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and severe shortness of breath at night. This won’t only reduce the sleep quality, but lack of sleep can also worsen the symptoms of asthma.
If you have asthma and often experience this situation, we have curated some of the best tips you can follow to get the best sleep even when you have asthma.
How to Get a Better Sleep Even with Asthma?
Although having an asthma attack at night can be worrying, there are several strategies that you can do to ensure you get the best night’s sleep despite your condition. These methods can assist in minimizing asthma attacks during the night!
1. Clean the Bedroom Regularly
Your bedroom serves as the primary space where you spend a significant amount of time. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain its cleanliness and eliminate various allergy triggers to ensure a healthier environment.
To clean your room thoroughly, you should use a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to catch mites and other debris and remove them efficiently from your bedroom. You should also wash bed sheets, curtains, and carpets in your room regularly. This won’t only promote better sleep, but it also serves as a preventive measure against overall asthma recurrence.
2. Ensure Mattress and Pillows Cleanliness
Apart from maintaining cleanliness in the bedroom, you should also make sure of the cleanliness of your mattress and pillows. It is important to regularly clean the matter, and change the sheets to prevent asthma and promote better sleep quality. At the very least you should change your bed sheet once every 2-3 weeks. This habit will ensure that your bed remains clean and free from allergy triggers that may worsen your asthma symptoms.
3. Adjust Sleeping Position
Adjusting your sleeping position can significantly improve sleep quality, especially if you have asthma. One of the best sleep positions for asthmatics is to put their head higher than the rest of the body. Lifting the head while sleeping can be beneficial for a couple of reasons such as alleviating nasal congestion and reducing acid reflux.
You can use two pillows when sleeping or opt to use a single pillow that is firm and thick. This positioning helps prevent nasal congestion and reduces the risk of acid reflux, thus promoting better sleep quality and minimizing asthma symptoms during the night.
4. Install a Humidifier in the Bedroom
Cold air tends to be drier and can pose a risk for individuals with severe asthma. To address this issue, you can purchase a humidifier and put it inside your bedroom to maintain optimal humidity levels.
Dry air provides an ideal environment for dust mites to thrive. By increasing humidity with a humidifier, you can deter the growth of dust mites and dust particles in your bedroom. This approach is considered to be very effective in promoting quality sleep for those experiencing asthma symptoms.
5. Maintain Bedroom Air Conditioner
Regularly servicing your bedroom air conditioner is crucial, especially if you have asthma. A dirty air conditioner can exacerbate asthma symptoms, as accumulated dust in the filter can recirculate back into the room, potentially affecting your breathing during the night. To ensure better sleep quality, it’s essential to schedule routine maintenance for your air conditioner with a reputable service provider.
If you currently need to hire a reputable aircon service provider, you can reach out to https://www.luce.sg/services/aircon-servicing to get professional air conditioner maintenance and servicing.
6. Create a Comfortable Sleep Environment
Another way to promote restful sleep despite asthma is to power down all of your electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Additionally, if you want to switch off your room lights – you should opt to use a small night light for illumination. As an asthmatic individual, sleeping in total darkness may not be wise, as total darkness can contribute to feelings of anxiety or stress, which may exacerbate asthma symptoms.
7. Take Your Medication
Last but not least, some individuals may also need to consistently take their asthma medication even when the symptoms are absent. This proactive approach is essential because asthma attacks can occur unpredictably. Thus, adhering to your doctor’s prescribed medication is crucial for ensuring better sleep quality despite having asthma.
By incorporating these strategies, hopefully, you can reduce the likelihood of asthma attacks during the night, and enjoy an improved sleep quality!
