Tired of Waking Up Congested? Try Sleeping With a Humidifier
Although we consider high humidity in the summer months to be, well, irritating at best, it is vital in the winter months and for good reason.
Humid air is necessary for optimum lung function.
The lungs are somewhat elastic.
When you breath in they expand and when you breath out they contract.
Although particulates like mold spores and pet dander in the air are filtered through your nose, many still reach your lungs and your body responds by coating the particulates with a substance that we call mucus.
This is normal and necessary, but when the air is too dry the lungs begin to dry out in a way.
They become less elastic and less about to expel excess particulates.
This results in more mucus.
All this is because the tiny cilia in your nasal passages and your throat must be moist in order to trap excess particles in the air and keep them from entering the lungs.
Keeping these cilia, or little hairs,moist also helps you fight infections when they are working as they should.
Your skin is the largest organ of the body and like any organ in the body it is mostly water.
It needs moist air to stay healthy.
A humidifier in the home can help prevent chapped lips and dry itchy skin.
While lotions can help relieve dry itchy skin, the best option is to keep the air moist.
When you are congested you tend to breathe through your mouth.
This can cause your lips to dry out and chap or crack.
It also dries out the throat and in turn dries out the little cilia that are so vital to the breathing function.
Keeping the air moist also helps moisten the nasal passages which helps them stay clear and allow you to breath normally.
Have you ever awakened with a stuffy nose and noticed that after that hot shower in the morning your nose isn't stuffy anymore? The reason is that the hot water puts moisture into the air and the highly humid air revitalizes the cilia and helps to bring that vital moisture into the lungs.
My grandmother seemed to understand that if she kept a coffee can of water on top of that old oil heater, everyone in the house seemed to sleep better and have fewer colds over the winter season.
When grandma pulled out the old can and began filling it with water it was often our first indication that winter was here in full force.
Today we have moved away from those inefficient space hogs and onto central heating and air.
There is no way to place that can of water on the heating unit, and it would probably be quite dangerous to do so given that they are probably connected to electricity.
But the humidifier for home use has conquered the problem.
If you can afford a whole house humidifier that is connected directly into your heating system, you may find increased benefits.
Wood furniture will not dry out as quickly, you will notice reduced static electricity, and help reduce buckling of hardwood floors.
If you cannot afford a whole house system, certainly consider the portable single room models.
They can offer many of the same benefits but must be cleaned and refilled more often than that whole house model.
If you use a portable humidifier, the best location is in a hallway outside the bedrooms.
Be sure to monitor the humidity levels, however.
Levels over about 35 percent humidity can cause mold to grow and that, my dears, is a whole other set of problems that you don't even want to think about.
Using a humidifier can help alleviate congestion, keep your wood furniture from drying out, and save your hardwood floors.
The best advantage is that it can help you get a good night sleep, free from congestion, while cutting down infections from airborne particulates like mold spores, pet dander,and bacteria.
Humid air is necessary for optimum lung function.
The lungs are somewhat elastic.
When you breath in they expand and when you breath out they contract.
Although particulates like mold spores and pet dander in the air are filtered through your nose, many still reach your lungs and your body responds by coating the particulates with a substance that we call mucus.
This is normal and necessary, but when the air is too dry the lungs begin to dry out in a way.
They become less elastic and less about to expel excess particulates.
This results in more mucus.
All this is because the tiny cilia in your nasal passages and your throat must be moist in order to trap excess particles in the air and keep them from entering the lungs.
Keeping these cilia, or little hairs,moist also helps you fight infections when they are working as they should.
Your skin is the largest organ of the body and like any organ in the body it is mostly water.
It needs moist air to stay healthy.
A humidifier in the home can help prevent chapped lips and dry itchy skin.
While lotions can help relieve dry itchy skin, the best option is to keep the air moist.
When you are congested you tend to breathe through your mouth.
This can cause your lips to dry out and chap or crack.
It also dries out the throat and in turn dries out the little cilia that are so vital to the breathing function.
Keeping the air moist also helps moisten the nasal passages which helps them stay clear and allow you to breath normally.
Have you ever awakened with a stuffy nose and noticed that after that hot shower in the morning your nose isn't stuffy anymore? The reason is that the hot water puts moisture into the air and the highly humid air revitalizes the cilia and helps to bring that vital moisture into the lungs.
My grandmother seemed to understand that if she kept a coffee can of water on top of that old oil heater, everyone in the house seemed to sleep better and have fewer colds over the winter season.
When grandma pulled out the old can and began filling it with water it was often our first indication that winter was here in full force.
Today we have moved away from those inefficient space hogs and onto central heating and air.
There is no way to place that can of water on the heating unit, and it would probably be quite dangerous to do so given that they are probably connected to electricity.
But the humidifier for home use has conquered the problem.
If you can afford a whole house humidifier that is connected directly into your heating system, you may find increased benefits.
Wood furniture will not dry out as quickly, you will notice reduced static electricity, and help reduce buckling of hardwood floors.
If you cannot afford a whole house system, certainly consider the portable single room models.
They can offer many of the same benefits but must be cleaned and refilled more often than that whole house model.
If you use a portable humidifier, the best location is in a hallway outside the bedrooms.
Be sure to monitor the humidity levels, however.
Levels over about 35 percent humidity can cause mold to grow and that, my dears, is a whole other set of problems that you don't even want to think about.
Using a humidifier can help alleviate congestion, keep your wood furniture from drying out, and save your hardwood floors.
The best advantage is that it can help you get a good night sleep, free from congestion, while cutting down infections from airborne particulates like mold spores, pet dander,and bacteria.