UK news source DailyMail.com interviewed Dr Samantha Walker of Asthma UK (the largest asthma charity in the UK) to discuss why hayfever sufferers often see their symptoms get worse in the evenings and at night.

The discussion revealed several interesting points about what can make allergy symptoms worse in the evening.

Basically, there’s more pollen around in the evening!

But why is that?  Although not obvious, the reason makes sense.  Pollen rises high above the ground throughout the day.  As temperatures increase, warm air rises and brings pollen with it into the upper atmosphere.  A large volume of the pollen blown off of trees and grasses can end up high in the air away from the ground.  But as evening approaches and temperatures drop, the air carrying the pollen cools and comes back towards the ground bringing the pollen with it.

This effect, combined with lots of plants releasing their pollen later in the day and early evening, contribute to sufferers feeling like their symptoms are getting worse at night.

When Asthma UK polled over 2000 allergy/hay fever suffers, they found that two-thirds of them continued to experience symptoms while they sleep.  And of these sufferers, they were losing over an hour of sleep per night!

Proposed solutions

Asthma UK had several helpful tips to reduce exposure:

Avoid going outside when pollen counts are elevated.

Don’t cut your lawn.

Wear sunglasses when you go outside.

Our Best Solution

However, one solution we see that brings the most relief to night time allergy suffers is using an air purifier in the bedroom. We’ve seen thousands of people get a better, more relaxed night’s sleep by running an air purifier in their room.

You don’t have to worry about whether pollen counts are high, or the wind is blowing.  With an air purifier in the bedroom, all of the airborne allergen particles can be removed in as little as 20-30 minutes.

Just keep the unit running all night long to surround yourself with pure, allergen free air and ensure you get the best possible nights sleep.

See our best air purifiers for addressing allergies in your bedroom.

External Source:  Daily Mail UK, Why hayfever gets worse as you go to bed.