While the rising summer temperatures are a welcome change from bitter Canadian winters and rainy springs, heat and humidity can make indoor living close to unbearable. Air conditioning increases the comfort inside your home, decreasing humidity and cooling down your living spaces. But there’s more to your AC unit than just providing comfort. From improving your air quality to helping you get a better sleep, check out 5 important benefits of air conditioning to get you through the summer heat.
1. Improved Air Quality
Installing a high quality air conditioner provides your home with proper air filtration, improving your air quality. The air inside your home is filled with household dust, bacteria, pet dander, pollen and mould spores, which can lead to health problems such as migraines, colds, cough and fatigue. The HVAC filter inside your AC unit filters the air in your home, making it a healthier environment, especially for those with allergies, asthma or other respiratory issues.
2. Decreases Humidity
Air conditioners remove heat and humidity from your home while blowing cool air into it. Living in a home with high humidity can lead to issues such as the formation of mould, mildew and dust mites, and can even result in dehydration or heat stroke. High humidity also allows bacteria to flourish and illness to spread. An air conditioner will regulate the humidity inside your living spaces, removing the risk of these problems.
3. Reduced Risk of Heat Stroke and Dehydration
Dehydration happens when you lose more fluid than you take in and your body doesn’t have enough water to sustain itself. When you overheat, your body starts to sweat in order to regulate your internal temperature, but the more you sweat, the more water you lose, which increases your likelihood of becoming dehydrated. As for heat stroke, it occurs when your body starts to overheat due to your environment. Air conditioning can protect you from both of these issues, helping you cool down and lower your body temperature even on the hottest days.
4. Better Sleep
It can be really hard to sleep when it’s too hot in your bedroom, leaving you tossing and turning and sweating through your sheets. When your room is too hot, it hinders your ability to sleep through the night as well as your natural ability to fall asleep. Moving through each stage of a healthy sleep cycle is key to getting proper rest. Without achieving REM sleep, you’ll experience the consequences of sleep deprivation. Fatigue, moodiness, headaches and lack of energy and concentration are some of the symptoms of poor sleep hygiene that can be mitigated with air conditioning.
5. Decreases Risk of Asthma Attacks
Air conditioning can help reduce the possibility of suffering an asthma attack. Clean air is a must for anyone with asthma, and an air conditioner improves the air quality throughout your home. It not only reduces humidity, but also lowers the amount of pollen, mould, mildew and other airborne outdoor allergens that can lead to asthma symptoms. Air conditioners can also lower your exposure to indoor allergens such as dust mites. Make sure to routinely change the air filter in your AC unit to ensure your indoor air is as clean as possible.
