What is healthier: sleeping with the window open or closed?

Are you an “open window” or “closed window” team? This age-old problem keeps popping up. Because what about now? We found out once and for all and sought advice from an environmentalist, skin therapist, and sleep expert.

If you don’t leave the window open, you can smell it in the morning. That musty smell… open the window then? We find out if your health benefits from an open window.

Open window against influenza?

Answer: Especially to do so

Come! You wake up in the morning and find out for sure that you have a cold. If only I had closed the window. No: the common cold is caused by an infection, with bacteria or a virus, as virologist Jan Wilschut told us in a previous article about influenza and colds. Influenza is caused by the influenza virus, also called the influenza virus. So you can’t get sick from the cold itself. In fact, sleeping with a window open makes it easier to absorb germs. Are you shivering from the cold while lying in bed? Then your resistance will decrease and you may catch the disease indirectly from an open window.

Open window for a good night’s sleep?

Answer: It is permissible, but not necessary

In a cool bedroom – between 15 and 19 degrees – you fall asleep faster and sleep better and deeper. In order to fall asleep, your body needs to cool down. In a cold room, your body stays cool, allowing it to stay in its normal temperature cycle longer. Is it necessary to leave your window open?

“The temperature in your bedroom is important, but it is especially advisable to look for what is comfortable for you. The chance of restful, good sleep is greater,” says sleep professor Eos van Someren. “If you constantly wake up with an open window due to traffic noise or Because you feel unsafe, it is better to close the window. If a closed window makes you feel stuffy or hot, leave the window open.

Something to consider: warm feet. Your hands and feet suffer the most from the body’s attempts to limit heat loss. You may then start shivering, which generates energy and does nothing to help you sleep. Van Someren’s tips: “Bring a hot water bottle or wear a warm pair of socks.”

Do you open the window to have beautiful skin?

Answer: Try it

A day at the beach not only leaves you looking rosy and tangled, but also with red cheeks. Wow, such fresh air! Meanwhile, we collectively complain of dry skin in the winter. Does sleeping with the window open or closed also affect the skin?

“The fact that skin often feels dry in winter has to do with the contrast between the cold air outside and the heat and dryness inside, which is often caused by heat,” explains dermatologist Quinn Quint. “I wouldn’t expect skin to become immediately drier if you sleep with the window open in the winter. In the summer it doesn’t seem to be a problem at all.

Dermatologist and researcher Annelijne van Ireland adds: “Humidity is what mainly affects the skin. Research shows that when skin is exposed to very low humidity of ten percent for three hours, the roughness and dryness of the skin increases and it can particularly affect the skin condition of people with eczema. However, the humidity does get low quickly. In winter, the humidity is often a little lower, but as long as it is between 40 and 60 percent, it is good for the skin to sleep with the window open.

Open window for fresh air?

Answer: Yes Yes Yes!

We have already mentioned that germs leave the room more easily when the window is open. But that’s not all: an open window also helps fight air pollution. “Bedrooms are the most poorly ventilated rooms in homes: there are a relatively large number of people here in a limited space and the interior doors are often closed,” says Gilly LaVerge, a researcher at Ghent University. “The bedroom produces very high concentrations of human waste, such as carbon dioxide, and chemicals released from building materials, furniture panels and treated textiles.” Raymond Junker, environment and health advisor at GGD Amsterdam, agrees.

To achieve the air quality you fear, it is necessary to allow fresh air to flow day and night and absorb polluted air, according to the Juncker report. “This can be done by leaving the ventilation grilles open and running the mechanical ventilation system 24 hours a day.” What’s left is to ventilate your bedroom by opening the window for about ten minutes every morning. No ventilation grill? LaVerge: “Then leave the window open at night, so there’s always fresh air while you’re in the room.”

Even if you live in a neighborhood with a lot of air pollution, it’s better to ventilate, Juncker reports. “Indoor air is always dirtier than outside air.” Only in case there are major outdoor air problems, such as a neighborhood fire, a smog alarm or if you live on a very busy road, is it recommended to keep the bedroom window closed. LaVerge: “If you don’t want to keep your window open at night, at least open the door. This is not always enough for good air quality, but it has a big impact. And don’t forget to vacuum the bed, mattress, bedding and under the bed regularly.”

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