New Warning to Idahoans: Don’t Sleep With Your Fan Running

Even before meteorological summer began on June 1, parts of Idaho soared into the triple digits. There’s no doubt that we’ve already experienced a few very hot days and you better bet there’s more on the way. 

We’re talking the sort of days that require you to switch up your lifestyle if you don’t have air conditioning. At some point during my childhood, our family’s central air conditioning went out and my dad was pretty sure that we could survive without it. 

READ MORE: Should Idaho Really Keep the Thermostat at 80 When It's 100 Outside?

While the memories are a bit foggy now, I do remember evenings where the whole family hung out in the yard until after sunset so the house could cool down before we tried to sleep. There were plenty of weeks where my parents grilled every night because turning on the stove just added to the heat inside the house.

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And fans? In addition to the whole house fan and ceiling fans in the family room, we had box fans in every bedroom and pedestal fans in just every other space in the house. I really don’t think we would’ve survived those summers without fans! 

That’s why I was so surprised by an article I came across on Facebook recently! Mattress delivery company, Mattress Next Day, talked to sleep experts who revealed that sleeping with your fan on may negatively affect your health.

How Can Running a Fan All Night Negatively Affect Your Health in Idaho?

Fans Can Trigger Allergens and Asthma

There are plenty of memes on the internet about the “real seasons of Idaho” and several of them include a season called “the pollening.” Since the beginning of April all but four days were labeled “high” or “extreme” pollen count days in the Boise area. 

With your windows open, that pollen is getting in your home and your fan is circulating it through your room, aggravating your allergies and making it difficult to sleep. 

Fans May Make You Feel Congested

Beyond allergy symptoms, the excess wind produced can dry out your mouth, nose and throat. Your body naturally starts making more mucus in those situations. Healthline explains excess mucus may cause a stuffy nose and other less than pleasant symptoms like a stuffy nose, headache or sore throat. 

While your stuffy nose might not be the result of a cold or flu bug, it will still make it difficult to breathe while you’re sleeping. 

Fans Can Lead to Dry Eyes and Irritation

I want to revisit those years of my childhood and keep track of how hard it was to keep my contacts in during those air conditioning-less years. Dry air from fans can cause dry eyes. Dry eyes are unpleasant for anyone, but can be excruciating for contact users. 

Coughing Fit? It May Be Your Fan

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and had a coughing fit when you weren’t sick? If you had a fan running, it’s possible that the combination of the dry air created by your fan and the dust circulating through your room while you were sleeping may have irritated your throat. Experts recommend running a humidifier at night to help put some moisture back in the air. 

Fans Could Contribute to Muscle Aches

How many times have you woken up with a stiff neck or some other weird ache and just dismissed it as “I’m getting old.” While it’s the easiest way to brush off that pain, the sleep experts in the article explain: 

If you have any pre-existing muscle pains, perhaps from working out or from improper posture whilst working at a desk, you should refrain from directing the electric fan on this area throughout the night. This is because the concentrated cool air can make your muscles tense and cramp up, causing you even more pain.

We’re not telling you to ditch your fan overnight completely, but if you’ve been experiencing some of the things listed above with little to no explanation, you may want to reevaluate using your fan overnight.

The more you know, just in time for what could be another record setting summer in Idaho!