How To Sleep Better with Allergies at Night

If you’re an allergy sufferer, you probably feel that your allergies get worse at night. And that’s not in your imagination. You can feel relatively comfortable during the day and then start sneezing the minute you get into bed. If you’re struggling with itchy eyes through the night, waking up with a blocked nose or simply feeling that you haven’t had enough sleep each night, it’s likely that your bedroom is exacerbating the issue. Allergy UK says that a significant amount of exposure to house dust mite allergens occurs in bed, with the bed being a perfect environment for mites and dust. But it’s not just your bed that can cause issues – pollen can get transferred in from outdoors and pet dander clings to surfaces, to give just a couple of examples.

In this guide, I’ll explore common symptoms, what they can do to your sleep and the steps you can take to help you sleep through the night without any discomfort.

Why are allergies often worse at night?

Life would be so much simpler if allergies at night were triggered by one simple thing! Unfortunately, there are a number of triggers – here are some of the most common:

• House dust mites: Probably the most common culprit is the dust mite. These little critters love warm and humid conditions, so your bedding, mattress and pillows are the perfect environment. Dust mites eat dead skin cells and can multiply extremely quickly in the right conditions, meaning that after a night of lying on your bed, you’ll have been in close contact, triggering a reaction.
• Pet dander: Much as we love our furry friends, their dander can be a major allergen for many allergy sufferers. And if they sleep on our beds, that dander gets up close and personal. However, even if you don’t allow pets in your bedroom, dander is light and can easily spread into your bedroom.
• Pollen: You might think of pollen as just being an outside irritant but, of course, its lightweight nature means it’s easy for it to spread indoors. During summer months, for instance, it’s easy for pollen to get on your clothes and shoes, or on your bedding if it’s been dried outside.
• Mould: No one wants mould in their home, but it can thrive in damp places such as bathrooms and even overly humid bedrooms. If you do have mould in your home, the spores can become airborne and trigger allergic reactions if you breathe them in during the night.
• Lying down: For some allergy sufferers, simply lying down in bed at night can trigger allergies as fluid in the nose and nasal passage starts to drip down the throat. This can exacerbate allergies and lead to coughing, wheezing and even difficulty breathing.

How bedroom allergies can affect sleep

According to multiple studies and The Sleep Charity in the UK, allergies can easily affect a person’s sleep. These can start out mildly, with symptoms such as taking longer to fall asleep or increased snoring, but conditions can escalate. Potential effects and sleep issues include:

• Trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep
• Increased snoring
• Mouth breathing
• Congestion in the morning
• Daytime tiredness
• Insomnia
• Shorter sleep
• An increased risk for sleep apnoea

We all know that repeated poor sleep is bad for our health, so it’s vitally important to look at taking steps to reduce the allergens in your bedroom.

Practical ways to reduce allergens in the bedroom

Most of us don’t have hours to spare each day to ensure an allergen-free bedroom (not that it would even be possible to remove every allergen in existence!). So, the key is to try and establish a routine through the days and weeks to help reduce allergens to a level where they won’t affect you as much.

Take a warm shower before bed

Showering is a simple way to wash off any pollen you’ve picked up outside, but the warmer water will also help to steam and clear out your sinuses and eyes. A warm shower also helps your body to start winding down and get ready for sleep.

Put outdoor clothing straight into the wash basket or washing machine

And don’t make the mistake of putting it on your bed when you’re getting changed into pyjamas. Outdoor clothing is likely to have picked up pollen and spores, so make sure you put it into the wash basket or washing machine straight away so these are contained.

Keep windows shut

Lovely as it is to have fresh air flowing through the bedroom, allergy sufferers should keep them shut when pollen levels are high. Otherwise you’re just inviting pollen to drift in and settle on surfaces.

Cover your bed during the day

Put a throw or sheet over your bed during the day. This can then catch any dust or pollen that builds up in the day, while your bedding underneath remains allergen-free.

Wash bedding frequently

Dust, dead skin, pollen and sweat all build up on our bedding as we sleep, creating ideal conditions for dust mites to thrive in which will, in turn, exacerbate allergies. Wash your bedding regularly and try to dry it inside as well to prevent any pollen particles settling on it outside.

Dust with a damp cloth and don’t forget hidden spots

Using a damp rather than dry cloth when dusting makes it easier for dust particles to stick to the cloth, rather than just being blown around into the air. Make sure that you clean in hidden spots, such as beneath the bed, behind curtains and blinds, as well as around and on any upholstered headboards.

Vacuum regularly

Vacuuming is one of the simplest ways to remove dust, pollen and pet hair, but you do really need to make sure that your vacuum cleaner has a decent HEPA filter to trap said allergens.

Keep pets out of the bedroom

Unfortunately, having pets in the bedroom can make allergies worse, as they’ll shed hair and dander over your bedding. This will also obviously be worse when they’re moulting. Ideally, you’ll want to keep pets out of the bedroom, but if that’s impossible (no one wants to be kept awake by a cat singing the song of its people at 3am), try to keep a light cover on the bed overnight so that you keep pet hair away from your actual bedding.

