Should You Sleep with Heating On? – Alternatives for Warm Up


should you sleep with heater on?

Sleeping in a cold environment can be challenging, and that is why many of us want our home to be warm overnight. It may mean that, especially in freezing weather, you more likely would like to keep heating on during the whole night.

But should you sleep with the heating on? Depending on what kind of heater you are using, and depending on other conditions, it may be safe to sleep the heater on in some situations. Generally, keeping central heating on may be safe overnight. However, with any heating method, there is a risk of fire, and with some heating methods, there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Situations vary, and sometimes it is essential to use some heating to keep up warm during the night when it is freezing. Heat with the right temperature can help you sleep peacefully, and in that case, cold won’t cause danger to your health. But actually in some cases, keeping some heating on may also cause some problems for your health too.

Probably the first thing to consider is, do you really need to keep the heater on overnight? If you do not need it, then the solution is simple, don’t use a heater during the night. You may also consider other solutions to keep up warm when you sleep at night. You can read about these solutions later on in this post.

But if you feel that it is necessary to keep the heater on during the night, you need to choose what kind of heater you will use overnight and which type of set up you will use with it.

Therefore, you need to choose the heating method and apply all safety regulations carefully.

So what would be an ideal practice when considering the right temperature during the night?

Four main questions arise when considering should you leave the heater on during night:

What may be the consequences if the heater is on or off during the night?

What type of heater is it?

How is the heater set up?

and

What safety aspects are there?

Also, it is crucial to consider which bedroom temperature is ideal for you to sleep well the whole night without unnecessarily waking up you.

What Reasons There are Not To Sleep with a Heating On?

First of all, safety is a crucial part whenever talking about heating in any place and with any method. Mainly the risk of fire is always there, even though many heaters have some safety features. Therefore, you need to consider carefully will you need to use the heater overnight.

Especially, heaters that use gas, coal, kerosene, or briquettes can all be dangerous, and you need always be extremely careful when using the heater in any situation, and especially at night. Reasons for dangers are not only related to the risk of fire but also a possible risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Other types of heaters, such as electric heaters or central heating, have their risks too.

Using any heater can have a potential risk of fire if used unsafely.

Using the heater to warm up the house “is the second leading cause of U.S. home fires, deaths and injuries.” Space heaters cause 40% of fires of all kinds of heating methods.

Regarding NFPA report of leading home fires, “Between 2010 and 2014, U.S. municipal fire departments responded to an average of 45,210 home structure fires involving electrical failure or malfunction”. 19% of all fires caused by heating, ventilation, and air condition.

One of the most usual questions related to sleeping with a heater on is what are the health effects if you sleep with the heater on?

So one question that some people may consider is:

Does Sleeping with the Heater On Make You Feel Sick?

It is possible. There was a study about the effects of sleeping with the heater on in Slumberdown.

What were the results?

The survey pointed out that 46% of those who sleep heating on during the night feeling sick when waking up following morning. The reported symptoms were such as dehydration, dry mouth, or a headache.

The results are quite surprising and cause some wondering about what could be best practice use heater at night time.

Sleep expert, Professor Jason Ellis, said:

“Our bodies do a great deal of work for us during sleep. As part of that process, our body temperature changes throughout the night, and we tend to cool down towards bedtime and then naturally warm up towards the morning.

“As such, we may go to bed warm and cosy but as the research shows, wake up hot and bothered. The key is being comfortable when going to bed and staying comfortable throughout the night.

The more comfortable you are the less likely you will wake during the night or too early in the morning.”

Source: Deadlinenews.co.uk

If you feel from some symptoms when waking up in the morning, what can you do?

When Sleeping with Heater On Cause Headache

Placing a heater to the right place in the bedroom more likely can ease a headache since if the heater cause headache, it may be because it is too near you. If replacing the heater won’t help, you should consider to stop using the heater and find alternative heating options.

When Sleeping with Heater On Cause Sore Throat

Similarly, if the heater is too close to you, it may cause a sore throat after sleeping with the heater on. Therefore, replacing the heater may be the solution. You may also try to set the heating volume so that it won’t be too high, and side effects may minimize too.

But are the symptoms so severe that you should not use the heater at all if you feel any of these kinds of consequences after sleeping? How about if your bedroom is so cold at night that you can’t sleep without heating?

So:

Should You Turn Off Your Heater at Night?

Not necessarily. Like said, in some cases, it may be crucial to keep some heating on to avoid freezing.

But:

Which Heaters are Safe to Leave On Overnight?

  1.  When selecting any of heater to use overnight, you should first take action with two important questions: Check if the heater has the label showing it has passed proper safety tests.
  2. Before using any heater, read instructions, and safety reminders from the manufacturer carefully.

Source: Esfi.org

Usually, only some electric heaters are safe to leave on overnight. But even with the electric heater, you need first to check the instructions of the heater and apply them as possible.

