How to Stop Nighttime Cough

Part of your natural housekeeping mechanism, coughing is your body's way of removing mucus, germs and irritants from its respiratory tract. Harvard Medical School teaches that coughing protects your lungs from sources of irritation and germs that can make you sick. While an occasional cough is normal, a persistent cough at night is a more serious problem because it interrupts your sleep and can compromise your immunity to illness.

Nighttime Cough Causes

• Tobacco smoke is a leading cause of nighttime coughing.

  A cough can arise from many factors. Irritants are all around you in the form of smoke, germs and airborne toxins. Some common causes for a dry, hacking cough are asthma, allergies and sinus infections; sinus fluids can drip down into your throat and stimulate a cough reflex. Acid reflux can cause coughing, and indoor air quality is another possible source of that nagging nighttime cough. In addition, cold, dust and tobacco smoke can cause coughs and sore throats. Combined with seasonal allergens and dry indoor air, these environmental factors dry out and irritate respiratory passages causing nighttime cough.

Health Risks

• Coughing can upset your sleep patterns.

  A nagging nighttime cough poses a serious danger to good health because it interrupts your natural sleep patterns. When you are asleep, your body is doing much more than simply resting; during sleep, your body is actively repairing damaged cells and removing free radicals created by metabolic activity during active periods. A persistent cough not only interrupts your rest, but it also can impair your immune system, reports the California Institute of Technology. Because it impairs your getting enough rest, coughing weakens your immune system and makes catching a cold or flu more likely.

Cough Remedy for Children

• Honey is useful for treating coughs in infants and children.

  You can use one of the many over-the-counter cough medicines to alleviate coughing, or try a home remedy. A spoonful of buckwheat honey is often better than cough syrups or other drug store remedies for children's nighttime cough. Containing powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant ingredients, honey soothes irritated membranes and fights germs. Honey helps irritation on contact to let children sleep better without any of the side effects posed by OTC cough and cold medicines, according to the Penn State College of Medicine.

Remedies for Adults

• Drinking plenty of liquids will thin the mucus in your respiratory tract and lubricate your throat. Use a cool mist humidifier to prevent your throat and nasal passages from drying out, and don’t smoke. Tobacco smoke contains irritating particulates, chemicals and toxins that can harm your lungs. Despite the multitude of cough and cold remedies that you can buy, Harvard Medical School reports that there is little evidence that any of them work better than drinking plenty of fluids and using a humidifier.

  Take some time to examine your home environment for cough-producing irritants. Install HEPA filters in air conditioners, HVAC units and vents. Using a humidifier and filters will eliminate many airborne irritants and help prevent nighttime coughs.