Why Do My Allergies Get Worse at Night & in the Morning?
- person Gary Tramer
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Those who regularly experience allergies know their symptoms all too well, but those of us who are lucky enough to come out of a spring day unscathed might not be as familiar.
Allergy symptoms can range significantly, depending on the kind of allergic reaction you’re having.
For instance, an allergy to a certain food could cause stomach distress, but external irritants probably won’t make your tummy turn. (And it probably goes without saying, but if you or a loved one are experiencing anaphylaxis, difficulty breathing, or throat swelling due to an allergy, it’s necessary to get medical help as soon as possible.)
Here are some of the more common — and less severe — allergy symptoms that many of us experience:
- Congestion (coughing, sneezing, stuffy nose)
- Itchy and runny eyes
- Hives or a skin rash
- Swelling of the face and body (especially the area that came into contact with the allergen)
For some reason, these already unpleasant allergic reaction symptoms seem to worsen at night and in the morning. This article will explain why that is and how you can alleviate the discomfort.
What Causes Allergy Symptoms Worsen at Night and in the Morning?
Everyone experiences allergies slightly differently, but there are some noticeable consistencies.
If you regularly sleep in a reclined position, this allows congestion to build up, making coughing, sneezing, and headaches worse. Since we are horizontal for most of the night (and in the early morning), your allergy symptoms can get worse.
This is one of those times when knowledge is power — sleeping with a few pillows propping up your head can help lessen your morning allergy symptoms.
We’re also in our bedrooms for a long time at night. That means if there are already allergens in our space, we’re continuously being exposed to them. Introduce an air purifier or air filtration system to minimize this issue, and clean your room frequently. You’ll thank us later.
You can also make sure the clothes that you wear in your room and house are not the same clothes you wore outside, since you don’t want to bring your outdoor irritants indoors.
How Can I Improve My Allergy Symptoms?
Now that we understand more about what allergies are and how they can affect us at different times of the day, let’s delve into what can alleviate these symptoms.
Use a Natural Allergy Symptom Reliever
To a certain extent, allergy symptoms are an unfortunate reality that many of us will experience at one point or another. However, rather than never going outside, we can be prepared with methods to soothe our worst symptoms to still make the most out of our day.
Since the solutions to natural problems are also often found in nature, our AllergyPatch Allergy Relief Stickers make perfect sense. These stickers utilize the powers of essential oils to help relieve allergy symptoms like sneezing, sniffling, congestion, and more, all by enriching your immune response.
If Your Allergies Worsen at Night, Try a Natural Sleep Aid
A restorative night’s sleep is vital for improving the body’s immune response so that we can feel our best. Unfortunately, this can be hard — if not impossible — to achieve if our sleep is being interrupted by constant coughing, sneezing, and other allergy symptoms.
Improving the quality of our sleep is another way to make nighttime allergies a thing of the past.
Rather than using one of the chemical options on the market to improve our sleep, we are so much better off trying a natural alternative. Of course, this is true for us as adults, but it’s even more important for our kids.
After all, who wants to ingest chemicals when we could instead turn to a natural, wearable solution? This is where SleepyPatch Sleep Promoting Stickers come in to save the day (or night).
Like our AllergyPatch Allergy Relief Stickers, the SleepyPatch works its magic with a carefully cultivated blend of essential oils that can soothe people of any age into a peaceful slumber.
First, apply the sticker to your clothes about half an hour before going to bed. Then, the oils will continue to emit comforting bursts of scent as you sleep.
Keep Allergens Out of Your Home
If possible, avoid bringing allergens into your home in the first place. This involves changing your clothes shortly after returning from a trip outdoors, showering, and cleaning your space often.
You can also use an air purifier or another air filtration system to help eliminate any allergens that manage to sneak inside.
Avoid Situations Where Allergens Are Common
Spring, summer, and fall are all times when many of us want to go outside and experience the plentiful splendors that nature has to offer. Unfortunately, our bodies sometimes have other ideas regarding an uncomplicated day of having fun in the sun.
