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Cold Symptoms at Night

The common cold is something we all have to deal with from time to time. The sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching---you know the rest. Another bit of common knowledge is that the symptoms to a cold tend to be worse at night than they are during the middle of the day. It's no accident that people tend to suffer more when they lie down at night to try and get some rest. There are logical reasons why cold symptoms at night differ from what we experience at other times.

  1. Congestion

    • Congestion is one of the most noticeable and irritating symptoms of the common cold. A stuffy or runny nose along with an abundance of mucus production makes breathing more difficult and generally makes a cold sufferer feel lousy.

      At night when the body is attempting to rest, being in a horizontal position makes congestion feel even worse. Clogged sinuses seem amplified because of increased pressure on the body, and this often forces the mouth to open to allow for breathing. The open mouth irritates the throat and may cause it to get sore over the course of the night, making for a very uncomfortable situation come morning. Propping up with a pillow or adjusting the body to a different position may allow for easier breathing and reduce pressure on the sinuses.

    Coughing

    • One of the main causes of coughing during a cold is sinus drainage. The excess mucus in the nasal cavities will often run down the throat. This drainage happens even more when a person is lying down. The body's natural response to this drainage is to expel it through coughing.

      Even when drainage isn't the problem, clogged sinuses will force the sick person to breathe with his mouth open, causing dry conditions in the throat, which may also promote coughing.

    Lack of Sleep

    • In addition to the discomfort caused by coughing and breathing difficulties at night, the body releases increased amounts of substances called cytokines into the bloodstream as an immune response while asleep. This increase in cytokines actually causes a disruption in sleep that leads to tossing and turning through the night, according to the WebMD website. The result is increased fatigue and a general bad feeling the next morning.

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