What Is The Ideal Humidity Level While Sleeping?

Imagine having a tiring day at work and coming back home to relax. But as soon as you step in, you sweat on a nice breezy day.

Let us see another scenario where you walk inside your house on a snowy day and immediately feel a very uncomfortable itch in the throat.

Yes, these are real scenarios that many worldwide face and are looking for a solution. It can be frustrating not to have a comfortable home to rest in. You may blame climate change, pollution, or your neighbors for this, but the real reason is that not many know of it.

The air inside your home plays an important role in your health. Yet, often, many people are precautious outside the home and overlook what is happening indoors.

Indoor air quality is not something only a set of people deal with; everyone needs to learn and carefully look at it. The impacts of pollution and climate change are no longer limited to outside the house. There are various smaller effects that it now has within your home that can cause long-term issues in an individual.

For a good night’s sleep, you can wear your most comfortable pajamas and lie down on your comfy mattress with a cozy blanket but still not fall asleep. One of the reasons for this is the often-overlooked moisture levels in the air.

Yes, humidity has a very significant impact on your sleep.

Have you ever found yourself coughing or having a stuffy nose as soon as you hit the bed? That is what humidity can do. Lower humidity in the room causes dry throats, and the nose irritates your throat. Too much moisture can cause allergies that can make you sneeze or give you a runny nose.

Still don’t believe this? If you have landed on this article, you will surely have heard about humidity affecting sleep.

Doctors say that if the relative humidity in the room is not maintained between 40-60%, it may not be healthy for an individual to live in that environment for prolonged periods. It can cause severe impacts on the health of an individual.

Hence, people today buy hygrometers to check the humidity levels at home, humidifiers, and dehumidifiers.

Best Humidity for Sleeping

Doctors recommend a relative of 40 to 60 percent humidity within the bedroom for comfortable sleeping.

On the one hand, humidity below 40 will make the room colder and dryer than it should be at the current temperature.

On the other hand, it will be a warm place for different and unwanted viruses to grow, irritate the skin, nose, throat, and dust particles to move freely in the room.

This will irritate while sleeping, and unwanted particles will hinder breathing. It can also cause a sleep disorder called sleep apnea in the long run.

On the other hand, humidity levels above 60% can make the room too moist, allowing the allergens to thrive in the environment. Mold, pollen, and other allergens can stay in such an atmosphere long, causing various allergies.

Hence, maintaining the recommended humidity levels in the bedroom during sleep is essential for an individual’s overall health.

What Happens If Your Bedroom Is Too Humid?

A too-humid room indicates that the moisture level in the air is too high. For example, if the moisture level is over 60%, it will lead to a humid room.

At first glance, the too humid room may only mean a colder room. However, high humidity interferes with the sleep cycle of an individual.

During sleep, the body tries to regenerate itself; thus, it is essential to reach all four stages of sleep. In too humid rooms, one cannot have an uninterrupted sleep, making it difficult to feel fresh.

Also, too much moisture can cause the walls to be colder, and when this happens for a longer duration, it can lead to mold growth.

Mold not only increases your expenses on the house, but it also leads to severe health implications. Long-term colds, coughs, and fever may all react to mold growth on the house’s walls.

Bedroom Tips for Optimal Sleeping Humidity

Best Humidity for Sleeping

One can use different products to maintain the optimum humid levels in the bedroom for a comfortable sleep. Here are some more tips for those facing challenges with humidity:

– AC speed: An air conditioner set at the right temperature and speed can be the best gift one can give to oneself for sleeping well. Instead of using the AC at full blast, you can set the speed to low or moderate. This will ensure that the sleep is uninterrupted instead of sleeping in colder rooms.

– Get a dehumidifier: Dehumidifiers are devices that remove moisture from the air and store it in their tanks. These tanks need to be emptied at regular intervals. If you live in areas with high humidity, invest in a dehumidifier. They are available in various sizes to cover a single room or house. Keep the energy costs in check as a few can consume a lot of energy and be noisy.

– Use breathable fabric: Humid rooms can cause you sweaty nights. Fabrics made from natural sources that can absorb sweat, like cotton or rayon, are excellent for bedding in such cases. These fabrics absorb sweat and make your sleep more comfortable than synthetic fabric.

FAQ

Is 65 humidity too high in a house?

The relative humidity of 65 is over the recommended humidity levels. Depending on the season, humidity levels change.

A 65 dew point(humidity) in warmer months is unacceptable as the relative humidity level will stoop low, making it muggy or humid.

Does low humidity affect sleep?

Low humidity levels make the air dry, which makes sleeping soundly difficult. In addition, if the air is dry, the sinus membranes can become irritated due to drying out.

This can lead to a stuffy nose making it hard to breathe. Too dry air can also irritate the nasal passage, leading to cracks and easy access for the virus to enter the body.