As indoor pollutants continue to plague our days and nights, it can be difficult to live without an excellent purifier in the house.
The concern for the increasing air pollution levels both inside and outside the house is quite staggering, especially indoor air, which isn't as circulated as the air outdoors. Considering that we're living in dire times, keeping the air in your house clean is a must.
However, running any device 24/7 can arouse concern for many house owners, especially that not many people run their air purifiers while they're sleeping. Ultimately, this begs the question: should I sleep with air purifier on? Keep on reading, and you'll soon find out!
Should I Sleep With Air Purifier on: Short Answer
Simply put, that depends on whether you have a particular medical condition preventing you from sleeping. For instance, some people can't sleep due to a specific contaminant or allergen that's reducing the indoor air quality; thus, they'll need to sleep with an air purifier on.
Similarly, if you can't sleep without some white noise in the background, you'd probably find the quiet whir of an air purifier soothing.
However, if you don't have any of these issues or any causes for indoor air pollution in your house, you won't need your air purifier to be on while sleeping.
Reasons Why You Might Want to Use Air Purifiers at Night
1. Allergies
As mentioned above, air purifiers are an excellent way of getting rid of pollutions particulates, most prominently, allergens, such as fungi, bacteria, and dust mites. These particles can trigger hay fever and other various allergic reactions like coughing, sneezing, and nose congestion.
If you happen to be suffering from allergic reactions to the point where they're causing sleep issues and messing with your sleep breathing, it's wise to turn on the air purifier while sleeping.
The best thing you can do in this case is to get a HEPA-approved air purifier, as they're known to remove most allergens from your room and, eventually, help you sleep better at night.
2. Asthma Attacks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that there's roughly 1 in every 12 persons with asthma. As it happens, asthmatic people can't have a good night's sleep if they're continually breathing irritants and asthma-inducing air pollutants.
Keeping your air purifier at night turned on is of the utmost importance, especially when you have pets and they tend to shed hair everywhere around the house.
Hair, dander, pollen, and dust mites can slip into your house through the window, or they might sit inside your house for days on end, which can cause mild to harsh asthma attacks. If the air inside your house is filled with these harmful particles, all people with asthma are advised to use an air purifier 24/7.
That way, you'll be able to get a good night's sleep and stay healthy at all times!
3. Airborne Diseases
When one member of the family is bedridden with the flu or even a common cold, pathogens constantly float through the still air of your house, meaning that your family members are bound to breathe the air that's filled with bacteria and viruses.
When you doubt that some family member is sick, it's advised to use a HEPA-approved air purifier to eliminate all kinds of contaminants that might result in diseases.
4. Radon
If you're not familiar with radon gas, it's basically an odorless, colorless gas that occurs due to the breakdown of naturally-created radioactive elements. It can also be emitted from materials found in building sites, such as soil, granite, and rocks.
Unfortunately, this difficult-to-detect gas is carcinogenic, and it can leak through your house via cracks in the granite, rocks, and soil, causing harm to your lungs, particularly the cells lining them, and eventually leading to cancer.
According to the 2013 EPA assessment, about 21,000 deaths in the US alone have resulted from lung cancer caused by radon gas, so you must purify your environment from it.
It's easy not to be aware of how much radon you're breathing in the daytime or nighttime, so the best course of action, in this case, would be to turn on your carbon-filter air purifier in both these time frames.
5. Bad Odors
Naturally, you wouldn't want any foul odors in your house. You should first start by finding the sources of unpleasant odors and deal with them. After that, you can use your air purifier to get rid of any remnants of these odors in addition to dust particles.
You don't have to turn on your air purifier all night, but it's worth it to improve your sleep quality.
However, if the indoor air quality is disturbed by harmful chemicals like gasoline, benzene, formaldehyde, or any other Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), using your air purifier with carbon filters is necessary. These chemicals can cause nausea and breathlessness and might even have a significant effect on your cognitive functions.
6. White Noise
If it's difficult to discern the reason for your lack of sleep, you might still need an air purifier turned on all the time!
Light sleepers, people with sleep apnea, and people who sleep in an environment that's too quiet will benefit from the white noise produced by air purifiers.
If you're not familiar with how white noise works, it's comforting noise that covers all the noise that might echo during the night, like a dog's snores. Any machine could emit white noise, and air purifiers fit the bell quite well.
However, some people still want to garner air purifiers' benefits but don't want to hear the noise. You can still find pretty decent models set at low noise levels (below 35 decibels).
FAQs
Why the Pollution Levels Go Back up After a While?
Typically, outdoor air will get inside your home, even if all the doors and windows are closed. There might still be small gaps through which contaminated air makes its way to your house, and that's why pollution will always go back up.
Can I Turn the Air Purifier off When I Sleep?
Some people might set a timer for their air purifier to work only for a set period of time as they sleep. As indicated by the previous question, pollution levels will go back up pretty quickly, so it won't really make any difference. The best result would be to turn it throughout your sleep period.
Should I Run My Air Purifier 24/7?
That depends on your needs and the levels of pollution inside your house. If they're little to minimal, you won't have to turn on your air purifier all day. Conversely, if pollution levels inside your house are high, you must definitely use it 24/7.
Is It Safe to Sleep With an Air Purifier Blowing in My Face?
While there's no harm in that, the best practice for using an air purifier is to make it face the bedroom door for better results. If there's a particularly unpleasant odor you're trying to get rid of, place the air purifier where that odor is.
Bottom Line
With that said, you should be able to tell by now whether or not to turn on an air purifier while sleeping! Make sure to take the facts mentioned here into consideration, as they'll help you pick an air purifier that will suit your needs.
For example, you must choose a purifier with carbon that's best for radon contamination. If you're facing nightly noise problems, choose a purifier with a noise level between 35 to 70 decibels.
All in all, the purifier you purchase must improve the quality of your sleep and remove any contaminants thoroughly so you can use it while you sleep.
