A good night’s sleep is so important! And yet, it happens that disturbances come to disturb our rest. Cough is certainly the enemy of our sleep and it is good to know good tips on how to stop coughing at night. Zoom on our natural tips to calm coughs at night and find a peaceful sleep.
What is a cough?
Cough is a normal reflex that the body puts in place when the respiratory sphere is congested. Contrary to what one might think, cough is not a disease in itself but rather the outward sign of discomfort felt by our body. These are mainly secretions that clog our airways and need to be expelled.
Even if the cough is unpleasant, it is not necessarily wise to try at all costs to get rid of it. Rather, it should be viewed as a sign of a deeper issue that needs to be worked on in order for the cough to subside on its own.
Most of the time, the cough is due to the presence of mucus flowing from the nose to the throat and causing discomfort. The body then uses coughing to eliminate these secretions. In this case, the cough is often accompanied by other ENT signs such as a runny nose, sore throat or fever.
It also happens that the cough is due to the presence of a foreign body entered through the nose and stuck in the respiratory tract. In such a case, the body generates cough in an attempt to get rid of this foreign body.
Why do we cough at night?
Have you ever noticed that your cough is worse at night? If so, you are not alone! When we have a cough, it is common for it to become more present during the night, especially when we are trying to sleep. In the morning, the cough subsides and we enjoy a little respite.
Some experts point to lying down as the cause of our coughing at night. When we sleep lying down in our bed, the mucus would have difficulty in being evacuated downwards and this could lead to a more persistent rate.
It is also possible that it is the air in our bedroom that is at stake. Indeed, we often tend to sleep in atmospheres that are too heated and poorly ventilated, which can aggravate coughs at night.
To find a good sleep, it is important to find how to calm the cough at night thanks to natural solutions.
Solutions to calm cough at night
Humidify your bedroom
It is not always easy to know how to stop coughing at night and what methods to put in place to benefit from real well-being. The quality of the air we breathe can mean the difference between a peaceful night or a night of constant coughing! The air in our interiors tends to be of very average quality, it is even more polluted than the air outside despite the exhaust pipes of cars. Ventilating your room daily for at least ten minutes and ensuring correct humidity levels can help us reduce our cough at night.
Be careful, a room that is too humid is not recommended either! Care should be taken to find a good balance by maintaining a humidity level of between 30 and 50%, recommended for quality sleep. A humidifier can be used if desired, but this will not always be necessary. Often, the simple fact of ventilating sufficiently and monitoring the thermostat of our heating can restore satisfactory humidity levels.
Elevate the head
We all know this trick of raising your head to calm a cough at night. Adding a few pillows under your head in order to find yourself in a semi-sitting position encourages secretions to be evacuated from below, thus relieving the bronchial sphere.
If you tend to move during the night and find yourself lying flat, a good trick is to place a folded blanket under your mattress at head level to keep the mattress in an inclined position, which will allow you to stay in position. semi-sitting while you sleep.
Take care of your nose
We have understood it well, coughing is only our body’s attempt to evacuate mucus! It is therefore wise to work on the root cause by taking care of our nose in order to calm the cough at night. As soon as a runny nose occurs, make sure to blow your nose regularly and use sanitizing sprays for the nose based on sea water if necessary.
Many people successfully use the lota (also called “rhino horn”), a small decanter with a mouthpiece derived from yogic wisdom to cleanse the nasal sphere in depth. To use the lota, simply fill it with salt water (isotonic concentration) and circulate the water from one nostril to the other. A very simple gesture to include inns his daily care routine to enjoy a decluttered nose and stop coughing at night!
Bet on a good hot shower
Along the same lines, getting a good hot shower before going to bed could help us calm coughs at night. The heat has a vasodilating effect that helps our body eliminate mucus through the nose, thus relieving our bronchial sphere.
To go further, you can even bet on a hot shower with essential oils! Essential oil of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) or eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) will be your allies in case of cough. Thyme contributes to the well-being of the chest and throat. It is good for the respiratory tract and should be part of your essentials in case of coughing at night.
To use it in the shower, all you have to do is place a small towel or a washcloth on the floor of your shower on which you have placed 5 drops of thyme essential oil (Thymus vulgaris) and 5 drops of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). You can then take your shower as usual and enjoy all the aromatic benefits of thyme and eucalyptus.
Inhale eucalyptus
How to stop coughing at night? Think about inhalation! An inhalation consists of inhaling water vapor through the nose, with the addition of plants if desired, in order to decongest the airways. Preparing an inhalation based on eucalyptus can provide good relief to calm a cough at night.
You can inhale 15 minutes before falling asleep, making sure to blow your nose well to eliminate excess mucus. The recommended eucalyptus is blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), recommended for its pleasant effect on the throat, pharynx and vocal cords.
Caution will of course be required with inhalation, do not go too fast when handling hot water.
Drink herbal tea
Want to know how to calm a cough at night? The simplest solutions are often the best! Simply drinking a warm herbal tea in the evening can provide relief to help calm a cough at night. You should choose your herbal tea carefully to benefit from maximum benefits. Knowing how to stop coughing at night with herbs can be a huge help! The most recommended herbal teas for coughing at night are chamomile, licorice and marshmallow. We can prepare an infusion based on these three plants combined.
