Aren’t spring and summer wonderful? Flowers, sunshine, beach time, hiking, gardening… we could go on. But there’s one thing that spring brings that most people would rather live without. Allergies.

Seasonal allergies and hay fever can be so extreme for some people in the spring and summer that it’s almost unbearable. Constant sneezing, itchy eyes and throat, a runny nose and on and on. It’s so uncomfortable!

Allergies can affect whether or not a person gets a good night’s sleep. For some people, the symptoms last all day and for others, the itchy eyes and sneezing seems to worsen just as they are winding down for the night.

First, let’s talk about the season. Most people who have seasonal allergies have a reaction to pollen. Unfortunately, pollen season gets released three times throughout the spring and summer, never really giving people a break.

From March to mid-May, tree pollen is released. Then from mid-May to July, grass pollen makes it’s way into the world. Finally, from the end of June to September, weed pollen will be tickling our senses. Thanks, nature!

Since pollen knows no boundaries and has no respect for our wellbeing, we have to take matters into our own hands.

Here’s what you can do to improve your sleep during the allergy season.

Keep your windows closed — this might be tough to handle during the mid summer heat wave, but by keeping the air in your home as free from pollen as you can will help stave off some of the symptoms. You might want to invest in a fan to keep the air circulating if you like to have a light breeze.
Keep your house clean — this is related to the point above, but keeping your sleep space clean will help with allergies. This includes dusting, vacuuming, sweeping and washing and airing out your linens. You might want to wash or thoroughly shake out your pillows and duvet covers (depending on what they’re made of), wash your curtains and vacuum your mattress. Pull out your bed and clean behind it regularly. It might sound like a lot but pollen has a way of hanging out and getting stirred up when you least want it to.
Shower before bed — once you get into the habit of having a shower before bed, you might never go back. Keep it short and warm so that you don’t shock your system awake, and give your body and face a good rinse. Getting all the pollen off your skin will mean that you can’t transfer it to bed or onto your pillows so that it can hang around and bother you later. And it’s actually a really nice feeling to crawl into bed. In fact, bathing before bed is very common in Japanese culture.
Get hypoallergenic bedding — organic latex mattresses and organic bedding materials can help if you have sensitivities that go beyond seasonal allergies.

We hope this helps! Sometimes it feels like there’s not much you can do about allergies — they affect you from the moment you wake up to the moment you (try to) fall back asleep.

But keeping your space and self as clean as possible, and preventing pollen from entering your home in the first place, should have a positive effect on how badly you suffer.

And don’t worry, they won’t last forever. Winter will be here before you know it!