Why is my asthma worse at night?

Why is my asthma worse at night?

Asthma that gets worse at night is sometimes called nighttime asthma or nocturnal asthma. There are no definite reasons that this happens, but there are some educated guesses. These include:

• The way you sleep: Sleeping on your back can result in mucus dripping into your throat or acid reflux coming back up from your stomach. Also, sleeping on your back puts pressure on your chest and lungs, which makes breathing more difficult. However, lying face down or on your side can put pressure on your lungs.
• Triggers in your bedroom and triggers that happen in the evening: You may find your blankets, sheets and pillows have dust mites, mold or pet hair on them. If you’ve been outside in the early evening, you may have brought pollen in with you.
• Medication side effects: Some drugs that treat asthma, such as steroids and montelukast, can affect your sleep.
• Air that’s too hot or too cold: Hot air can cause airways to narrow when you breathe in. Cold air is an asthma trigger for some people.
• Lung function changes: Lung function lessens at night as a natural process.
• Asthma is poorly controlled during the day: Symptoms that aren’t controlled during the day won’t be better at night. It’s important to work with your provider to make sure your asthma symptoms are controlled both day and night. Treating nighttime symptoms is very important. Serious asthma attacks, and sometimes deaths, can happen at night.