Do you get a headache from Air Conditioning?

'My A/C is broken.'

The answer is yes. It happens to me frequently. Air Conditioning can cause your body to have all sorts of problems.

'My A/C is broken.'
‘My A/C is broken.’

If you read this doctor’s article about the effects of Air Conditioning on your body, you will be surprised. It is very common in summer for most offices to have AC. In fact, I can’t think of an office I have worked in that doesn’t have AC. When you work in IT it is even colder. Computer equipment is placed in special colder rooms and that can be difficult to be in long term.

At one of my jobs, I was told that my office was inside the AC server room. That way if there was a problem I would hear it and be instantly able to respond. This was difficult because the room was so cold and also because the rest of the floor didn’t have AC. So I would go out of a very cold space into a hot space. I often got headaches in that job when that happened.

How can you mitigate the effect of AC? The following suggestions come from many different sources:

  • Ventilation in an air-conditioned room;
  • Hydration;
  • Avoiding setting the AC to a low temperature;
  • Avoiding direct air from AC

AC is nice but if you live in an area with low humidity a swamp cooler is fantastic. I grew up in a desert so I got to enjoy the swamp cooler. A swamp cooler works by using water to cool incoming air. Then that cooled air is pushed out. As the moisture in the air evaporates on your skin you are cooled. It is a fun feeling standing in front of a swamp cooler. It is like a very light and soft mist.

See also  How much is enough?

Of course people who live in areas with high humidity wouldn’t find a swamp cooler helpful. In fact, they would probably say it makes them hotter. I don’t like how AC removes moisture. I do understand that people don’t like moisture in the air if that is what they are used to. I think if people lived in a low-humidity environment in the past they would love moisture like I do.

AC is helpful, but a low-humidity environment and a swamp cooler are awesome to stay cool.