Colds can sometimes make us feel tired and stop us sleeping properly at night.
We may have trouble sleeping and getting a good night’s rest with a blocked nose and a cough. Here are some tips to help you sleep better.
If you have a blocked nose, you may find it difficult to breathe. To avoid that, remember to clear your nose with with adapted nasal solutions (physiological serum, sea water spray…), before going to bed. Once you have cleaned your nose, blow your nose. Using a nasal wash has the advantage of cleansing your nasal airways, which will relieve respiratory discomfort. This is the main problem preventing us from sleeping soundly when we have a cold. It also helps to drain out mucus from the nasal mucosa and remove pathogens (viruses, bacteria).
Before going to bed, drink a hot herbal tea. Staying hydrated will help loosen and drain out the secretions in your nasal airways.
Remember to open a window in your bedroom twice a day, winter and summer, for at least 5 minutes. This is easy to do, and will bring fresh air into the room, remove stale air containing germs and stop them from spreading.
During the night, to help you breathe more easily, get a humidifer to help keep your nasopharyngeal mucosa moist and ease your cough. Or why not simply put a bowl of water in your room?
When you are ready to get into bed, prop up your pillow to reduce inflammation of your airways and pressure on your sinuses. This will help you to breathe more easily while asleep.
Finally, check the temperature in your room. To help you get to sleep and stay asleep through the night, this should ideally be no more than 19C(1). Any higher, and this can increase the risk of bacteria spreading in your room. If you feel cold, even under your duvet, put more layers on as well as socks. Keeping your feet warm helps your whole body to relax and contributes to a good night’s sleep.
In France, an adult can catch a cold up to 4 times a year(1). More common in the autumn and winter months, colds are a benign viral infection affecting the nose and throat.
Whilst their symptoms are not serious, they can still cause discomfort in our daily lives. In this article, you can read about three tips to avoid catching them.
A cold is an upper respiratory tract infection (affecting the nose, nasal airways and throat), caused by a virus. The virus can be spread through direct contact: by breathing in contaminated droplets or touching hands with someone who already has a cold; or indirectly, by touching a contaminated object for example. Colds can thus be spread all year round, and not just at wintertime.
To avoid catching one, wash your hands at regular intervals, keep antibacterial hand gel or soap on you and wear a mask if travelling on public transport.
The aim is to keep the virus away from your face!
The quality of the air in your main rooms is essential to your health. Air renewal allows to evacuate viruses and bacteria from your house and to clean your air from pollutants and other fungi and molds. To do this, air your rooms regularly by opening windows wide for 10 to 15 minutes twice a day. In the city, avoid the hours between 10am and 7pm(3).
All you have to do is follow these few tips to protect yourself from the cold virus and continue to enjoy your days in good health.
1 https://www.ameli.fr/loire-atlantique/assure/sante/themes/rhinopharyngite-adulte/symptomes (consulted on the 28th of june 2022))
2 Nieman DC, Henson DA et al. Upper respiratory tract infection is reduced in physically fit and active adults. Br J Sports Med. 2010 Nov 1.
3 https://www.passeportsante.net/fr/Actualites/Dossiers/DossierComplexe.aspx?doc=5-raisons-aerer-maison (consulted on the 28th of june 2022)