The electric fan is a Filipino staple. We live in a hot climate and therefore need it to refresh us. But apparently, sleeping with the fan turned on isn’t good for us. According to Sleep Advisor, there are health risks that stem from having to sleep with a fan on.
According to the website, using a fan while you’re sleeping can trigger allergies because it moves the air around in the room. This causes dust and pollen to make its way into your sinuses. They recommend cleaning the fan blades daily to prevent this.
Image: Alireza Kaviani, Pexels.com
Having a steady stream of air directly hitting your face might be causing your sinus infections too. The fan can dry out your nasal passages thus blocking your nose and causing sinus headaches.
Along with drying your insides, it can also dry out your skin. The blast from the fan could irritate your face (and again, the dust isn’t good for your skin either). With this, they recommend moisturizing more.
And lastly, according to Sleep Advisor, being exposed to a steady breeze can cause sore muscles. It’s because the concentrated air can make muscles tense up and cramp. Now you know what to blame for that leg cramp you wake up to in the middle of the night!
But, as Filipinos, is there anything we can really do? We live in a country in the middle of the Pacific where it’s warm all year round and not all of us can afford air conditioning. Maybe instead of steadying the fan directly onto your body, you can leave it in its swing mode to avoid those muscle cramps and sinus infections? Well, Sleep Advisor does say that you should only avoid them when you’re having trouble with your health, so I guess we’ll be fine!
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What do you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
