You definitely won’t sleep well if you constantly woken by your own coughing. This can happen if the air is very dry, or dusty. It can also happen if air is polluted (e.g. with cigarette smoke, or even smells from cleaning products and fabrics).
If the air quality is bad for any reason, even if you don’t cough and wake though the night, you might find you wake with a headache, or feeling like you haven’t slept well. One of the biggest culprits is lack of oxygen in a room. It’s never good to sleep in a small, closed room without airflow.
So that’s sleep quality. What about the effect of low air quality on sleep disorders?
The answer is yes – air quality can worsen the symptoms of any sleep disorder. It will have the most effect on people sleep apnea – even if they use a Cpap. The Cpap draws air from the room, so whatever is in the air (or isn’t in the air) will affect the quality of the air being supplied through the Cpap.
A scientifically measured link between Air quality and sleep disorders:
Sometimes the air quality is not within our control. In fact, airing out a room may allow atmospheric pollution to enter the room. This is of particular concern in big cities around the world. It also a factor in areas that are impacted by bush or grass fires – an increasing concern in many countries, including South Africa.
The link between an increase in disordered breathing at night and pollution levels has been established through numerous studies. One of the first was an in-depth study done in 2010 at the Harvard School of Public Health in the US. This established the very first undeniable link between worsening of breathing related sleep disorders and pollution.
The air quality index:
Any kind of breathing and or sleep disorder is made worse by overall air quality. Bad air quality can also cause numerous health issues. The ‘international air quality index’ rates air quality around the world. If you suffer from a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, you should be aware of your home town or city air quality index.
