Is Your Bedroom Making You Sick?

Do you wake up still feeling tired? Does part of your morning routine include nasal congestion, sore throat, and headaches? Is your bedroom making you sick? Read on to find the things in your bedroom that are making you sick and what you can do about it.

Do you wake up with nasal congestion and/or a sore throat every morning? Are headaches a daily issue for you?

If you wake up feeling more tired than you did when you went to bed, your bedroom might be to blame.

According to studies conducted on allergens, a large percentage of American homes usually test positive for indoor allergens. These allergens include dust, mold, or pet dander, with the most common being dust mites. It’s more common for these allergens to appear in the bedroom.

So is your bedroom making you sick? And what can you do about it?

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Is your bedroom making you sick?

Your pillow

Pillows can build up a lot of bacteria, mold spores, and dust mites rather quickly. These can lead to allergy symptoms such as congestion, headache, and a sore throat. If your pillow is not washable, it should be replaced at least once a year. To protect your pillow, use an anti-allergy cover, and change the pillowcase every few days.

Pillows, over time, lose their shape and support, which causes your head to be out of alignment with your spine. This can leave you with headaches and stiff necks or sore shoulders. How do you know when it’s time for a new pillow? Fold your pillow in half and let it go. If it doesn’t spring back to its original shape, it’s time to get a new one.

Pets

I know this is a tough one, but the animals need to be in their own beds. Not only can they interrupt your sleep (my cat likes to sleep on my head!), their fur is full of dander, dust, pollen, bacteria, and mold spores. Place their bed beside yours and they’ll still feel safe and comfortable as long as you’re in the room.

Houseplants

It’s true that houseplants help purify the air and are good to have around the home. However, if you overwater them, their soil may hold in mold spores that can trigger allergic symptoms, especially in people susceptible to asthma or airborne allergies. Only water houseplants when the top of the soil is dry and never leave them sitting in standing water.

Candles

I love my candles and tend to burn them more often in fall and winter. However, paraffin candles can release harmful chemicals (benzene and toluene) as they burn. Look for soy or beeswax candles instead as they are much safer for burning.

Cleaning products

Of course, we want our bedrooms to be clean, but a lot of store-bought cleaning products contain harmful chemicals and irritating ingredients. Use natural cleaning products that are free from these chemicals, or make your own cleaning products to get your bedroom sparkling clean.

The windows

Never opening a window in your bedroom means you’re sealing in a ton of pollutants, which include dust, pollen, and dander. Also, off-gassing from paint, furniture, carpets, as well as chemicals from toiletries like deodorant, nail polish, and hairspray.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Open the window and let the fresh air in!

Your mattress

We’ve already discussed the nasty things your mattress is housing and how to clean it. Regularly cleaning your mattress as well as protecting it with a cover will be a great benefit to your health. A good mattress cover should protect it from dust mites, fluids, dirt, and other small particles.

The carpet

Carpet is so nice to have, especially in the bedroom. It’s soft on bare feet, warm, and acts as a sound barrier. The downside to carpet is that it holds on to every little piece of dust, dirt, pollen, and pet dander. Not to mention the grime from your shoes and feet. You should vacuum your carpet weekly and shampoo it every few months. However, if your allergies are severe consider installing wood or laminate flooring instead because it’s much easy to keep clean.

The humidifier

If you run a humidifier in your bedroom, remember to change the water daily and clean the humidifier thoroughly once a week. Not doing this can cause mold to grow inside the humidifier, causing allergy-like symptoms.

The vacuum cleaner

Here’s a tough one! You need to use the vacuum cleaner to vacuum up all the dust bunnies. However, if you’re using a vacuum without a HEPA filter, more than likely everything you’re vacuuming up is coming right back out into the air. And if your vacuum uses bags, make sure they are made from HEPA materials, too.

Do you wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed? Do you wake up with a sore throat or congestion? Are you stiff or sore when you get out of bed? Perhaps your bedroom is making you sick!

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Looking for the best ways to keep your bedroom clean? I recommend reading these posts next:
Clean Your Bedroom in Just 15 Minutes
Deep Clean Your Master Bedroom
Cleaning Your Mattress the Right Way
11 Things You’re Forgetting to Clean in Your Bedroom
Natural Ways to Make Your Bedroom Smell Clean and Amazing

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