Furthermore, placing the heater to a safe place is crucial so that the risk of fire won’t increase.

Is It Safe to Sleep with Space Heater On?

Generally, it is not recommended to keep any space heater on during the night. Primarily, you should never let space heater on overnight if instructions of the heater say so.

With many space heaters, the risk of fire is tremendously high even if you won’t keep the heater close any sensitive fire materials and also if the space heater has made safely.

So some heaters may include many risks if using during the night. Therefore, you should always seek directions from the instructions of the heater so that you can know can you use your heater overnight and if so, which kind of set up is safe enough.

Is It Safe to Leave a Gas Heater on Overnight?

It is highly recommended to not leave gas heating on overnight. The reason is related to “risks of fire and casualties, as heater use increases during cold season.” Notably, in cold and dry winter season risk of fire with gas heaters increases tremendously. So it is recommended to find other heating solutions to keep warm overnight.

However, for an important reminder: Anytime when you use a gas heater, you should also have a proper CO alarm system on.

Source: Tribune.com.pk

Is It Safe to Leave Briquette Heater on Overnight?

It is not recommended to use briquette heating overnight as well.

Source: Healthywa.wa.gov.au

Is It Safe to Leave Ceramic Heater on Overnight?

There are some dangers with leaving a ceramic heater on overnight. Therefore, it is not recommended to heat your house with a ceramic heater overnight.

Source: Newair.com

Is It Safe to Leave Central Heating on Overnight?

In general, it is safe to leave the central heating on during the night. Probably it is the most reliable option to warm your home overnight, and you can sleep the whole night peacefully. However, you need to make sure that the central heating system is in excellent condition, and it is set to work correctly. For instance, frequently check that boiler maintenance is done just like the manufacturer recommends.

Source: Accidentadvicehelpline.co.uk

If your heater is not safe to use overnight, you may also consider:

Alternative ways to keep up the heat during the night

If you feel that keeping the heater on during the night is not safe or it causes illness, you may want to find some other options to keep yourself warm during the night.

So what other heating options are there?

Dress enough clothes on

Using two pajamas or dressing more other outfits, including warm socks, can help keep you warm overnight, even there would be a bit cold in a bedroom.

Duvet and Blanket

To keep warm enough in your bed can ease with using more bed covers than usual. A couple of duvets or blankets can be just what you need to stay warm when you sleep. Selecting comfortable and good quality bed cover is a crucial step to make sure that you can survive overnight if you don’t have any other heating solutions to use.

Hot Water Bottle

A hot water bottle is a simple and easy way to keep up warm under your bed cover.

Just fill the hot water bottle full of boiling water. Boil the water to maximize the benefits of the hot water bottle. After filling the bottle, close the cap tightly and place the container under covers.

Usually, a hot water bottle should keep warm quite well during the whole night.

Related Questions:

Is Sleeping In a Cold Room Better for Your Health?

It depends on how cold the room is. It is recommended to keep bedroom temperature between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (between 15.5 and 19.5 degrees Celsius).

Many people would probably like to sleep in a warmer bedroom, since it may feel much more comfortable when going to bed. Anyway, studies have shown that cooler temperatures may make it easier to fall asleep and more convenient to stay fallen asleep peacefully during the whole night.

If you have a habit of sleeping in a warm bedroom, you could try if sleeping in a bit cooler room would help you sleep better during the night.

Another thing to consider on is:

How Much Does it Cost to Keep Heater On During the Night?

The cost of heating an apartment varies, which type of heater has been used, and how long it has to be on.

Here is a quite simple method to calculate the cost of keeping the electric heater on during night:

“One way to decide whether or not to use a space heater is to calculate the cost of operation. The Department of Energy tells you how to do this. Simply find the wattage of your space heater on the box or in the user manual. Multiply this by the number of hours you will use it, and divide that number by 1,000. Then, multiply this figure by the kilowatt-hour rate charged by your utility company, and you will know how much that space heater is costing you.”

Source: Hunker.com

Should I keep the heating on all the time?

When speaking about central heating, some wonder should heat shut off overnight to reduce heating costs. Opinions vary, so how can you know the right solution?

Some think that keeping steady heat on all the time is energy saver opinion when compared to an option where some keep the heating on only some time during the day. For instance, some turn off heating for day time and continue heating on only at night when it is colder.

So which is better practice to apply?

“So, if you have your heating on all the time, your heating system will be using energy on an ongoing basis to maintain the inside temperature.

But, the greater the heat loss from your home, the more energy you will need to maintain the inside temperature, which means that the cost of leaving your heating on all the time will be especially expensive.

This all means that leaving your heating on all the time will drain a lot more energy from inefficient homes, as the heating works a lot harder to replace lost heat.”

Source: Uswitch.com

Sources:

Hunker

NFPA

Wikihow

Deadlinenews.co.uk

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