Sleep for Bronchitis

Sleep it off

Bronchitis tends to make people feel very tired. The worse the bronchitis, the more tired people feel, because the heart has to work harder to pump blood to deliver oxygen to the body’s cells. Sleep is often called “the best medicine.” It has been used since ancient times to help people recover from illness, and rightly so – numerous scientific studies have confirmed that the body needs more sleep while recovering from an illness or repairing a major wound.

Using Sleep to Relieve the Symptoms of Bronchitis

Method

• While you are recovering, spend as much time as you can lying down in bed or on a couch or sofa. Do not push yourself to get up and go to work or school. Sleep as much as you can.
• If you have a fever, stay in bed and sleep all the time if you can. When the fever subsides, alternate between rest periods and periods when you get up and move around, in order to prevent mucus from settling in the lungs.

Why It Works

The human body contains 12 major organ systems, all of which have work to do. The work that the body does, including recovering from disease, takes energy. Resting conserves energy and saves it for the work that the body needs to focus on while you are sick: getting well.

Precautions

Bronchitis can be mild and self-limiting, but it can also be chronic and can eventually cause complications that can cause pneumonia, or can even cause the heart to have to work harder to deliver oxygen to the body’s cells, leading to pulmonary hypertension, enlargement of the heart, and in some cases, heart failure. Do not try to treat bronchitis alone using home remedies. Bronchitis should always be monitored by a doctor. It is particularly important for children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems to have their bronchitis monitored by a doctor. In addition, any person who suffers from an underlying health condition, such as asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or any other serious respiratory or heart problem, should make sure to have bronchitis monitored by a doctor who is familiar with his or her medical history. Home remedies are offered here as a supplement to medical treatment and to offer relief from symptoms.

More Remedies

• Click here for all Bronchitis remedies