Most of my life, I embraced sleeping with an open window enjoying the fresh night air even in the dead of winter. Nocturnal breezes worked like Tylenol PM on me, until recently.
Aside from mild seasonal allergies, I’d consider myself a healthy person. Last winter, however, I contracted a weird flu bug accompanied by severe asthma symptoms and was struck down for months. I learned to live the life of an asthmatic, carrying a nebulizer, waking night after night gagging for air, being rushed to the hospital after a serious choking episode. That’s when I learned bad air can REALLY hurt you.
Air conditioning is a beautiful thing for allergy sufferers. Not only is the air temperature and humidity reduced but airborne allergens are filtered out, cleaning the air you breathe. Less bad stuff in your throat and lungs means you sleep deeper and wake up refreshed.
Lately stuffy summer nights, rare though they are here in Maine and a nasty pollen season have led me to give in to my husband’s air conditioning fetish. I now embrace High Cool and join him in turning our bedroom into what he delights in calling, "The Meat Locker."
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