6 Ways Your HVAC System Impacts Your Sleep

Quality sleep is essential to both your health and mood. Your body recharges and repairs itself during sleep. Given that sleep quality can influence your mind, body and overall health, it is important that you take steps to ensure that you get the best quality sleep possible.

One of the things that some people might overlook when considering sleep quality is their HVAC system. However, your HVAC system plays a crucial role in maintaining the comfort levels of your home by regulating the quality of your indoor air. A faulty system can significantly affect your mental and physical well-being, but when the indoor environment is conducive, you can perform better and have a night of quality sleep.

If your lack of sleep is related to your HVAC system, there is good news – it can be fixed! Check out the ways a smoothly running HVAC will keep your slumber sound.

 

Sleep and Your Health

The way you feel while you are awake depends in part on what happens while you are sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and support your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development.

The amount of sleep you need depends on various factors such as age, lifestyle, health and whether you have been getting enough sleep recently. Lack of sleep can affect how well you think, react, work, learn and get along with others.

  • Mental Health Benefits

Sleep is a highly complex state during which many processes affect different parts of the brain. When you are sleep-deprived, your reaction time tends to be slower. You are also more likely to get angry or frustrated, feel anxious, act impulsively, or otherwise behave unpredictably.

Your brain relies on sleep to remain fine-tuned. When you are sleep deprived, your brain is still subjected to the same amount of information from around the world as when you are rested. What changes after poor sleep is the brain’s capacity to efficiently process all that information.

 

  • Physical Health Benefits

Sleep plays a vital role in your mental and physical well-being. Different processes that occur during sleep help to promote healthy brain activity and maintain good overall health. For children and teenagers, sleep is also key for proper growth and development.

Sleep deficiency can interfere with these bodily processes. The term “sleep deficiency” refers to the inability to get enough high-quality sleep. This may occur due to sleep deprivation, or simply not getting enough sleep, or there may be other underlying reasons, such as a sleep disorder or circadian rhythm misalignment. A lack of high-quality sleep means your body has less time to recover during the night. This can also lower your body’s defenses against diseases and medical conditions.

Researchers have shown that chronic sleep deprivation impacts our metabolism and the way our bodies process different types of food. These changes can lead to weight gain.   Hormonal shifts seen in sleep deprived people indicate that lack of sleep may increase the risk of obesity and developing diabetes.  Unfortunately, people who are overweight are also prone to certain sleep disorders like sleep apnea and may struggle to get the sleep they need which only compounds problems with weight management.  Whether you need to lose weight or if you are just working hard to maintain your weight, committing to getting enough sleep may be one of the most important steps you can take.

Another way that lack of sleep impacts your physical health is by altering how your immune system functions.  It is believed to change the immune system function enough that not getting enough sleep can increase the chances of developing a broad range of life-threatening diseases like cancer.  Getting the sleep you need every night is as important to your health as remaining active and eating a healthy diet.

 

6 Ways Your HVAC System Impacts Your Sleep

Many of us underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep, but the reality is that sleep quality can have a major impact on your comfort and wellness. Figuring out why you are not getting enough sleep can be difficult, but there are some common causes that you should consider. Believe it or not, your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system can be a cause for diminished sleep quality or lack of sleep generally.

 

  • Temperature

The temperature in your bedroom is an important aspect of the overall comfort in the space. As you prepare to fall asleep, your body naturally lowers its core temperature. If the thermostat is set too high, you may not be able to fall asleep or stay asleep.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends setting your thermostat between 60 and 67 degrees around bedtime. If you get chilly, use blankets rather than cranking up the heat. You may also choose to keep a fan running in your bedroom to improve airflow and create a cooling effect.

  • Humidity

If you have ever woken up in the morning with a dry nose or throat, you are suffering the effects of the humidity levels in your home. If the humidity levels are too low in your home, you are likely to experience irritation in the nose and throat. If your humidity levels are too high you may experience trouble breathing.

Both of these conditions can impact your quality of sleep, so it is important to properly control your home’s humidity levels for good sleep. Aim to maintain your home’s humidity levels between 35 percent to 45 percent. Not only will proper humidity levels improve your quality of sleep, but it will also benefit your health in other ways.

 

  • Light

If your bedroom houses any components of the HVAC system, the lights from these units can make it hard to sleep as well. A thermostat typically has glowing lights on it, while a smart thermostat might have a lit-up screen that shines too much light in your bedroom.

Cover any of these components before you go to bed to prevent the light exposure from impacting your body’s natural sleep patterns.

 

  • Noise

Noise is a very significant factor in falling and staying asleep. If your HVAC system is making abnormally loud noises it can be distracting to fall asleep and even wake you up in the middle of the night. Noises from your HVAC system can typically be normal. When you hear something that is out of the ordinary you should call us to check it out. Noises can also be reduced or avoided by having your annual maintenance visits completed.

 

  • Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality refers to any foreign material or particulate circulating in the air in your home. Things like pollen, pet dander, dust, debris, cooking and cleaning supplies with toxic chemicals, or even dangerous gases like radon or carbon monoxide can all hurt your indoor air quality. In the long-run, that can be negative for our health.

Poor indoor air quality can trigger asthma attacks, allergies, and cause or worsen breathing issues during sleep, all things which increase the risk of unhealthy sleep patterns.

  • Dirty Filters

HVAC experts recommend replacing your filters regularly to extend various HVAC components’ lifespan and improve their efficiency. A dirty filter restricts airflow, causing HVAC cooling problems. It also causes the furnace to overheat and shut off at a high limit. Dirty filters often blow warm air, which increases your bedroom’s temperature, making it difficult to sleep. Besides sweat, dirty filters can cause you to suffer more allergy attacks. They accumulate pollutants which are then blown out and circulated in the air throughout your home. Increased allergy attacks are likely to keep you awake.

Regular cleaning of your HVAC filters is a must. Cleaning HVAC filters during the summer months improves indoor air quality, resulting in better health, comfort, and sleep quality. Moreover, keeping your HVAC system well-maintained extends its lifespan.

 

Final Thoughts

Keeping your heating and air conditioning running well is a big factor in getting a good night’s sleep. Let our HVAC experts at Aire-Tech explain the important role your HVAC system plays in sleep quality and offer you tips on how you can optimize your system for better rest.

If your system needs repair or inspection before winter, call Aire-Tech on 951-926-1002. You can also visit our Contact page and complete the contact form.