Consider investing in an air purifier

Air purifiers also contain HEPA filters and are designed to catch dust mites, pet dander, mould and pollen in a room, significantly improving the air quality and helping to reduce allergic reactions.

Can changing your bedding help with allergies? How to build an allergy-conscious bed

Whatever some clever marketing tries to persuade you, bedding cannot cure an allergy. However, some materials are naturally less likely to cause an allergic reaction, and you’ll usually see them labelled as hypoallergenic or anti-allergy. Let’s look at the different types of bedding a little more closely:

Bedding item	Why it matters for allergies	What to look for
Sheets & duvet covers	In direct contact with your skin all night, so the biggest irritation risk	Soft, breathable, hypoallergenic fabric (bamboo or French linen); hardwearing enough to wash weekly
Duvets	Trap heat and moisture, creating the warm, humid conditions dust mites love	Breathable, hypoallergenic fill; the right seasonal tog (e.g. 4.5 or 10.5) so you don't overheat
Mattress protectors	Shield the hard-to-clean mattress from sweat, skin cells and dust that feed mites	Washable, breathable and moisture-wicking (bamboo); easy to remove and launder regularly
Mattress toppers	Add comfort but can harbour allergens if neglected	A removable, washable cover; wash regularly to stop allergen build-up
Mattresses	The largest, least-washable item, so material and certification matter most	Hypoallergenic, moisture-wicking materials; OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and GOTS certification

Sheets and duvet covers

These are the most important items to get right, as they come into direct contact with your skin. You’ll want to choose items made from soft, skin-friendly fabrics that won’t irritate the skin and are breathable to prevent sweat and moisture buildup, as this can aggravate the skin and trigger allergies. Finally, it’s important to wash sheets and duvet covers regularly, meaning a bedding set should be hardwearing. Panda London bedding sets are all made with hardwearing, breathable and hypoallergenic bamboo or French linen so are an ideal choice for allergy sufferers.

Duvets

As with bedding sets, duvets should be breathable and made of materials that won’t irritate or upset the skin. But it’s also important to choose the right seasonal warmth for your duvet, so that you don’t end up too hot or too cold. Panda’s Cloud Bamboo duvets come in a choice of 10.5 and 4.5 togs and are made with cotton covers and a fill combining breathable bamboo and the brand’s own nano-microfibre for a soft, fluffy finish.

Mattress protectors

Mattresses are difficult to clean, even with a removable cover, and they’re an expensive purchase as well. Mattress protectors are easily washed and collect sweat, stains, dust, and skin cells, helping keep them away from you as you sleep. Panda’s protector is also made with bamboo, which helps to keep it breathable and moisture-wicking.

Mattress toppers

Mattress toppers are a great option while you’re breaking in a new mattress or to extend the lifespan of a slightly older mattress. Pandas’ two mattress toppers offer sleepers a comfortable and supportive night’s sleep, and their removable covers mean it’s easy to keep them clean = these are items that should also be washed regularly to ensure that allergens don’t build up.

Mattresses

The ideal mattress for allergy sufferers will again be made from hypoallergenic materials and it’s also worth looking for certifications such as OEKO-TEX 100 Standard certification and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), which both ensure that no harmful chemicals were used in the fabric. Panda’s mattresses also use eco-friendly and sustainable bamboo, along with orthopaedic and moisture-wicking foams to give sleepers a highly supportive, comfortable and breathable night.

Is bamboo bedding good for allergy sufferers?

Bamboo bedding is a good choice for allergies thanks to its naturally antibacterial, hypoallergenic and breathable properties. Moisture-wicking properties also help to prevent humidity building up in the bed, reducing the ability for dust mites to thrive in the environment. However, it is worth noting that, as previously mentioned, hypoallergenic doesn’t mean allergy-proof and individual allergies and sensitivities can vary. So, whilst bamboo bedding can be very helpful to allergy sufferers, it can’t cure them.

When should someone seek medical advice?

It’s important to remember that while I can offer advice on simple steps to reduce the risk of exacerbation of allergies at night, I am not a medical doctor. You should speak to a pharmacist or GP if:

• You are unsure what’s causing your symptoms
• Your symptoms are becoming worse
• Your sleep and / or your everyday life is being affected
• You have asthma that’s getting worse
• Pharmacy treatments aren’t helping with your allergy symptoms

In conclusion: A better night starts with the whole sleep environment

The reason that I’ve covered a number of different aspects is that for most night-time allergy sufferers, matters are rarely solved by just buying one product or undertaking one cleaning job. Instead, you need to understand what personally triggers your own allergies before following the steps that will help eliminate that particular pathogen from your environment as much as possible. Panda products are designed to help support you in creating an allergy-conscious bedroom and should be used as part of a wider picture.