How to Stop Coughing at Night

Stop coughing at night by adjusting your sleep habits. Sleep at a slight incline. Avoid sleeping under a fan, heater, or air conditioner. Consider using a humidifier at night instead. Try medications, such as over the counter cough medicine or cough drops. Lastly, consider natural remedies, such as eating a spoonful of honey or sipping on licorice root tea.

Sleep on an incline. Prop yourself on pillows before you go to sleep and try to sleep on more than one pillow. This will prevent all the postnasal drainage and mucus you swallow during the day from backing up in your throat when you lay down at night.

• You can also place wooden blocks under the head of your bed to raise it by 4 inches. This angle will help to keep acids down in your stomach so they won’t irritate your throat.
• If possible, avoid sleeping on your back as this can put strain on your breathing at night and cause you to cough.
• Sleeping on an incline with increased number of pillow is the best way to cure a cough from congestive heart failure (CHF) at night. The water collects in the lower lung fields and does not affect breathing.

Have a hot shower or bath before bed. Dry airways can make your coughing worse at night. So, immerse yourself in a steamy bathroom and soak up some moisture before bed.

• If you have asthma, steam can make your cough worse. Do not try this remedy if you have asthma.

Avoid sleeping under a fan, heater, or air conditioner. Cold air blowing on your face at night will only make your coughing worse. Move your bed so it is not under an air conditioner or heater. If you keep a fan on in your room at night, move it to a spot opposite of your bed.

Place a humidifier in your bedroom. Humidifiers can help keep the air moist, rather than dry, in your room. The steam opens airways and allows for better air flow. This moisture will help to keep your airways moist and less prone to coughing.

• Keep the humidity levels at 40% to 50%, as dust mites and mold thrive in damp air. To measure humidity in your bedroom, pick up a hygrometer at your local hardware store.

Wash your bedding at least once a week. If you have a persistent night cough and are prone to allergies, keep your bedding clean. Dust mites, tiny creatures that eat dead flakes of skin, live in bedding and are a common allergy trigger. If you have an allergy or asthma you may be at risk for dust mites. Make sure to wash you sheets and try using sheet covers for the bed.

• Wash all your bedding, from your sheets and pillowcases to your duvet cover, in hot water once a week.
• You can also wrap your mattress in plastic to keep dust mites away and your bedding clean.

Keep a glass of water on your bedside table. This way, if you wake up with a coughing fit during the night, you can clear your throat with a long sip of water.

Try to breath through your nose when you sleep. Before you go to sleep, think of the proverb: “The nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating.” Train yourself to breath through your nose as you sleep by doing several rounds of conscious nose breathing. This will put less stress on your throat and hopefully lead to less coughing at night.

• Sit up straight in a comfortable position.
• Relax your upper body and close your mouth. Rest your tongue behind your bottom teeth, away from the top of your mouth.
• Place your hands on your diaphragm, or your lower belly area. You should try to breath from your diaphragm, rather than from your chest area. Breathing from your diaphragm is important because it helps your lungs with gas exchange and it massages your liver, stomach and intestines, working the toxins out of these organs. It will also relax your upper body.
• Take a deep breath in with your nose and inhale for two to three seconds.
• Exhale through your nose for three to four seconds. Pause for two to three seconds and breathe in again through your nose.
• Practice breathing like this through your nose for several rounds of breaths. Extending your inhales and exhales will help your body get used to breathing through your nose, rather than your mouth.

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