Why Do Common Cold Symptoms Seem to Get Worse at Night? |
A person who has gone through common cold knows that the symptoms such as pains, aches and general discomfort increases in the evening hours. The effects of the cold tend to increase in the night time when there are fewer thing to distract a person’s mind. But the fact is that there are one or two factors which influence the increase of common cold symptoms during night time. One of the factors which contribute to the increase in intensity of the cold during night time is that the body is horizontal. During the day time, the body is normally vertical, and this helps to distribute the pressure and gravity equally among the whole body. When a person sleeps, the pressure is not distributed equally due to the horizontal position, and this result in exerting an additional pressure on the sinus cavities. This phenomenon contributes to the discomfort due to cold. Another factor that contributed to the symptoms of common cold is the body’s natural rhythm or cycle. This is also known as circadian cycle and it produces certain hormones depending on the time of the day. Hormones that kill viruses are produced more during the day than at night time. That is why the symptoms tend to be more severe during the night. |