Is Air Conditioning Bad for Your Health?
Air conditioning is usually good for your health, especially when you live in a hot, humid climate like Brisbane's.
However, the effects of air conditioning on your health depend on how you use and maintain it.
In this article, you’ll learn what air conditioning does for your body. We’ll also explain how to use it in a way that allows you to enjoy its advantages while avoiding risks linked to poor usage and maintenance.
Table of Contents
What Your Body Does When the Temperature Rises
When the room temperature rises, your body (which is constantly generating heat as various cells use energy to perform their functions) has to work harder to keep your core temperature within a safe range.
Internally, more blood flows through the blood vessels in your skin. Think of this as your body moving the heat from deep down to the surface. Externally, you start sweating. Sweat carries heat away from your skin as it evaporates.
Both processes happen at the same time, helping your body maintain a safe core temperature. Since heat leaves your body through your skin, problems set in when the room temperature is so high that there isn’t a significant difference between it and your skin temperature.
Consider these scenarios.
- A: Your skin temperature is around 34°C, while your immediate environment is at 26°C. There’s an 8°C difference, so your body can release more heat into the surrounding air.
- B: The surrounding air is at 32°C. Now the difference between your skin temperature and the room temperature is only about 2°C, so much less heat is released.
- C: Your environment is at 34°C. There’s almost no difference between that and your skin temperature.
- D: Your room temperature is 38°C. At this point, the surrounding air temperature is even higher than your skin’s. Instead of releasing heat into the air, your body starts absorbing heat from it.
Scenario A is the most favourable for your health, while Scenario D places the greatest strain on your body. Air conditioning can help create conditions closer to Scenario A.
How Air Conditioning Can Be Good for Your Health
Running your AC cools your immediate environment, thus helping your body release more heat and making it easier to keep your internal temperature within an ideal range. Most of the health benefits of air conditioning come from how it helps your body maintain this balance.
It reduces the risk of developing heat-related illnesses
Do you turn on the AC when the weather is hot or your area is experiencing a heatwave? You’ve been making the best choice for your health, according to Queensland’s Metro North Hospital.
During very hot weather, your body struggles to keep your temperature within an appropriate range. Not using air conditioning makes it much harder for your system to cope, and can result in dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke.
- Dehydration: This happens when the body has lost too much water and salts. When the weather is too hot, dehydration often results from excessive sweating. You may feel thirsty, dizzy or fatigued. Your head may also ache.
- Heat cramps: These refer to painful muscle spasms caused by heat-induced dehydration. They usually occur in the arms, legs or abdomen.
- Heat exhaustion: The body senses that its internal temperature is too high and is working extra hard to cool itself, causing you to break into heavy sweat. You may be dizzy, weak or nauseous, and feel a headache.
- Heat stroke: The most severe heat-related illness, and a medical emergency. At this stage, the body can no longer control its temperature and the brain can’t function properly.
You still sleep well in hot weather
When you’re getting ready to sleep, your body tries to lower your core temperature by releasing heat into the surrounding air. If the bedroom is hot or humid, the air absorbs less of that heat, while you remain hot, and, consequently, restless.
You may have noticed that in summer months, it takes you longer to fall asleep and you wake up far more times than usual during the night. That’s because Brisbane summer nights stay considerably warmer than winter nights, which means your system may find it harder to release heat during this period without assistance from a cooling appliance such as an AC.
Using air conditioning doesn’t itself guarantee deep sleep, as its effectiveness depends on the unit’s capacity, the set temperature and other factors, but it can make your sleeping environment more conducive.
You experience less brain fog indoors
Ever tried to clean the house or do a home workout when it’s hot indoors? You’ll likely get tired quickly or feel irritable. If the task requires deep concentration, you may have difficulty thinking clearly or completing it at your usual pace.
With the AC on (and set to an ideal temperature), your house becomes cooler. Thinking through complex tasks or finishing chores feels like a breeze.
AC usage can lower indoor humidity
If you live in a city like Brisbane, where morning humidity regularly sits above 60%, you may feel clammy even when the weather isn’t that hot.
When in cooling mode, an AC can reduce the moisture content in indoor air. This can make your skin feel less sticky and limit mould growth in the room. Some ACs come with dry mode, which allows them to dehumidify the room without cooling it too quickly. It also helps to know what temperature you should set your air conditioner to for the season.
Air conditioning limits airborne irritants
Air conditioners pass indoor air through an air filter before cooling it. This filter can capture dust, dander, pollen, lint and other particles that travel through air. These irritants can cause sneezing, coughing and chest tightness, and trigger asthma flare-ups. Cleaning your AC filter regularly helps it work as intended.
How to Use Air Conditioning Without Falling Sick
You can run air conditioning every day while operating the system in a way that’s safe for your health.
Choose a moderate target temperature
Setting the AC to the lowest or highest possible temperature all the time may make the room uncomfortably cold or hot. A target of 24°C to 26°C is usually fine, depending on the time of the year and your personal preferences and energy saving goals.
Don’t sit or sleep in front of vents
When cold air blows across your face for an extended period, your eyes may feel dry or itchy, and you may want to rub them to ease the discomfort. Vigorous rubbing can scratch the cornea, leading to eye watering, pain, redness and blurred vision. When the AC is running, make sure you’re positioned away from the stream of air coming from the AC vent.
Clean the filters as recommended
Cleaning the filters allows them to do their job well, reducing the buildup of dust and other unsafe particles in the air.
Monitor indoor humidity
High humidity can encourage mould growth and dust mites, while very dry air may irritate your eyes, skin and airways. Use dry mode when excess moisture is the main problem, and switch back to normal cooling once the humidity reaches a comfortable range of about 40% to 60%.
Have the internal components serviced regularly
Condensed water should ordinarily flow out of the indoor unit through a drain pipe. If the pipe is blocked, the water may collect inside the system, making internal parts damp and mouldy. As air passes over mouldy internal parts, the system may carry mould spores into the room. Breathing in these fragments can trigger reactions like sneezing, wheezing, nasal congestion and asthma episodes.
For more on what can grow inside a neglected system, read our guide to the most common air conditioner germs, and see our air conditioning maintenance resources for servicing intervals.
Could a Problem With Your Air Conditioner Be Making You Sick?
Air conditioning is generally beneficial for your health, but a poorly maintained or faulty system may contribute to symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, wheezing or eye irritation.
If you’ve noticed any of these problems, contact the team at BG Electrical & Air Con. We’ll inspect your air conditioner and fix any issues so you can safely use it again.