What Air Conditioning Does to Your Body

If you work in an air-conditioned building with poor ventilation, it can raise your risk of “sick building syndrome.” Symptoms include headaches, dry cough, dizziness and nausea, trouble concentrating, fatigue, and sensitivity to odors. Forced indoor air may also slightly raise your risk of COVID-19. But the CDC says the risk is small. Lower it even more with regular filter changes, opening windows, and covering coughs and sneezes.

Air conditioners suck moisture out of a room to bring down the humidity and cool it off. This can pull water from your skin, drying it -- and you -- out.

The lack of humidity in air-conditioned spaces can dry your eyes. This can make them irritated and itchy and may even make your vision blurry.

Studies show more time in cold weather may help you lose weight. Your body may develop a greater amount of healthy, energy-burning “brown fat” as it deals with more frigid air. Air conditioning in hot weather can help keep you in a cool state, but you’ll also have to lower your indoor temps in the winter to see a real benefit.

A 2018 Harvard study showed that students who lived in dorms without A/C during hot summer months did worse on cognitive tests than those who had cool central air.

Studies show that people who work in air-conditioned buildings have more respiratory problems (irritated nasal passages, trouble breathing) than people who work in buildings with natural ventilation.

If you spend time in indoor spaces with HVAC systems that are dirty or not well-maintained, you’re more likely to have headaches or even migraines. In one study, 8% of people who work in unhealthy indoor air environments had headaches 1-3 days a month, and 8% had daily headaches.

Scientists have coined the term “adaptive comfort model” to describe why spending more time in air conditioning makes it harder to deal with hot temperatures. Your ideal temperature depends in part on whatever temperature you’ve recently been exposed to. The more you hang out in spaces pumped full of A/C, the less comfortable heat and humidity will feel.

Older A/C units can release CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). This is a refrigerant that can harm the ozone layer, heating up the Earth. The U.S. Clean Air Act began phasing these coolants out in the '90s, but there are still many in use across the globe.

If you keep your A/C clean, it can help tame allergies. But an HVAC system can quickly become a home for microbial allergens. Be sure you have your system inspected regularly and keep it well-maintained so you don’t add to your allergy issues.

Experts say sleeping in a room that’s between 60-67 degrees is ideal for the best rest. This is because your body cools down as part of a natural sleep cycle, so a cool room helps that happen. Sometimes A/C is the tool you need to get your sleep space to the right temp.

Air conditioning may come with some negative effects, but there’s no doubt it can be lifesaving when temperatures soar. Once your body temperature goes above 102 degrees, you’re at risk of heat exhaustion -- nausea, cramps, dizziness, feeling faint -- and if you continue to heat up, you could get heat stroke.