Even though you might be soaking in vitamin D (with sunscreen, of course) and enjoying the many health benefits that come along with it, allergies are a reality that can make the experience much less pleasant.
We aren’t saying that you should stay inside for all of the spring through fall, especially considering that winter has its own environmental challenges. Instead, we recommend checking the allergy forecast ahead of time.
If the forecast predicts a strong allergy day, maybe it’s best to limit your time outdoors. On the other hand, if it is a mild to moderate day for your allergens, preparing with natural allergy relievers could be enough.
This doesn’t mean you have to avoid the outdoors altogether. You can also try to limit how long you’re near your allergens or go places where the pollen that causes your seasonal allergies is more scarce.
The best way to fight against allergy symptoms is to be prepared, both with knowledge and with symptom relievers that work for you.
When Is Allergy Season?
After a long and freezing winter, many of us are excited to hit the great outdoors without a jacket in sight. And just you wait until it comes time for the whole family to break out the shorts.
Enjoying spring weather before we have to bust out our summer AC can feel like a reward from Mother Nature for getting through the worst of winter. However, that gift can quickly become a curse if you are one of the many people who regularly experience seasonal allergies.
There are many saving graces during allergy season, though they might not seem particularly comforting at the moment.
First, there are effective and natural methods of relieving your symptoms (more on those later). Next, the CDC estimates that up to 60 million people experience seasonal allergies in the U.S. alone. Misery loves company, and anyone who has to deal with seasonal allergies knows that they can certainly be miserable. Thankfully, we’re all in this together.
Lastly, know that even when you or your kids are little more than a puddle of tissues and eye drops, it will come to an end sooner or later. If your symptoms tend to ebb and flow with the coming and going of allergy season, you can expect the worst of it to end around July and the rest to diminish in the fall.
How Do Allergy Symptoms Change Throughout the Year?
Spring has a reputation for being the worst time of year for seasonal allergies, and it’s easy to see why. Trees, flowers, and grass are all pollinating like crazy, leaving all of us who are sensitive to these allergens to deal with the aftermath.
As a result, early May is usually regarded as the period when these allergens are at their absolute strongest.
However, there are many kinds of environmental allergies, so this might not be the case for you and your family. Hay fever can also occur in mid- to late-summer when pollination is lower than in the spring. This is especially true with those who experience allergies to ragweed.
Fall should also be a marked improvement over the spring in terms of allergy symptoms, but that does not mean we’re in the clear. And why would it? That would be way too easy.
Instead, autumn sees the continuation of ragweed pollination, a common allergen. As leaves start to fall and plants start to slow down, this can also lead to mold spores being emitted into the air — the last thing we need after a long allergy season.
Why Don’t We Experience the Same Seasonal Allergies in the Winter?
It’s helpful to remember that “seasonal allergies” typically refer to pollen-based allergies or those that occur as a result of plant matter. We do not experience pollen-based allergies in the winter for a few reasons.
Most of us spend most of our time indoors during these months since we do not particularly enjoy being turned into human popsicles. However, on the unpleasant occasions that we are forced to trek outside during an arduous winter, we’re still unlikely to experience seasonal allergies.
In mid-January, the trees and plants that surround us appear to be dead, or more realistically, are slowing down and laying dormant until the warmer months. This means that there is little to no plant matter or pollen available to bother us.
When the weather finally does get warmer again, we will be greeted with a plethora of beautiful flora as the plants return to their former glory. On a less bright side, these natural beauties coming alive again means that many of us will be forced to withstand a few months of sneezing, itchy eyes, and more.
Say Goodnight and Goodbye to Allergies
Getting to know your and your kids’ allergies and what you respond to the most is crucial. Do you tend to have the most severe symptoms in mid-spring, or does hay fever come for you strongest in the summer?
When you’re armed with this knowledge, you can make informed decisions about when you expose yourself to allergens and how.
From there, you can take steps to bring fewer allergens into your home and relieve your symptoms, making a good night’s sleep a reality.
Sources:
Allergies – Symptoms and Causes | Mayo Clinic
When Is Allergy Season? Symptoms and Treatment for Seasonal Allergies | Insider