It’s bad enough when you cough all day, but when you do it all night, too, then it’s downright miserable. You need your rest to get better. Sleep is the optimal way for you to do that and restore your body. How can you rest if your coughing keeps on waking you up?
Nighttime Cough Relief
Fortunately, this malady has pestered folks throughout the ages, so now there are remedies that have been tried and tested. From natural solutions to over the counter medication, people have various options for dealing with nighttime cough. It’s up to you now to try them yourself and figure out which ones work for you.
1. Sip something warm before bedtime.
Warm liquid will loosen the phlegm that irritates your throat. Some hot tea with honey is ideal. Since it’s nighttime, you shouldn’t consume caffeine, so herbal tea is best as even green tea has caffeine. Lots of herbal blends also boost health, making them the obvious better choice.
Honey is not just for sweetening the tea. It is also known to soothe the throat and boast antibiotic properties. So, if your cough is bacterial in nature, the honey will not only address the cough symptoms, but the root as well.
2. Recline on an incline.
Pile pillows in a comfortable angle so that you can sleep on an incline. Nighttime coughs are worse than daytime ones because you’re usually upright during the day so you end up swallowing post-nasal drainage.
When you lie down to sleep, however, the mucus backs up and tickles your throat, causing you to cough. At an incline, you’ll be able to keep it down better. The same is true for acid reflux, which is another cause of bad coughing fits in the middle of sleep.
3. Take a hot shower.
The steam will help clear your airways, so there’ll be less mucus bothering your nasal passages and your throat. If you’re too weak or lazy for a shower, plug in a humidifier. The moisture will alleviate the dryness that could be triggering your cough.
Here’s a note of caution, however. Steam might worsen your cough if you’re asthmatic. Too much humidity might also trigger your coughing, so keep it at 40 to 50 percent levels.
4. Apply vapor rub on soles and cover with thick socks.
This is a hot tip that has gone viral on the Internet. So many swear that it’s an effective remedy for nighttime coughs. At the very least, it warms up your feet and it’s always soothing to get cozy.
5. Take some cough medicine before bed.
Depending on what kind of cough you have, you can take either a suppressant or an expectorant. A suppressant or antitussive is the medicine to take for dry coughs. When your cough is wet or chesty, you best take some expectorant to help you expel the phlegm that’s triggering your cough.
Many cough medicines can make you drowsy, making bedtime the perfect time to take them. They also come in different forms: tablet, capsule, syrup, lozenge, etc. It would do you good, however, to suck on a cough pastille before bedtime to moisten your throat as well as take advantage of the cough-treating ingredients in it.
Prepping Your Bedroom
It’s important, of course, to keep your room clean. A dusty and moldy room is a nasty place to sleep in, but especially so when you are coughing. If that’s your situation, then you should definitely consider the notion that your cough might be an allergic one.
Also, in case you do start coughing in your sleep, it’s good to have your bedside table suitably set up. It’s practical to have within easy reach a water bottle, some nasal spray, some vapor rub, and some medicine as well.
Peaceful Sleep
Nobody wants his sleep to be disturbed, so if you have a cough, try one or two of the above remedies. For better chances of long-lasting relief, do all of them.