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The summer heat can get to us all. We’re kind of over those 97 degree days where you can literally feel the moisture in the air – ew. Even worse than hot days, are hot nights. There is nothing more uncomfortable than sweating in your sleep. But there’s an easy solution: put a fan on! Cool air will quickly come your way…
Hold up. There might be some issues with using a fan at night, and we are here to finally determine whether this quick fix for heat is good or bad…
Here’s the scoop: there are two negative aspects of using a fan to cool yourself while you sleep.
First, fans dry out the air. You might think good, now the hot, sticky moisture will be gone! Nope, when you dry out the air, your mouth and trachea become dry, leading to a bad night’s sleep. Not to mention that you’ll lose your highly-needed 8 hours of sleep, because you’ll have intense thirst, and you could give yourself a cold! No one wants to get sick from a fan… at least get a cold from kissing a cute boy, right? If you think your air is drying out, try using a humidifier to put some moisture back in the room.
Second, fans that aren’t used frequently during the day collect dust. So, when you turn on your fan thats sole purpose is to be used at night, you are actually blowing dust straight into your face, ew. This can cause clogged sinuses, leading to a sinus infection, a cold… you name it. So either regularly clean your nighttime fan, or suffer the consequences! Why? Well, when your body isn’t in perfect condition, your immune system has to work harder to keep off bacteria and viruses. So if you’re putting yourself in an irregular cold environment, your immune system might not be able to fight ’em off.
So, if you’re dead set on sticking with your fan, whether the noise soothes you or you’re just stubborn, make sure you’re using it properly to avoid getting sick!
Make sure to check out If You Should Sleep With Socks On and the answer to If You Should Sleep With A Bra On?
[Photo: Shutterstock]
