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How an Air Conditioner Can Damage Your Health

Family Enjoying the coolness of room temperatureUsing an air conditioner once in a while when you really need it is not a problem, but if you use it on a daily basis for days or weeks on end, know that you may be compromising your health and are at risk of experiencing some unpleasant side-effects. However, in some parts of the world, it is difficult to live comfortably without an air conditioner, so you can also try these tips on how to cool down naturally.

Although your body is made to equalize and seek a state of homeostasis even when faced with fluctuations in climate, too much heat or cold can be a stressor on the body. If that stressor is something you have to live with consistently, your body may not be able to withstand it and reach homeostasis easily.

What happens when stress is chronic is that your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response, which is your bodyā€™s global response to stress, can begin to dysregulate. Your NEM is made up of six circuits, each one composed of three or more components that work together to fight stress. All six are engaged when stress is present, but depending on the stressor, some circuits are more involved than others.

In the case of being exposed to artificial air on a regular basis, the Detoxification circuit is the one that carries the biggest burden, along with the adrenal glands, as they are always the first line of defense against stress.

Your adrenal glands produce cortisol, your bodyā€™s main anti-stress hormone. When your body is exposed to a stressor, your adrenals will secrete more cortisol than normal to deal with it. So if the stressor is there all the time, your adrenals will have to work overtime to produce more and more cortisol. This marks the beginning stages of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS), and the elevated cortisol levels can bring about symptoms. After a while, though, your adrenals will become exhausted and will no longer be able to produce the needed cortisol. This marks the more advanced stages of AFS and will bring about even more severe symptoms.

Symptoms of AFS include fatigue, lethargy, insomnia, weight gain, brain fog, anxiety, mild depression, loss of libido, PMS, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, salt and sugar cravings, lowered immunity, food and drug sensitivities, hair loss, dry skin, and an inability to handle stress.

How the Air Conditioner Affects Detoxification

The Detoxification circuit is responsible for neutralizing toxins and metabolic byproducts and moving them out of your system. A slowed Detoxification circuit can create a state of elevated toxicity in the body, and that is also a big stress on the body.

The Detoxification circuit is composed of the immune system, liver, and the interstitium (the network of paths between cells and tissues ā€“ mainly the extracellular matrix), and to a lesser extent, the lungs, skin, and kidneys.

There are several ways air conditioning can affect your health, and many of them have to do with clogging up and slowing down your Detoxification circuit. These include:

Poor Air Quality

Even if you service your air conditioner on a regular basis, its filters will still collect dust and pollutants from the air it is processing. And as those things accumulate in the machine, they will affect the air quality you are breathing inside the air-conditioned space. Inhaling these substances in high concentrations will inevitably put pressure on your Detoxification circuit.

Each component will bear that burden differently. For example, the lungs breathing in that air may end up getting more irritated, and you may find yourself with respiratory issues. If you already have respiratory issues, such as asthma or some kind of infection, you may find the symptoms getting worse.

If you have AFS, your immunity may already be compromised, so respiratory tract infections may take longer to clear up.

Your liver may also start to get congested, as it has to process all of these extra toxins and substances circulating in your system. This can trigger or aggravate sensitivities to food, medications, and even the environment itself.

Dehydration

Dehydration SymptomsOne thing that is vital for supporting the detoxification process is adequate hydration. Drinking enough water to flush out the toxins from your system is crucial, especially for the kidneys. But air conditioning can reduce the humidity in your room, and if youā€™re not careful to replenish it by drinking more water, you can get dehydrated if you spend several hours in that environment.

Also, the dryness of an air-conditioned environment can cause dry, itchy eyes, throat, skin, and nose, and may even inflame your nasal passages. Plus, your body needs the water to help move the toxins and metabolic byproducts processed by the liver, through your extracellular matrix, and out of your body through your bowels, kidneys, and skin.

Dehydration is also a major cause of fatigue and lethargy, as well as headaches, migraines, and brain fog.

Drinking enough water may help counterbalance this effect, but you may also consider adding a humidifier as well. But youā€™ll have to be a bit careful with how much water you drink if youā€™re in more advanced stages of AFS, as too much water can actually create an imbalance in your electrolytes and minerals, especially your sodium-potassium ratio, which is very susceptible to imbalance in AFS.

Susceptibility to Infections

Susceptibility to InfectionsAs a side-effect of dehydration and poor air quality, you may also find yourself more susceptible to infections if you are using an air conditioner frequently. The build-up of dust and pollutants in the filters of the air conditioner can create problems for your respiratory system. On top of that, air conditioners use these artificial water systems to cool down the air, which can become hot-beds of microbes that begin to accumulate there.

The drying out of your mucous membranes in your upper respiratory tract also aggravates your susceptibility to infection. Your mucous membranes act as a defense mechanism against microbes ā€“ they can catch them on the way in. So, the higher concentration of microbes plus the compromised defense mechanism against them increases your chances of contracting an infection even more.

If you have AFS, your risk for recurring infections is also increased, since your immune system is not as strong as it could be. Thatā€™s why, if you have AFS, especially if itā€™s advanced, to be very cautious when using an air conditioner, and to try to find other ways to cool down instead.

How to Avoid AC: Other Ways to Stay Cool

Now in some cases, using air conditioning, especially from a good quality and well-maintained machine or centralized system, does have its benefits.

If you live in a very polluted city, the filtration system may actually decrease your exposure to the dust and pollutants rather than increase it. Also, if your body is quite weak, perhaps due to adrenal fatigue or some other chronic condition, your body may not be able to handle the heat, so using an air conditioner when itā€™s very hot may be beneficial for you.

Still, itā€™s best to use it with care, only when necessary, and implement some other cooling methods alongside it.

Those can include the following:

Other Ways to Stay Cool

  • Use cold-compresses. Moisten some small towels with cold water and press them against your face and neck.
  • Put your feet into a bucket of cool water while youā€™re sitting around.
  • Wear clothing made of light and natural material, such as linen and organic cotton. Keep your garments loose. Avoid tight, synthetic clothing as much as possible.
  • Take colder showers. You donā€™t have to go to ice water immediately, but start with lukewarm, then slowly decrease the temperature.
  • Use a fan instead of an air conditioner. Just be careful not to have it directly facing you, especially if youā€™ve been sweating and have AFS, as that could be a little too much for your system. If you use ceiling fans, make them run counter-clockwise, as that can actually create a cooler airflow. Make sure to clean out the dust on the fans on a regular basis too.
  • Use blinds or black-out curtains in your home or office, and close them during the day to keep out the sun.
  • Eat lighter, cooler foods during the summer, such as fruits and salads. Just make sure you donā€™t overdo it with cold foods, as that can also be a stressor on the body, especially if you have AFS.
  • Go to the beach or the forest. Nature has its own wonderful way of helping all its creatures adapt to the different seasons, so why not take this opportunity to breathe in the cool ocean breeze or the fresh forest air rather than switching on your air conditioner?

You may be tempted to drink ice-cold drinks or drinks with ice-cubes in them, and although thatā€™s okay once in a while, we advise against that becoming a regular practice. Very cold drinks can actually be harmful to your digestive tract, so if you must drink cooler liquids, try a little bit cooler than room temperature.

 
© Copyright 2021 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.


Dr. Lam's Key Question

Summer can be tough to bear, and if youā€™re already heat intolerant, it can be torturous. But thereā€™s no denying that using an air conditioner can also be detrimental to health. Hereā€™s what you need to know about ACs and a few alternatives you might want to try instead.

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