Why do my asthma attacks always occur at night?

What is an Asthma attack

During normal breathing, the airways to the lungs are fully open, allowing air to move in and out freely. But people with asthma have inflamed, super-sensitive airways. Their triggers cause the following airway changes, which in turn cause asthma symptoms:

The lining of the airways swell and become more inflamed
Mucus clogs the airways
Muscles tighten around the airways (bronchospasm)
These changes narrow the airways until breathing becomes difficult and stressful

Nothing is more frightening than wakening in the middle of the night, feeling as if you are breathing air through a straw with your mouth stuffed with cotton. Uncontrolled asthma often occurs during the night for reasons still not well understood. However, circadian rhythms (i.e. our own natural body rhythms), and hormone levels probably have something to do with it. Additionally, some allergic type asthma attacks are not immediate, but delayed for several hours, thus occuring during the night. The important thing to remember is that if one works with their physician to gain control of their disease, one will have uninterrupted sleep, and not have to anticipate the nightmare of an asthma attack disrupting their sleep.