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Air-Con making me tired?

PongePonge Registered User regular
edited August 2008 in Help / Advice Forum
Since I recently moved to a much warmer and more humid climate than I'm used to (from Scotland to Hong Kong) I've recently been using Air Conditioning in my apartment for the first ever time (there's basically no need in the UK) and I'm finding that every morning when I wake up I'm getting progressively more and more tired.

What I'm wondering is if the air conditioning is just recirculating the stale air in my apartment... Resulting in some sort of lack of oxygen when I'm sleeping? I haven't been opening the windows very often as I'm a bit concerned about bugs getting in.

The unit I'm using is basically a large square unit in the middle of my living room ceiling (not one of the ones positioned at a window) so I'm wondering if these units do actually vent out to the outside?

Cheers, it's just a bit concerning as I've generally been sleeping for 8.5 hours each night (12-8.30) and I shouldn't really be this tired. Is there any plausability in the claims I've heard that your body runs on 3 hour (cycles) and so you should try sleeping in hours of multiples of 3?

Ponge on

Posts

  • the cheatthe cheat Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2008
    yeah 8.5 is good, man. that is a crackpot theory if i ever heard one. i usually sleep twelve fuckin hours. and i think it just usually works out to multiples of three, not that you should shoot for it...

    the cheat on
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  • DeShadowCDeShadowC Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    You go in and out of REM sleep. Each time you go into it, you stay in it for longer. It also varies from person to person.

    DeShadowC on
  • TechnicalityTechnicality Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    You could be getting a little deyhdrated maybe? That always makes me sleep more and feel shitty when I wake up.

    Technicality on
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  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I find air-con really dehydrates, worst on my eyes when wearing contact lenses. Other things just might be diet and exercise?

    Rook on
  • FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2008
    I find myself more able to wake up if I turn off my A/C. I think it has something to do with it dehydrating the air.

    FyreWulff on
  • EntriechEntriech ? ? ? ? ? Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    A/C will definitely lower the humidity in your home, even to the point of making it so dry it's uncomfortable to sleep. I'd suggest either making sure you stay hydrated (drink lots of water), or if possible turn the A/C down or off in the evenings.

    Given that you've recently made a big move across time zones, it could just be that your body hasn't adjusted decently to the local photoperiod yet. Even though you're getting 8.5 hours of sleep, you're getting up at 8:30 local time, which is hours earlier than you would have been getting up in your old location.

    And to answer your question, yes, an A/C unit will have to vent to the outside. If it didn't you'd have moist, hot air blowing back into the apartment, completely ruining the intended effect of having an A/C.

    Entriech on
  • JohnnyCacheJohnnyCache Starting Defense Place at the tableRegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    A/C kills my allergies so I can definately see it being a problem. Are you sleeping in the room the A/C is in? Like right in the "beam" of cold air? That's pretty much the worst - you're getting really dry air with lots of allergens in it if you do that.

    JohnnyCache on
  • PongePonge Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Cheers guys.

    I am indeed sleeping in the room with the A/C on. The heat in my apartment is pretty much killer to my Scottish sensibilities so it's the only way I can get to sleep is by being nice and icy cool.

    The advice has been good help, I think dehydration most definatly has something to do with it. Now that I properly think about it I'm not drinking anywhere near enough water (too much diet coke, coffee and beer >_<) compared to how much water I used to drink before my move.


    Now I don't know wether to make a new post about this or not, but it's pretty related so I'll ask away.

    Humidity:
    Without the A/C on my flat is incredibly humid. I don't have a humidity meter (todays purchase) but I'm sure its 'too' humid. Yesterday when I went into my bedroom it smelled a little musty and now I'm absolutley terrified about developing mould in an apartment that I can't easily rip the walls out of.

    I've been running the A/C in that room almost constantly since, trying to help a bit but again, all of this is new to me so I have a few questions:

    1. Should I open the windows more often? It's very humid outside, so I can't imagine that this will help the situation.
    2. Lots of A/C is the answer right?
    3. Should I bother with a dehumydifier?
    4. If (worst case scenario) I did develop mould on my walls, just how bad is it to get rid of it? Is there a wall cleaner or similar?
    5. How much is all this A/C raping my wallet?

    Cheers guys,

    Ponge on
  • Gabriel_PittGabriel_Pitt (effective against Russian warships) Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    1: Opening the windows won't help much, since you'll circulate the air, but it'll be just as humid outside.
    2: More or less, since slightly humid and hot is almost as bad. You'll also want to buy moisture traps and put them in closets, cabinets and stuff to help keep those dry as well, otherwise there's a tendancy for unpleasant surprises to be waiting for you if they've been closed off for a while.
    3: If you just keep running the AC, no. I'm basing my experience using Japanese air cons, but they do a pretty good job of stripping out moisture. When things were especially humid, I'd leave the AC running all day once a week or so just to dry things out.
    4: There should be. Its not like every other building in the country is dry and sunny but yours. You just have to find out what it is and where to get it.
    5: In Japan, running the AC about eight - twelve hours a day cost me around US $100 a month in electricity, but that's going to be totally dependent on how much you're paying for power.

    Gabriel_Pitt on
  • supabeastsupabeast Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    If might be that there’s mold in the A/C unit and that you have an allergy to the mold. Get the landlord to change the filters.

    supabeast on
  • Gabriel_PittGabriel_Pitt (effective against Russian warships) Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Could be mold, didn't think about that. On mine there'd frequently be a little mold/mildew buildup around the vents when I turned it on for the first time each year. What's your unit like? If it's anything like mine, the cover just pops open and you can clean the filter out yourself.

    Gabriel_Pitt on
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