Hot, sweaty, sleepless nights are here, but before you go reaching to turn your fan on, think twice. Experts are warning that using your fan overnight can worsen your allergy symptoms.
The main downside to summer is hot, uncomfortable nights, which can unfortunately impact our sleeping patterns. If you’ve been wondering how to cool a bedroom, then you’ll already have considered reaching for your best fan. But experts say, stop it!
While a fan is an amazing device to keep you cool, it can also make your hay fever and allergy symptoms worse if you leave it on overnight - this is everything you need to know.
Can you sleep with a fan running?
When looking to keep cool, a fan is often your first port of call. You might even like the white noise whirring sound it makes to help you sleep. But the issue with fans is that they sweep up the dust, pollen and allergens in your room and propel them around.
‘Sleeping with a fan on can indeed make your allergies worse, as simply fans don’t clean the air, they move it,' explains Katie Lilywhite, air treatment expert at AO.com.
'Dust mites, pollen and other allergens that had previously settled on furniture could be blown into the air and trigger those allergy symptoms. If you’re planning on going to sleep with a fan on, then it’s a good idea to give your fan a wipe with a damp cloth every few days to keep dust at bay.’
What should you do instead
The good news is that you don’t have to be sweaty and sleepless for the rest of summer. While one option is cleaning your fan every time you go to bed, other quicker methods require less effort.
‘Air purifiers are also helpful, filtering the air and trapping dust before releasing clean air back into the room. If you find that leaving a fan on overnight is exacerbating your allergies, adding an air purifier into the setup can improve the overall air quality in your room,’ says Dr Hana Patel, NHS GP and resident sleep expert at Time4Sleep.
If you suffer from allergies, you may already know the merits of adding one of the best air purifiers to your home, and if you want to use a fan at night, you’ll want to add an air purifier to your bedroom. You can also opt for a combined fan and air purifier such as the Dyson Hot+Cool HP09 Fan, Heater and Air Purifier (£600 at Argos). While an expensive investment, the clever deceive will suck up allergens and stop them leaking back into the air - all while keeping you cool, too.
In terms of keeping cool, Dr. Patel also recommends freezing your sheets.
‘You can try freezing your sheets, or just the fitted sheet, to enjoy a cold snap as you get into bed. Make sure you put them in a resealable plastic bag to ensure they don’t get wet,’ she says.
‘It should only take around half an hour in the freezer for your sheets to reach a comfortable cool temperature, as you want to be sure you don’t actually freeze them!’
If allergies have been getting the better of you then you’ll want to avoid reaching for the fan in the summer. Instead, one of the following options will be a better option.
This purifiers removes 99.97% of particles in the air and cools when you need it too, making it great for use all year round.
This fan has five Operating Modes, nine Speed Settings and 80 Degree Oscillation so you can tailor it as you need. This fan will keep you cool while its air purifying filter removes up to 99% of dust, pollen, odours and pollutants.
The fan automatically adjusts when the air quality changes, so you can rest assured that pollen, dust, and allergens will be kept at bay. This fan also has 10 different speed settings and three oscillating wind modes.
Will you be thinking twice about sleeping with a fan on?
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