Do you wake up still feeling tired? Does part of your morning routine include nasal congestion, sore throat, and headaches? Is your bedroom making you sick? Read on to find the things in your bedroom that are making you sick and what you can do about it.
Do you wake up with nasal congestion and/or a sore throat every morning? Are headaches a daily issue for you?
If you wake up feeling more tired than you did when you went to bed, your bedroom might be to blame.
According to studies conducted on allergens, a large percentage of American homes usually test positive for indoor allergens. These allergens include dust, mold, or pet dander, with the most common being dust mites. It’s more common for these allergens to appear in the bedroom.
So is your bedroom making you sick? And what can you do about it?
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Pillows can build up a lot of bacteria, mold spores, and dust mites rather quickly. These can lead to allergy symptoms such as congestion, headache, and a sore throat. If your pillow is not washable, it should be replaced at least once a year. To protect your pillow, use an anti-allergy cover, and change the pillowcase every few days.
Pillows, over time, lose their shape and support, which causes your head to be out of alignment with your spine. This can leave you with headaches and stiff necks or sore shoulders. How do you know when it’s time for a new pillow? Fold your pillow in half and let it go. If it doesn’t spring back to its original shape, it’s time to get a new one.
I know this is a tough one, but the animals need to be in their own beds. Not only can they interrupt your sleep (my cat likes to sleep on my head!), their fur is full of dander, dust, pollen, bacteria, and mold spores. Place their bed beside yours and they’ll still feel safe and comfortable as long as you’re in the room.
It’s true that houseplants help purify the air and are good to have around the home. However, if you overwater them, their soil may hold in mold spores that can trigger allergic symptoms, especially in people susceptible to asthma or airborne allergies. Only water houseplants when the top of the soil is dry and never leave them sitting in standing water.
I love my candles and tend to burn them more often in fall and winter. However, paraffin candles can release harmful chemicals (benzene and toluene) as they burn. Look for soy or beeswax candles instead as they are much safer for burning.
Of course, we want our bedrooms to be clean, but a lot of store-bought cleaning products contain harmful chemicals and irritating ingredients. Use natural cleaning products that are free from these chemicals, or make your own cleaning products to get your bedroom sparkling clean.
Never opening a window in your bedroom means you’re sealing in a ton of pollutants, which include dust, pollen, and dander. Also, off-gassing from paint, furniture, carpets, as well as chemicals from toiletries like deodorant, nail polish, and hairspray.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Open the window and let the fresh air in!
We’ve already discussed the nasty things your mattress is housing and how to clean it. Regularly cleaning your mattress as well as protecting it with a cover will be a great benefit to your health. A good mattress cover should protect it from dust mites, fluids, dirt, and other small particles.
Carpet is so nice to have, especially in the bedroom. It’s soft on bare feet, warm, and acts as a sound barrier. The downside to carpet is that it holds on to every little piece of dust, dirt, pollen, and pet dander. Not to mention the grime from your shoes and feet. You should vacuum your carpet weekly and shampoo it every few months. However, if your allergies are severe consider installing wood or laminate flooring instead because it’s much easy to keep clean.
If you run a humidifier in your bedroom, remember to change the water daily and clean the humidifier thoroughly once a week. Not doing this can cause mold to grow inside the humidifier, causing allergy-like symptoms.
Here’s a tough one! You need to use the vacuum cleaner to vacuum up all the dust bunnies. However, if you’re using a vacuum without a HEPA filter, more than likely everything you’re vacuuming up is coming right back out into the air. And if your vacuum uses bags, make sure they are made from HEPA materials, too.
Do you wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed? Do you wake up with a sore throat or congestion? Are you stiff or sore when you get out of bed? Perhaps your bedroom is making you sick!
Looking for the best ways to keep your bedroom clean? I recommend reading these posts next:
Clean Your Bedroom in Just 15 Minutes
Deep Clean Your Master Bedroom
Cleaning Your Mattress the Right Way
11 Things You’re Forgetting to Clean in Your Bedroom
Natural Ways to Make Your Bedroom Smell Clean and Amazing
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I used to wake up with chest congestion. Eight months ago I got an air purifier, and it has practically cured me! My dad had the same problem so I got him the same one and he is cured, too. On nights we left it off, we didn't sleep well bc of coughing, too. Great suggestions in your post.
That's amazing! I'm so glad the air purifier helped you and your dad.
Thank you so much!
Wow! Thanks for all this great information. So many things that we just don’t think about from day to day.
You're welcome! It's amazing what is all floating around in the air in our homes. It's not something I think about because I can't see it. :)
I am definitely checking into this link!! I end up with some nasal/throat issues every morning!! And what’s weird is it’s worse when I have my essential oil’s going at night
That's weird that it's worse when you have essential oils going at night. I have read to make sure your diffuser is across the room and set to mist at intervals and not constant, especially in a closed room. But I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. :)
Maybe I’ll try setting it on intervals then..when I’m diffusing “breathe” it seems like I shouldn’t be battling a sore throat and stuffy nose in the morning ?
Found some great tips that I haven’t ever considered!! And for starters it’s time for me to change out pillows ???thanks for your advice as always!!
As I was writing this I realized that I've had my pillow for a few years! It's been the perfect pillow, so I haven't thought about how long it has been since I bought it! haha!!! Thank you so much for reading! Glad I could help! :D
I have to do a bit of grocery shopping today...grabbing a new pillow while I’m at it ?
Thanks for these tips ma'am. It is sensitizing. ?
You're welcome! Thank you so much for reading! :D
Very helpful.
Thank you so much!
I have a Roomba. I shut the doors to the bedroom and let it do it’s things for hours. I do it once a week. It gets under neath the bed. As for pillows... I need to change mine. But I am a pillow snob. They have to be just right. So when I find the perfect ones... I’m a happy camper.
Great tips! Hope you had a lovely Mother’s Day!
The Roomba is a great idea! You can do other things while it's cleaning your room for you. :)
I know what you mean about the pillow. Mine has to be just right, too. And it's hard to find the perfect pillow!
Thank you!! My Mother's Day was nice. I hope yours was, too!
Mine was very nice! When I find the perfect pillow... I’ll make sure to let you know! ?
I loved your tips for using an allergy cover on pillows and opening those windows to let fresh, clean air in!
Thank you so much! Letting the fresh air in is such an easy way to freshen up a room. :)
Great tip about the pillows, I didnt know that there are anti allergy covers, will have to get. thanks for all the great tips as always. xo
Thank you! The anti-allergy covers are very helpful if you have allergies. And for pets that may sleep on your bed, too, like my cats! :)
The best thing I ever did was get rid of all the carpets in my house and replace with tiles / laminate.
That is such a great idea. We have hardwood floors, except in the master bedroom and I can't wait to rip that carpet out. :)